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Chilean Mothership Trip
Start with a stunning coastline, where
lavishly forested mountainsides plunge
into mirror-calm fjords. Add sea lions and
dolphins, decorate with silvery strands of
waterfalls, and toss in splendid natural hot
springs. Finally, flip the seasons so you can
enjoy all this when the snow flies in North
America.
Welcome to northern Patagonia, where
Chile’s long coastline breaks into a watery
riddle of islands, fjords, rainforest and
glaciers. There are no roads and few
settlements, and compared to the famous
Lake District to the north, or the rocky
spires of Torres del Paine National Park
to the south, this magnificent coastline is
essentially tourist-free.
The southern coast of Chile is also home
to Pumalin Park, created by American
millionaire Douglas Tompkins. Everyone
who reports on Pumalin Park agrees: it’s
beautiful, pristine, and for the most part,
nearly impossible to penetrate by land. In
other words, perfect for sea kayaking. And
with the best fjords widely spaced along
the coast, fjord-hopping by mothership is
the way to go.
One of the few kayak guides serving the
region, Altue Sea Kayaking, uses a homey,
converted fishing boat to support its guided
kayak tours. Francisco de Valle, Altue’s owner,
escorted us from Puerto Montt, two hours
by air south of Santiago, for a six-day trip in
early March. We started with a four-hour drive
south along the Pan American highway—a
pot-holed road winding past colorfully
shingled houses and small farms. At the mistshrouded
town of Hornipiren we met the rest
of the guides and hopped onto Altue’s brightly
painted 55 foot support boat.
As we motored south, the forest shore
seemed to rise vertically from the water.
Gateway to Sechelt Inlet
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porpoisebaycharters@telus.net
June/July 2004 www.WaveLengthMagazine.com
Altue’s 55 foot support boat.
Snowy peaks appeared above the forests,
waterfalls reflected in the calm water, and
a family of dolphins came to play in the
bow wake.
After a few hours, we pulled up to an
uninhabited island, where the kayaks
were lowered off the deck and we dipped
our paddles into the Gulf of Ancud for
the first time. The mist that had encircled
Hornipiren had cleared (in fact, the clear
weather stuck around for the whole week,
something we didn’t take for granted in this
temperate coastal climate).
The next morning, we continued south in
the support boat to the mouth of the first fjord,
called Quintupeu. Quintupeu Fjord is so
secluded and protected from view that back
in World War I, a German battleship damaged
in combat hid here from British pursuers for
a month. These days the fjord is peaceful, its
glassy water reflecting lush mountains and a
rocky ‘bathtub ring’—the dramatic sign of a
twenty-plus foot tidal exchange. We climbed
into the sea kayaks and paddled towards
Quintupeu’s narrow entrance.
Story and photos by Beth Geiger
Just inside the fjord, a series of salmon
pens were an incongruous visual break
in Chile’s otherwise wild coast—a part
of the world that doesn’t have salmon in
its natural ecosystem. Salmon farming is
one of Tompkins’ ongoing conflicts here.
Tompkins and other critics of salmon ➝
KAYAK RENTALS
BROKEN GROUP
ISLANDS
AND
BARKLEY SOUND
UP TO 8 SCHEDULED
TRIPS PER WEEK
FROM PORT ALBERNI
RATES
$35 per day Singles
$50 per day Doubles
SECHART WHALING
STATION LODGE
Rooms & Meals from $70
per person per day
based on 2 night minimum
RATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Water Taxi Service
from Toquart Bay
For pickup ph: 250-720-7358
Used Kayaks For Sale
For More Information
Phone: 250-723-8313
Fax: 250-723-8314
M.V. Lady Rose & M.V. Frances Barkley
located at Argyle Pier,
5425 Argyle St., Port Alberni, BC
CANADA V9Y 1T6
TOLL FREE RESERVATIONS
(April-Sept.) 1-800-663-7192
www.ladyrosemarine.com
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