The Carretera Austral and the Marble Caves

We left Queulat on a rainy morning to head back to Chile’s iconic Carretera Austral (Southern Road).  The road was built in 1988 with the hopes to unite the rural southern patagonia with the rest of the country.  Prior to the construction of the road this enormous area of Chile was very isolated. It stretches for about 750 miles and most of the road is still a dirt and gravel highway.  For us, the best thing about the road is all the beautiful views that can be seen as you are driving along. We pulled over to take pictures…frequently. We also experienced the ‘normal’ summer climate for the area: some days of heavy fog with rain and temperatures near freezing and other days with the sun shining and us walking around in shorts!  

Several days later we arrived at Cerro Castillo (Mountain Castle), a town at the base of an impressive mountain range.   We were fortunate once again in our timing as the town was finishing up a grand rodeo on the day that we arrived! We got to watch as many brave cowboys attempted to ride unbroken horses.  Let’s just say they got some wild rides. The town has an extremely long history as evidenced by the 7,000-year-old hand paintings that can be seen here!   

Our next stop was the small town of Puerto Rio Tranquilo.  The town has a permanent population of less than 400 people, but during the summer months it absolutely explodes.  The average number of DAILY visitors is 3,000! Fortunately, because of its isolated location most tourists do not stay overnight (we are…not most tourists :).

Our first full day we went on a boat tour to see the Marble Caves.  These are geological formations created by the erosion of the lake embankments made of sandstone.  They are called the ‘marble’ caves not based on their material composition, but solely on their physical appearance.  Probably sounds better for marketing purposes too. Anyway, whatever name you call them by…they are impressive! The enchanting designs and patterns on the rocks, as well as, the graceful shapes themselves captivate the eye and the imagination.  And to top it all off, the turquoise-colored waters of the lake make the whole setting easily reach an 11 on the control knob of amazing!.

The next day we took a drive 35 miles down a small gravel road through the Explorer’s Valley.  This area had some of the most spectacular views we have seen on the entire trip! We lost count of the number of glaciers and waterfalls that could be seen right from the road.  Very similar to northwest Canada, but much closer together. It was truly a highlight of our whole trip, which has had so many incredible sights.

Chris & Sharon