5.01.2010

The situation looked absolutely identical as in Lake O’Igins – I still had only about 25 euros in Chilean money and about 20 in Argentinean. In spite of this, that time I was completely convinced to continue. Danny had enough Chilean currency, so I sold him my Argentinean money and I have already felt almost rich. Well … they still haven’t been enough to feel safe, but in any case now it was better.

Early early the three of us ran out the exit of the city to wait before the crowd Israeli, spending the night in Los Antiguos to overtake us. Standing there we were waiting for some cars to get us to another town, but after about an hour a place was found in a truck going to Cochran. The luck of course was for me. So I took on the long, rainy and beautiful Karetera Austria - Pinochet’s attempt to link the road with all parts of Chile. Actually, the first hundred kilometers after Chile Chico are not part of this road, but they were much more impressive than anything I have seen up to now.

The narrow unasphalted road in the beginning was going through several canyons, dug into the rocks, after it rose to its highest point from where he opened a breathtaking view.

In front yellow dry grass and shrubs were gleaming, a few hundred meters lower was the vast blue lake General Carrera, and behind it appeared the snowy peaks of the Andes. The road continued to the rocks on the one side of the lake, as it looked as difficult to be made as dangerous.One inattentive movement of the steering wheel can throw you a few hundred meters down into the abyss. And the truck driver was driving like we were on a rally.

Fortunately, 190 kilometers and 5 hours later I arrived in Cochran,at which exit were waiting … two Israeli and friends of Max and Kobe, with who we were waiting the boat of Lake O’Igins.

After we start speaking I understood that the same Max and Kobe, like the Italian Stefano are also in the town. Moreover, had managed to overthrow the price of the boat of $ 45 after talking with the owner of the company Viya O’Igins. After this they spent New Year in the village and slowly escaped, passing through the always rainy cake, even where there are no roads, only wooden walkways and bridges.

Definitely I didn’t want to visit such a rainy place, so I decided that I can go to the north. But the first task was to retrieve money. Ok, but ATMs Cochran was identical to that in Chile Chico - and not only didn’t work with Visa, nor worked at the moment. While I was hanging around, I met Stefano, who was even in worse financial situation than me. He had intentions to ring in Italy to send him money through Western Union. But for his luck some industrious Chilean fixed the ATM (this was his second day in service) and he patched up the situation.

Meanwhile, the two waiting Israeli had disappeared, so that stayed a Frenchman and two Chilean. From this moment a long waiting was to be on this road.

The two –me and Stefano decided to stretch the tents on a hill above the town and then we celebrated the fixing of the ATM and the nice weather with wine, which he had bought for that purpose. After darkness fell, he sent the passing day with his didjerito and we laid down to sleep.

In the morning he gathered his things a little bit faster than me and when about 40 minutes later I went to the place of waiting, he had disappeared. The two Chilen, however,came after fifteen minutes, but about 40-50 minutes later I start talking with some Frenchmen,who had just arrived and I missed the car that took them. After another hour, hour or so a car stopped for me. It was about 65 years old woman going to Koyayke - quite a long distance, during which I could not figure out where to get off.

The first hundred kilometers have been already familiar for me, then the road continues along the western coast of the vast lake. Around the small village of Rio Trankilo Tolkki was so beautiful that I wanted to get off,but the bouncing along the road 4-5 Israeli declined me to do this . This certainly seemed like a place convenient to stick. And the thought that I did’n have much money in me also helped me in my decision to continue. During the travelling we stopped twice for a while, so I could make some photos. The weather looked good at the moment - cloudy but without rain. In one stretch of the road the vegetation changed – there were plants with large leaves, like burdock, and something like bamboo. The rain, which started explained the change. After a few ten kilometers the weather changed again - this time in the opposite direction - we have entered in the dry area of Viyya Sorry Castillo.

This peak rises the same name, and there is a foot path, so I had to decide whether I want to stay. After thinking a little bit, I decided to continue to Koyayke, but in the next 4 kilometers I changed my decision,came down from the car and walk back into the village.

It was sunny but the wind blew savagely. I went in a dirt road, which was supposed to lead somehow to the mountain path and somewhere on the outskirts of the village I found a sheltered spot near the river, where I decided to settle. This settling lasted much longer than I had planned initially.

The next day, the time was still good, but the peak was hidden in clouds, so I decided to rest and read my book. After lunch, I even gathered the courage to wash myself in the river - something that Masha was unable to make me two weeks earlier.

I say wash, but not wash, because the actual bathing in these rivers is simply impossible. Almost all come from a glacier a few kilometers up and the temperature of the water does not exceed 3.4 degrees. Therefore bathing consists of repeated wash with water, the head is the most difficult.

Later I decided that I could start a fire and to bake meat, and I did it, but instead of the expected delicious and juicy titbit get tough, especially something difficult to chew, which was not even tasty. At least it was warm.

But the second day I already knew where exactly is the direct path to the top, but it was raining, so I decided to go to see the rock with hand prints left by local Indians Tehuelche 3000 years ago. I have never understood why they were done, but apart from this place there are such images near Chile Chico and throughout Argentina. The colors are red, green and white, but for their receipt they have been using natural dyes, one of which is urine. In the same day came the idea to charge the book with travel information, which is also beneficial for a place where I can stay at warm and to use my Chilean with the girl working there. The night passed without fire.

The next third day I was almost all the time busy with reading, but at the fourth the weather was good and I decided to climb the mountain.

The path was hidden – it started in the yard of a house at only ten meters from my camp. This was not an official path, but local people use it actively to lead groups of tourists with horses up to the mountain. The initial information was 4 hours on foot, but actually turned out to be 2 hours and a half, although it was quite steep - around 1000 meters displacement of about 6-7 km. The very top was in clouds again, but it did not matter, the view around him was sufficient to compensate the clouds. On the top were only two Israeli who had spent the night not far from my tent.

After I went down I decided that I will make a fire in the evening, so I bought potatoes to bake They were pretty good and brought me diversity in my diet only with meat.

During the night it was raining again like in tradition, so I was able to pack the damp tent and get on the road to wait. There weren’t other hitchhikers, and who knows how many cars, and even those that passed didn’t not stop.

After about 5 hours waiting and raining with plenty of wind, which could make everything wet in the bus shelter (such as “everything” was me and my pack), I still was waiting. From the west were coming new dark clouds that are drifting in the rain, already approaching the time at which the traffic almost disappears. 5 days stay at this location were enough, so the thought to stretch back the tent and lose another day in waiting was not good for me. It was final time to update the site so that when a bus stopped me and asked for 3000 pesos (before another one asked for 5000, then reduced to 4000), I agreed and took the remaining hundred km. to Koyayke.

The road was asphalted, and the mountains around lost her sharp shapes and looked more rounded. A bright rainbow over some hills appeared.

About 7 and a half I was walking through the streets of Koyake in search of the hostel with Internet, which one Israeli had told me before.

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