The pioneer trail

As mentioned in my previous entry, between xmas and New Year´s I went on this incredible 4 day horse trip adventure on the pioneer trail, 2 hours east of Puerto Varas, in the Cochamo valley, at the foot of the Andes close to the Argentina border.

I can´t begin to express how amazing the adventure was...i hope the pics come out Ok from the throw away camera. The gaucho cowboy who was the guide was such a character himself, I could write pages about him. He had trained the horses himself, extremely well by the way... I think he thought of himself as a horse whisperer type. He was on the quiet side, happy to take in the scenery and live with his animals. At night, he slept by the fire on the mats from his saddle, goat skins and various pieces of blankets...and a duvet of course...he would just lay it all down by the fire next to the cow and horse shit... i mean 10cm away...everything was ´10 cm away´ with him ...the fire, the knife, the cow shit... he would empty the bags practically shaking them upside down...camp was a mess.. not sure how he found anything... the whole time i was thinking of the Myers Briggs test (wink to my friends at CCSR) and how people have different personalities but can achieve the same thing... the camp looked like a hurricane went through it... he would hang food bags on trees, leave his knife on the ground, put the hot water kettle by where we sat... i mean, it was just an accident waiting to happen... the second day he pulled out a piece of meat out of his bag...and hung it to a tree: our dinner. After 2 days in the blazing heat, i was trying not to think how safe it would be to eat those ribs...ended up being a delicious asado. Packing up each morning was quite a show...somehow he found all the ropes and pieces he needed to saddle up... quite a routine. So not me!!! not that i want to sound like a neat freak, but there´s a minimum!!

Anyways, the riding was just incredible...we rode through flowers fields where farmers had little yellow, red, orange boxes to collect honey...cute little colored spots against the green valley, almost fluorescent green...it rains so much here. The off through the valley and up the mountain with huge rocks dominating all around us. We had to climb through the forest through huge tree roots and across rivers...i had to lift my feet to tell you how deep it was... not once did the horses complain... not sure how they could even see where they were stepping... also had to cross mud baths and rocky paths... at some points we were in tranches with mud walls on each side and either rocks or timber on the path... the horse could climb over those rocks, not sure how... if i looked at the horse in front of me, he looked like a new born trying to walk with his feet sliding all over the place... i was closing my eyes half the time... crossing rivers was fun...the water was crystal clear...from turquoise to green, depending on the reflection...felt like in a movie...even better. The first day was a 6 hr ride to a ´green plateau´in between these huge rocky mountains with pine trees up to 2/3 of the way up and cascades running down in a few creases...quite spectacular... the green plateau felt like a little paradise out of nowhere...an american bought the land there and built a summer house where he lives 3 months of the year... he has a young chilean boy looking over some cows... and built a refuge for other courageous riders and hikers to camp there... that night the stars were out full force...such a spectacle... i think there´s way more stars in the south hemisphere...i have to check online.

The next day we rode for another 4-5 hrs... went to this beautiful waterfall, that you couldn´t even make up it was so unique and fairytale like...there was a natural bridge coming out of it crossing 1/2 the waterfall...with a tree growing right in the middle... i can´t even describe it was so bizarre...and beautiful... we tied up the horses to some trees and went for a swim in the freezing water... such a dream...(also the only shower for the next few days!)... That night is when we cooked the meat... tasted wonderful...well deserved after the freezing swim.

The third day we started with a hike through a bamboo forest...the gaucho was literally cutting branches and bamboo with his machete to forge the trail... i was trying to keep up the best i can, crawling on all fours at times, balancing on tree trunks that we used as bridges to cross over rocks and bamboo shoots, rappelling with branches over the water trying not to step in the freezing water...eventually we had to cross the river, so we all had to undress to our underwear, carry our pants and shoes to cross over... not sure that a US tour would allow this...hmm... my feet were so red when we arrived to the other side, i couldn´t feel them... anyways, after an hour of playing Indiana Jones, we got to this beautiful water fall... worth every drop of sweat to get there... the way back was easier but still, had to plow through spider webs and mud patches... yuk... happy to get back on the horse and let him do all the hard work.

The 4th day we camped by this unusual waterfall, very wide bolders with water rushing over from all sides (see pic)...we actually went tobogganing on the rocks...so much fun...the rocks are so soft, you just sit with your feet in front, as breaks, and slide ride down to the pool area... freezing though... gets your adrenaline going for sure...and the shock of the cold water surprises you each time, no matter what... happy to get dressed and sit by the fire after that...

On the last day it rained as we made our way back... we had huge ponchos to protect ourselves...and actually in the forest, we weren´t getting too wet... didn´t bother me...made the trip even more unreal and memorable. This fog was hovering over us, made the whole scenery ghostly and fantastical (if that´s a word).

Got back to Cochamo in time for the 5pm bus back to Puerto Varas. Such an incredible trip. I couldn´t believe the horses made it back in one piece or that they didn´t just buck me off after all they went through. The ride itself was quite comfortable...big saddle...no problem there... what you had to be careful of was your legs, especially in the tranches, not to get squished against a rock ... the whole day you´re trying not to get your legs pancaked, your eyes poked by branches, and your body impaled by bamboo... what fun!! I don´t think there would be any travel insurance who would cover such a trip!

All is all, such a fun adventure, especially after reading Ines of my Soul from Isabel Allende where she describes how the pioneers discovered Chile and their adventures crossing the forests and meeting the local Andeans. Felt very similar!!

Will try to post pics as they will tell all.
Off to go canyoning this pm...with Jonathan....as if one crazy adventure wasn´t enough...now i´m going jumping off rocks 8m high into freezing water again (with a wet suit this time!)