Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Brief TR Northern Patagonia

This is a brief trip report to Northen Patagonia. I play Poker with a group of friends and one of us decided to build a vacation home in Patagonia near a river good for fishing. This year we all decided to spend a week in March in Patagonia. Most of us flew SMF-LAX-SCL-BBA. My wife and I flew via our Star Alliance Round the World ticket SMF-IAD-SCL. Our flight was delayed in Houston for about 6 hours due to a malfunctioning auxiliary generator. We arrived in SCL 6 hours late and took a TRANSVIP private car (desk near baggage claim) to the Hotel Boutique Castillo Rojo in Bellavista. The area was quite lively with lots of bars and restaurants. The hotel itself was pleasant and clean and reasonably priced for a 4 star. No elevators. We had a large room on the third floor. Breakfast was decent with the option of eggs prepared in a variety of ways. Dinner nearby at Restaurant EL Meson Nerudiano. Pleasant slightly upscale and reasonable with typical Chilean fare. We had some an appetizer course with empanadas/breaded shrimp/ceviche/crab pie/corn pie, some French fries plus some Parmesan clams and some drinks. Quite decent.

The next day I took an Uber to the airport for a 2hour flight to BBA, Balmaceda via LATAM. Upgraded to business class for $30 which gave you a different check in line, no one in the middle seat and boarding in group one. Arrived to find my friend who picked me up for an hour ride to his house outside the city/ town of Coyhaique. Arrived at the house in time for drinks and an early dinner.

(My wife spent another day in Santiago then flew up to the Atacama Desert)

The next morning had us in two rented SUVs for a trip down highway 7 to Puyuhuapi Lodge with a stop for lunch in a small village. Some of route 7 is paved, some is not. Drive was almost 5 hours until we arrived at a dock where we parked and took the afternoon boat across the lake to the Lodge. The Lodge was very nice and modern except for no WIFI or phone service. Multiple thermal baths outside and a spa. Quite luxurious for the location. Dinner with wines quite pleasant.

The next day was raining so we canceled our trek to the National Park nearby. Spent the day reading, getting a massage and playing poker.

The weather the following day was better and we checked out to take the morning boat back to our cars. Unfortunately, one of the cars had a flat so we spent about an hour changing the tire. No instruction manual, of course, so we had to find a piece of wood to evenly distribute the weight of the car on the jack as we could not find a designated spot on the frame for the jack. We then drove a short distance to the Queulat National Park where we had online tickets. There is a short hike to see the Cascada de Ventisquero Colgante a Glacier with a waterfall. We took a 20 minute boat ride around the lake to a get closer look at the glacier and many smaller waterfalls. We then proceeded to a steep 3.5 kilometer hike up the mountain. Quite muddy with lots of rock and some steep steps. Moderately difficult. The end of the hike was a viewing platform to see the glacier and waterfall with a much better view. I was exhausted by the time I got back to the car park. I swim 1000 yards 4 days a week and bicycle about 6 miles one day a week but obviously I am not in great shape. We then drove a few miles to a fishing Lodge owned by a friend where we cooked up some dinner before playing some poker before falling asleep.

The next day involved a hike to the river for some fishing. In the afternoon we piled back up into our cars for a drive back to Coyhaique where we stopped for dinner.

The following few days involved mostly fishing in nearby lakes and streams with the last evening spent enjoying a rib eye steak barbeque. Beef is much less expensive here than in the USA.

Flew back to Santiago the next day with the rest of my friends continuing on to LAX and home.

I took a yellow taxi back to our same hotel. Unfortunately, we were on the top floor 4 stories high and our suite had an additional set of stairs into the room. Nice room but a pain to walk up 5 stories each time we had to go to the room. My wife had returned from the Atacama one day previously. Dinner at same restaurant as our first night.

The next day had us up out and early for a Tour bus tour to Valparaiso. Simple drive on paved highways which took about an hour and a half. Drove around the Vina del Mar, stopped at a fish market where the sea lions and pelicans took to the remains of the sea food for their lunch. In Valparaiso we stopped for a walking tour of the hills starting with a funicular to get up the hills. Lunch. Very artsy area. We got back on board or bus for the drive back to Santiago with a stop at a winery Casas del Bosque. The winery is pleasant and modern and not unlike what you would find in Napa. Tasting the wines revealed quite agreeable results. Made it back to the city in the late afternoon. In the evening took an Uber to Osaka restaurant in the Vitacura. Uber is easy to use and cheap in Santiago. Restaurant was modern and clean and upscale serving mostly Nikkei cuisine which is Japanese-Peruvian. I am not partial to sauces with my sushi but the food was quite decent. Service however was quite inattentive despite the large staff with maybe 15% of the restaurant full for early dinner

The next day had us on a walking food tour of the city and its major food market. Afterwards we walked around downtown. Noticed that people in Chile love their mayonnaise. Sandwiches often come with a quarter inch of the stuff. Italian style here means avocado/mayonnaise and tomatoes or ketchup. Witnessed three teenagers rip a necklace off a woman and run off. Do be careful in this city. Uber back to our hotel. Had paid for late check out so we had time to freshen up and shower before taking Uber back to Santiago airport for night flight home. UA Business class uses the Latam lounge in SCL which was quite decent. Flight home via IAD uneventful.