Turning North!

It happened... we turned north. After 3.5 years, our southbound adventure ended at the small town of Puerto Natales, Chile. We turned around on March 1st to retrace our path through the Patagonian Andes. We had originally planned to drive 400 miles farther to "the tip", but a sure way to keep the focus on the journey, rather than the destination, is to avoid arriving.

We HAD to try a jumping picture with these sculptures in Puerto Natales

Our turnaround was cause for neither sadness nor celebration. Instead, I found myself reflecting on the past 6 years of travel and living in our home on wheels. My emotions really are nothing more than gratitude for being able to do what we do.

I selected some of the pictures we took as we headed back north through Chile and Argentina over the month that followed:

The real reason we turned around: a return trip to the excellent little D'Olbeck brewery in Coyhaique, Chile   

On our second visit, we still found new things to see and secluded, jungle-like camping spots along the Carretera Austral, Chile

You probably wouldn't be surprised to learn this river near El Bolson is called "Rio Azul" (Blue River)

High above Lago Faulkner, we caught this guy keeping tabs on us - he/she followed us around for a bit.

 

Sunset over Lago Villarino

The recently exploded Villarica volcano continued to smoke as we hiked nearby

Our last hike in the Andes - near Lircay National Reserve in Chile

Fear not, even though we are heading north, the adventures will continue. Stayed tuned.