Chilean Relaxin

After a couple of hectic weeks of Iron(wo)man and wedding, Jess and I were fortunate enough to be able to head south for a little while to relax before getting back into full swing in Alaska.  We went primarily to the northern Patagonia region of Chile...it was awesome.

We spent our first day wandering around Santiago checking things out and recovering from the flight before heading on to Coyhaique, the regional hub for northern Patagonia.  It was a pretty cool city.

Just outside of Coyhaique we did some easy hiking, dipping our toes in the mountains to come.

We did most of our traveling on the Carretera Austral, a gravel road running along the spine of Chile's mountains.  Think old-school Alcan highway with more cows and you've got the right idea.

Our first stop on the road trip was this hot springs resort, reached by boat across a sound.  It had three outdoor pools and an indoor pool, and was a nice bit of luxury on the trip.

We took a kayak out into the sound from the hot springs and were treated to an awesome rainbow, one of many on the trip.

After the hot springs we did some hiking in Quelat National Reserve, a rain forest that rises up to glacier, like this one in the distance.

A hike in Quelat was entitled "El Bosque Encantando," or the enchanted forest.  To quote Jess, "I am so enchanted by this forest."

Though this photo doesn't do it justice, this hike ended in a bowl of mountains with waterfalls cascading on all sides.

We spent two days backpacking in Cerro Castillo National Reserve.  Chile was in late spring, so there was still snow in many places, with these amazing spires rising out of the forest.

Adventuring.

A panoramic of our campsite in Cerro Castillo.  The mountain on the right is the eponymous "hill."  They were all impressive.

A view of the ice fields from the road.  Though the picture doesn't accurately represent any of it, the river was an incredibly deep blue, especially contrasted against the glacier.

Our last hike was in the Parque Patagonia.  As usual, the views were spectacular.

Awesome view from the road overlooking the Rio Baker and Patagonian steppe.  Because the road runs parallel to the mountains rather than intersecting them, the views anywhere you drive are awesome, and you're never far from getting out of the truck and doing some great hiking.  It's too much to see in just a week, but we squeezed a good amount in, and had a great time.  Awesome country.