A REMOTE BORDER CROSSING
After saying goodbye to Manuel who had 10 days to ride to Buenos Aires for his flight home to Switzerland, we crossed back into Chile. Rio Bella Vista is a tiny, relaxed border post miles from anywhere. Marked by these neat rusted steel markers I struggled to get a good photo because of the sun’s position.
The process took all of five minutes on each side. Chile gave a quick glance in the fridge (three tomatoes allowed to live on). They were more interested in a visiting cowboy and his horse than in us
Turning once more down a gravel road we made our way toward Caleta María, Chile’s most southern drivable road. The track wound through a stark, beautiful landscape—beaver dams flooding the forest, skeletal trees rising from still water, and long switchbacks dropping toward the sea. It felt utterly remote, like driving into the end of the Chilean world.
And at the end, the road —wind. Relentless, howling wind. We camped the night anyway. Took a walk on the beach and enjoyed the remoteness
Because where else would you rather be?
FISHING THE RIO GRANDE
Retracing our steps from Caleta María, we then crossed the Río Grande. This region is famous for the big Sea Run Brown and Sea Trout and Jaxon wants to go fishing! The river has strict catch and release rules to ensure sustainability. A haven for fly fisherman who come here from all over the world, spending thousands of dollars on guides for the opportunity to reel and release their slippery catch.
We tried two different locations, the first Tim caught a medium sized brown on his first cast, after a medium sized sea trout. But it was Jaxon who landed the trophy fish at the second location. He was surprised and beside himself when he landed this magnificent fish who fought hard for 10 minutes.
Keeping tension on the line Jaxon reeled him in for just long enough to remove the hook and snap a couple of photos before letting him back into the river. A fish that size could have fed us for a week! Giving Jaxon great satisfaction to return it to the water and watch him swim away.
Fish growing up to be this size has survived the ocean, seals, orca and fishing nets certainly deserves to keep swimming. The following morning he was out the door early and landed a second big fish, this time a beautiful Sea Trout!
Now turning north, we headed for Porvenir, a small settlement on the edge of the Strait of Magellan. Once a gold rush town, its history is tied to exploration, hardship, and the passage of ships through one of the most important natural waterways on Earth—linking the Atlantic and Pacific long before the Panama Canal existed.
Wrapping up our visit to the island of Tierra del Fuego
One Response
the beavers were introduced by canada to start an industry after WW2–
maybe 24 beers which have now expanded to tens of thousands and Chile & Argentina don’t have the funds to reduce their numbers. Their dams are blocking many rivers. I welcome someone fact checking this as it’s from my memory–Lennox