Río Ibáñez, Chile - Polarsteps

We are on our way north again. The first signs of winter are being felt in Patagonia. The forests have started turning red, the snow is getting closer to the valley's and the wind has picked up a nasty chill. Reason for us to move Northwards at a somewhat quicker pace. Fall is beautiful, but the nights are getting cold for camping. However, after having been told by many friends that this was one of their famous places, we had to stop at Cerro Castillo to hike the namesake mountain. It was a steep climb of about 1200m up in a length of 6km. Liselot was suffering from an inflammation of her hip, so she unfortunately couldn't join. The hike was lovely however, starting in beautiful temperate forests, leading through grassy meadows all the way up rough bare rock, eventually reaching a mirador with views of a beautiful blue lake and the dramatic Cerro Castillo on the backdrop. It was spectacular. The morning after, we decided to hitchhike to Coyhaique, trying to speed up even more, as we woke up with ice on the outside of the tent! 🥶

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Chile