The first day we wandered around and got to know the town, which is quite small and not touristy at all. For being the fly fishing capital of Chile it was amazing that they only had 1 fly fishing shop in the whole town. The scenery is incredible; the sky is so blue and clear, which is quite the contrast from the Santiago smog. We decided to throw our line in the water and give the Patagonian waters a try. We got a ride out of town ~10 miles to the Coyhaique river and fished the evening hatch, which was a success. While the fish were not too big, they put up a good fight and it was a perfect end to the day. We fished through the sun set, and then began our trek back to down; which was an adventure as we had no ride, no cell phone service, and there was a good 10 miles between us and our hostel. We started the hike back to town and after about a mile we were picked up by 2 local farmers who gave us a ride back to town. It is amazing how kind and welcoming the Chileans are in the South. Not that we aren't in Santiago, but small town Chile, is much like small towns everywhere where they open their doors and welcome you at any time.
As we had never fished in the area before, we decided to get a local guide to join us for our second day. And it was the best decision ever, as we would have never found the lake, nor the fish, without his help. We spent a full day with Diego (our guide) at Lago Alto, about 2 hours south of Coyhaique. The fishing was wonderful, but I must say it was more like hunting than anything, as we were actually stalking the fish. Rather than just casting the line out to where we thought there would be fish (which is my usual technique) we actually walked the edges of the lake with Diego, looking for fish ahead of us. And the crazy thing is that you could actually see them.. they were huge! The fish were all between 2-5 lbs and this lake had only brown trout. Once you spotted a fish, you would hunker down, so that it didn't see you, and then you had to cast the fly right in front of the fish, when it was facing the right direction, while at the same time not trying to get caught in the trees in your back cast, and also not being seen by the fish. And all of this with 25mph winds whipping around.. so it was a challenge. But we prevailed and had a great time along the way. Here are the two trophy fish of the day.
A local Chilean tradition in the South, as it is very remote (they have no cell, nor house phones) is to stay with a local family during your visit. And after a long day fishing, and upon a recommendation from our local friend, we decided to stay with Mary, in her home, for two days. We shared breakfast and dinner with Mary and her family and we felt, in many ways, like we were adopted on a short term basis. While we weren't at the house much, as we were out enjoying the wilderness, it was wonderful to wake up to home made bread and biscuits every morning and enjoy the dinner meal with her and her family. They eat a lot of bread in the south and every kitchen has an old stove where they heat the house, cook all meals, and bake incredibly (yet very heavy) bread.
The view out of Mary's kitchen window looks out upon Cerro Castillo (photo above), which is named Castle Mountain for the unique formation at the top of the mountain. The peak is the formidable point on the horizon and for some unknown reason, we decided to climb it. Not to the top, but to the lagoon that sits just below the pilars. It is a 9 hours hike in total and as I am writing this, I still think I am sore. But it was worth it. The view from the top, as you can see in the photos below, was spectacular. And we were lucky to have such a clear day, as Patagonia is know for rainy overcast days (similar to Seattle). We had the entire mountain to ourselves, minus a few cattle along the way.
The day ended with an asado (BBQ) at Mary's house where she cooked a local lamb and her family joined us for the meal. We devoured the meal and it was the perfect end to a long, yet fulfilling, day.
The morning following our hike we picked ourselves up out of bed and headed further south (2.5 hr by car) to Puerto Tranquillo to see the marble chapel and cathedral. But Puerto Tranquillo was anything but tranquil. The winds were quite strong and we had to talk the boat guide into taking us out on the lake, as he had closed for the afternoon. That was the first sign that we were in for a bumpy ride. The boat ride out to the pilars only took about 30 minutes, and then we enjoyed the scenery of these amazing natural structures by ourselves (because no one else was crazy enough to go out on the lake in such bad weather). The striking caves, caverns and formations have been carved away by the strong water over thousands of years. But I must say it was not only the formations that were impressive; the color of the water was also striking, as the blue/white marble under the water reflected an immense amount of light and it appeared like the water was almost glowing. We toured the caves for ~20 or so and then the excitement began...the ride back to the dock. The trip that took 30 min on the way out took ~50 to return. 
We had to follow the shoreline back, and there were times when the waves were higher than the boat (you actually had to look up to see the top of the wave). It was impressive. As we had to catch our flight, we hopped back in the car and drove the 2.5 hours back to the airport. For all of those who have always wanted to take a trip to Patagonia, I could not recommend a more beautiful place to feel at peace with nature and feel like you are in a truly wild and remote place. It is like the Montana of South America, as the sky feels huge, it has a great deal of untouched wilderness and fishing in abundance. And you will hear from us again about this part of Chile, as we are going to be taking my Mom and Dad there for a fishing trip when they come to visit in February. So this trip was the perfect reconnaissance mission for our future trip.
We send our best to everyone for a wonderful holiday, Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah. Hopefully everyone will be spending the holiday surrounded by loved ones, and being able to sort through the unnecessary stresses of the holidays and truly being able to enjoy the beauty of the celebration.
Coming up in our next post... Merry Christmas from Chile!!! We will share our pool-side holiday stories.
-Dessa and Victor
