As already indicated in the last post, we left the beautiful Perito Moreno National Park with its azure Lago Belgrano on Ruta 41 to the north. A 4x4 route over a pass that is only recommended in good weather. We were lucky and it was bright sunshine when we said goodbye to the rangers of the national park at noon. Right at the beginning it was very steep on a plateau that we could only manage in 1st gear. We estimate the maximum incline to be a good 40%. Shortly thereafter, we drove through a beautiful high valley and a little further up, again extremely steep at about 46%. Next, we reached a mountain lake in a valley. Lots of guanacos were grazing in the meadows around the lake - an incredible sight.
After the lake, the terrain changed a bit and we continued on the slope of a ridge quite lopsided. You don't want slippery ground or even snow here. Then the track slowly led along ridges into the next valley. The vegetation slowly increased again and the track was sometimes more and sometimes less steep. A short time later we crossed several small rivers, some of which were surprisingly deep, but no problem for Zacharias. One fence after the other had to be opened and closed again and the first houses came into view again. There were cows and horses but no more guanacos.
After a while we reached the end of the plateau and could see the beautiful Lago Posadas and Lago Pueyrredón for the first time. An extremely steep serpentine road led down to the lake. Here, too, the inclinometer reached 45%. Arrived at the lake we looked for a beautiful spot, sheltered from the wind on a meadow by a jetty. The weather was fantastic and the children could play while we prepared dinner.
The next day we went to the village of Lago Posadas. Here the fuel was filled up for the last time before the Chilean border, some groceries were bought and the children could still go to the playground. Then we went north again on an excellent track, further on the Ruta 41 to the Paso Roballos through a very changeable landscape, characterized by different colored rock formations and dried up lakes. Although the road was now a very good track and didn't require great driving skills, it was an incredibly impressive section that we can recommend to everyone.
Arrived at the pass, we went to the Argentine border post without any obstacles. Unfortunately, I disturbed the boys while they were watching football, but they were still very nice like all Argentines so far and were all the quicker with the formalities. Actually, you don't get entry and exit stamps in Argentina anymore, since everything is recorded electronically - but there was only one TV screen here, so everything was written down manually and we still got a stamp in our passport. We continued to the Chilean border post. No problems here either, although during the border formalities we were sent into a small shelter where vehicles are normally checked. I was afraid that we would have to clear the bus for the fruit and vegetable inspection, but it was just a matter of keeping the road clear.
Right after the border we drove into Patagonia National Park, founded by Douglas Thompkins, founder of The North Face, and headed for the next campground. This one was very tidy, had a great view and was free due to the absence of staff. The next morning, we drove a nice 4x4 track with Zacharias up to a view point where Thompkins had probably stood and decided that a national park had to be set up here. We then continued down the valley to the Carretera Austral, one of the most famous roads in South America, or perhaps the world - from Puerto Montt to Bernardo O'Higgins, from where the only way forward is by boat. We first drove a little south until we reached Cochrane. Here it was already clear why the Carretera Austral is the most beautiful road in Chile, because the mountains and nature were simply stunning. However, why it is sometimes referred to as the highlight of every four-wheel-driver is still unclear to me. Up to Cochrane it was just a really bad piste.
When we arrived in Chochrane, we had to go shopping. Since the small supermarket we were heading for had just closed and a bouncing castle was spotted in sight, we invited ourselves and the children to the children's birthday party there. It was lots of fun on the bouncing castle for Jonathan and Luisa. When we had successfully blown up the party we went shopping. A quick casual look under the car revealed a cracked CV joint boot on the rear axle. So, we went straight to a small campsite outside of town, where I removed the drive shaft (fortunately the rear left one – less complicated) and saw that only the boot had come loose. Less than 2 hours later everything was cleaned, re-greased and reinstalled. Cheers to the wonderful silicone sleeves, which have been doing what they should for a good 40,000 km, in contrast to the rubber sleeves usually included in joint sets, which some people have to change after just 5,000 km.
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