John the Laborer

Cerro Castillo in Chile.

After Tupungato, I went to a town near the Chilean border called San Martín de los Andes. Basically a really touristy town full of vacationing Argentines right outside of a national park. I was able to escape the vacationers and get some good hiking and camping in. My thoughts however were on getting further south.

Parque Nacional Lanín near San Martin de los Andes, Argentina.

After a brutal 3 day journey (going from San Martin de los Andes to Bariloche to Comodoro Rivadavia to Los Antiguos - all in Argentina by bus - to Chile Chico to Puerto Ibañez - in Chile by boat) I now find myself in Coihaique, a city in Chilean Patagonia surrounded by the Andes mountains. I am meeting a friend here from the US and we are headed to work at a place called Estancia Chacabuco. It is owned by Douglas Tompkins, the founder of The North Face Company, who hopes to eventually turn it over to the Chilean government so that it can be opened to the public. Before that can happen, a lot of manual labor needs to be done in order to turn it from a working ranch into a park that can be enjoyed by everyone. That is where I come in. I have volunteered to be a manual laborer at this place for three weeks. I will be living in a tent and probably very cold, but I am really looking forward to getting up there.

Wish me luck...