In our last video, we took several ferries to access the main stretch of Chile’s Carretera Austral. This 1,240-kilometer road is famous the world over for its stunning natural beauty and remoteness. It is an international destination and we drove there from the United States!
If you missed our previous video about the north half of the Carretera Austral, then make sure you go back and watch it. We faced a lot of challenges that set the scene for this video, like the complete loss of electricity in our Jeep home.
In this video, we’ve settled in to drive the southern half of the Carretera Austral. It’s not the idyllic journey we imagined, but that’s life. We make the most of what we’ve been handed. One thing is for sure: the Carretera Austral is absolutely gorgeous.
Watch now:
The big highlight was taking a boat tour to the marble caves (Catedral de Marmol), leaving Puerto Río Tranquilo and venturing out on the turquoise-colored Lago General Carrera.
We also get to hike to the confluence of Río Baker and Río Neff, where muddy, silt-filled water swirls together with brilliant blue.
This chapter ends on a cliff-hanger. Will we get on the ferry from Caleta Yungay to Puerto Natales (we don’t have tickets)? Or will we have to backtrack north and cross over to Argentina to drive down to Punta Arenas? The electrical part we need to fix our system is waiting there. If we don’t get on the ferry, then we’ll have to drive more than 1,200 kilometers over rough roads to get to Punta Arenas–some 17 hours of driving.
The stakes are high.
What’s new at Hourless Life?
We had a great Zoom call one week ago with our Patreon supporters. Both free and paid supporters were invited to join. We talked about Latin American overlanding, our plans for Africa, how carnets de passage work (they’re like a visa for your vehicle in Africa), what Caspian’s been up to, safety and security on the road, and so much more. Don’t miss any of our Patreon benefits; join here.
I’ve been actively updating our blog here at hourlesslife.com. Many of our keystone articles have been refreshed, including:
- How We Afford to Travel Full-time
- 10 Full-time Overlanding Families Traveling Internationally
- Jeep Lovers Gift Guide
I also just published a resource for people interested in the Pan-American Highway, addressing whether people really need to know Spanish before making the trip:
We’ll continue to release new resources over the next couple of months, before we leave Mexico to see family and friends in the United States.
Thanks for being part of our journey.
-B
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