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After our mechanical woes, it was time to regroup and get on top of work and homeschooling. The glamorous lifestyle of overlanding saw us spend an entire day working at a petrol station just outside Talca. In fact, petrol stations are like beacons of light for us on our journey. They are a source of good wifi, plugs to recharge everything from laptops to toothbrushes, they sometimes have awesome showers and the food is generally pretty good.
This particular station had a huge, modern restaurant which was absolutely packed for most of the day. I’ve never seen anything like it. The number of dishes leaving the kitchen was astounding and the people just kept coming 24/7. If you’re wanting to start a new line of work, I highly recommend opening a gas station near Talca in Chile. This place was a gold mine!
WHAT WE DID IN CHILE THIS WEEK
PUENTE SALTO DEL LAJA
The featured attraction in Puente Salto del Laja is the river and more importantly, the waterfall. A crazy busy spot with loads of people, especially seeing as it is summer holidays for everyone. We found a campsite a little upstream, where we spent 4 days enjoying the river.
The boys had the best time playing table tennis, fuzeball, jumping on the trampolines and being chased by local girls. Yip, these foreign boys were in big demand – lol! We camped in the shade of big trees, hung up hammocks and made fires at night. The weather was super-hot, the river cool and refreshing, Spanish music filled the air and for the first time we felt like we were on holiday.
YELLOW VIADUCT
On Ruta 5, near the town of Compulli, is where you will find the second highest bridge in Chile. This huge, beautifully constructed and bright yellow masterpiece was created by none other than Mr Eiffel, of the Parisian Eiffel tower fame. If you time it right, you can even walk across when there is no train, but you will be taking your life in your hands!
WHAT WE DID IN CONGUILLIO NATIONAL PARK
CONGUILLIO NATIONAL PARK
Chile is filled with stunning National Parks and Conguillio was to be our first park. We entered from the North West where we paid the rather extortionate price of 13500 CLP ($18) to enter the park. The road turned to gravel but was well graded so no problem, but things soon changed. The hills got steeper and I mean WAY steeper. The ups were one thing on the loose gravel, but the downs were even more hectic. Then the road narrowed with sheer mud walls on either sides and trees angled across the road nearly hitting our roof. This road treacherous to say the least and was most definitely not built with a car of our size in mind, but on we soldiered, praying that we didn’t meet any oncoming cars.
Arriving at Lake Conguillio, we were greeted by a stunning view. A huge lake surrounded in snow capped mountains and the Sierra Nevada volcano. A funky restaurant built from huge wooden logs played mellow tunes and colourful kayaks lined the waters edge. The crazy road had been worth it!
In the parking lot we met British Daisy and Welsh Wross, who we had met at the campsite in Puente Salta del Laja. We decided to do the Sierra Nevada hike together the next day.
SIERRA NEVADA HIKE
We parked our vans at the trailhead from where we had stunning view of another nearby volcano – Volcano Llaima. There are Five volcanoes in the area, but today’s hike was taking us to see Volcano Sierra Nevada. We set off uphill through a forest of huge Monkey Puzzle trees all dripping in green Spanish Moss to give it a spooky feel. The trail was fairly steep, but the trees created much needed shade from the blazing sun, so that helped.
It took us 45 minutes to reach the first viewpoint which had a magnificent view over Lake Conguillio and Sierra Nevada volcano. The trail then continued across the ridge of the mountain, with the volcano on the left and a green valley on the right. This part of the trail was much more exposed, and the sun was super hot. It’s not surprising that snow melt could be seen rushing in a multitude of waterfalls down every nook and gorge. There was still a huge patch of ice clinging to the mountainside. We headed right for it and then over it, stopping for a snack break next to a huge section of blueish ice. Tai made a snowball and ate a good few mouthfuls of the ice, as my crazy child is known to do!
I imagine we were lucky to make it this far, as in colder seasons, there would be too much snow to walk this far.
HIKE DISTANCE: 16km
HIKE TIME: 3-4 hours
VOLCANIC AREA
As we approached Laguna Verde in the Conguillio National Park, the landscape changed to charred black earth with big black boulders and not a drop of green. This was petrified lava and obsidian and you could clearly see where it had flowed down the mountain and across the plains from the last eruption of the volcano in 2015. Signs notified us not to stay in the area as it was still an active volcanic area.
We had planned on wild camping at Laguna Verde, but the road was full of sharp obsidian rocks and after a few metres I decided not to chance a flat tyre. There were a few cars driving the circular route around the laguna, but we decided to walk a bit of it instead of driving. The black landscape with a few yellow flowers and the volcano in the background, made for a stunning setting and it’s no wonder that so many overlanders choose to wild camp here.
MELIPUECO
The town of Melipueco was an unexpected, but delightful stop. Driving past the town square, we saw a festival on the go and barbeques with skewers of meat roasting away. The smell was too delicious, and it was dinner time, so we found a parking and went to explore. The streets around the square had been closed to traffic and popup stalls lined the streets selling everything from crafts to food to toys.
We bought some pastries, chicken skewers and drinks and settled down on the steps of the little amphitheater to eat our dinner. The singer on stage had an amazing voice and the crowds were all dancing and singing along. It was super festive!
The town of Melipueco was a pretty little town with the snowcapped Llaima Volcano as a backdrop.
VAN LIFE & LESSONS LEARNT
Driving through the Conguillio Park, a new screeching noise started coming from our back wheel. My heart sank. We were in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road. Now what? We managed to make it to the Park Entrance where the kind ranger called a mechanic to come out to us. It turned out to be a broken spring from the rear brake. The same issue we had had in Paracas in Peru. A quick fix and we were off again.
Despite the seemingly quick fixes, my anxiety levels are through the roof with all these issues. As much as I love the freedom we have to go where we want, see all these amazing off the beaten track sights and be able to sleep where want, I often dream about rather traveling by bus. Yes, I know I’d hate it and we wouldn’t get to see half of what we currently do, but oh to just hand over the responsibility of driving and worrying about this van.
The one thing that keeps me going is knowing that very soon we will have fixed every aspect of this car and then it should be plain sailing. Well, fingers crossed!!
- I can’t figure out who has right of way at the 4-way stops. Some locals say give way to the right. Other say the cars on the bigger road have right of way. I just stop at every intersection. I’m not taking any chances.
WHERE WE STAYED
OUTSIDE TALCA: We wild camped at the COPEC petrol station. Big, clean, modern with full restaurant, clean bathrooms, wifi and hot showers for 800 pesos. Drive around back for a peaceful night.
GPS: S 35°31’54.06”, W 71°41’16.74”
CAMPING LA ISLA: This was a really beautiful campsite set alongside the river. Hot showers, clean bathrooms, sinks to was dishes and a washing machine you could use for only 1000 CLP. For the kids there was a table tennis table, fuze ball, trampolines and old arcade game machines. The cost was 4500 CLP per person per night, but we did a deal and got it for 3300 CLP per night. There was wifi at the reception.
GPS: S 37°13’4.50”, W 72°21’53.40”
CONGUILLIO NATIONAL PARK: We wild camped in the big dirt parking lot next to Lake Conguillio. A really stunning setting with the lake and volcano as a backdrop. There is a little shop, a restaurant and bathrooms. No wifi.
GPS: S 38°38’48.06”, W 71°39’3.36”
MELIPUECO: We wild camped on a side street near the main square. No facilities.
GPS: S 38°51’15,65”, W 73°41’43.24”
DISTANCE TRAVELLED
We travelled from Talca > Puento Salta de Laja > Conguillo National Park > Melipeuco
Total Distance: 483 km
TRAVEL COSTS
I will be providing our basic travel costs per week, so that you get an indication of what a trip like this entails. Bear in mind that we are budget travelers, so your budget could vary depending on your lifestyle choices. For example, we always opt for the cheapest and often, hole-in-the-wall restaurants and only require very basic accommodation. For us, the experiences are where it is all at, so we’d rather spend money on activities.
The costs below are for the full 7 days. They do not include campervan repair costs, visas and insurance costs.
The costs below are shown in Chilean Pesos (R1 = 54 CLP) ($1 USD = 774 CLP).
Vehicle Costs
- Fuel = 156012 CLP
- Tolls = 8600 CLP
Accommodation/Camping
- Camping La Isla = 4 nights = 26400 CLP
Attractions
- Conguillio National Park = 13500 CLP
Food
- Restaurant = 16000 CLP
- Supermarket = 22700 CLP
Van Supplies and Living
- Laundry = 0
- Phone Data = 0
TOTAL = 24 3212 CLP = USD $315 or R4550
WHERE TO NEXT
From here we are heading to the town of Pucon and then back into Argentina to explore the Seven Lakes Route around Bariloche.
