A Unique Walking Town
At the southern end of the Carretera Austral, there are a few different routes to complete the journey. At this time, any of the options that involved crossing into Argentina were impossible or impractical. As I went south, by sharing information with other travelers, it became clear that I needed to take a boat. Fortunately, the ferry leaves from Caleta Tortel, a destination in itself.
The highway ends at the start of this town with a bus stop and gas station. After that point, there are no more streets, just wooden walkways and stairs. The town is long and skinny, wrapping around a cove. People can be seen carrying building materials, restaurant supplies, and luggage on the network of walkways. (Unfortunately, I was the one heaving a touring bike around in the rain.) The next day, the 25 minute walk along the length of town became familiar and engaging. Check it out in this video:
The ferry departed late at night, and we sailed for two days through the web of fjords that slice southern Chile into a bunch of mountainous islands.
