"So where IS the Chilean fishing village of Raul Marin", we asked each other after having paddled our kayaks 25 miles down the Rio Palena to the sea, and an additional 15 long miles up the coast. Sitting in our double kayaks, seemingly miles away from civilization, we passed the hand sketched map back and forth as we pondered this question. An even foremost question in our minds was 'will we find a beach on which to land SOON' because the sun had already set and we had gone many miles paddling past steep cliffs with thick green growth and no place to land. The only choice was to keep on paddling.

This adventure began on February 1, 1993, when the four of us - Rich Henke, Patrick Neely, Janet Niichel, and Rena Tishman - arrived in Santiago, the teeming capital of this up and coming first world country. Chile is as long as the United States is wide. The southern most third of the coast (below Puerto Montt) is a maze of islands, fjords, and long inlets. It is to this area that we traveled to undertake a sea kayak trip. We brought two double kayaks; a Klepper, and an inflatable. Although the airline baggage weight allowance easily accommodated our many bags of equipment which weighed an amazing 550 pounds, we would spend too many hours arranging transport of our gear over the next 6 weeks. From Santiago, we took an 11 hour overnight bus, which included wide reclining seats, window curtains, and a steward serving cocktails, to Puerto Montt in the Lake District of southern Chile. As we were served our breakfast early the next morning, we could see the cool fog lifting off one of the many lakes in this popular tourist district.

The terrain south of Puerto Montt is very rugged. Only a single road consisting of gravel sections connected by ferry crossings continues south to Coyhaique and beyond. After 500 miles the road ends. To reach Patagonia in the extreme southern part of Chile, it is necessary to take a boat or detour through Argentina.

From Puerto Montt, we traveled south by local bus and ferry enlisting the aid of friendly locals to provide transport for us and our gear when none was available. After 3 days we arrived at the sleepy town of La Junta on the Rio Palena. Here we began the first leg of our kayak trip where we floated down this broad peaceful river passing dense jungle covered shores along the way. Our first night was spent by a delightful hot springs, near the rumored hideaway of an old German hermit.

Fifty miles from our launch point, we were to arrive at the small coastal community of Raul Marin, a town connected to the outside world only by a once a week supply boat, the Chabuco. Our plan was to catch the Chabuco which would carry us to Puerto Cisnes - our launch point for the next leg of our kayak adventure. However, in Chile, things often do not go as planned.

Paddling through the wavy mouth of the Rio Palena into the sea was a first for all of us and the event was witnessed by a school of dolphin. We became confused by the maze of channels and islands at the coast, since we had only a rough hand drawn map. We headed for a point we thought was Raul Marin, only an hour away, but 5 hours later as darkness overtook us, we made a hasty beach camp at the first available landing point with the lights of Raul Marin nowhere in sight. We had an early start the next day in order to reach the town in time to catch the Chabuco supply boat, but it was not to be. After searching in a remote bay for some time longer, we were amazed to spot a Chilean couple standing ankle deep in the water, harvesting seaweed. They were collecting bags of seaweed by hand which would subsequently be dried and exported to Japan for use as agar and collagen. We were dismayed to learn from these sole residents of the area that we were in a bay called Tic-Toc, and had overshot our destination by at least 15 miles. We retraced our path along the rustic, cliffy coastline, enjoying the sea lions, dolphins, and penguins (this far North!) en route. After several hours of paddling and discussions with inhabitants of the colorful Chilean fishing boats we encountered at sea, finally we came upon the lighthouse at the entryway to the fishing village of Raul Marin. Only, we arrived too late to meet the supply ship.

Being stranded, we made the best of it. It did not turn out so badly. We camped under the umbrella of several huge trees by a field of wild strawberries. The locals stopped by our camp and visited us when they came to pick strawberries in the evenings. They also brought us jars of locally smoked mussels and crab for sale. That week, we explored the town of several hundred people, ate fresh empanadas (triangular deep fried pockets containing various mixes of fresh seafood, beef, cheese, or fruit), did a 2 day exploration of the huge bay nearby, which included having a shower from buckets of water heated on a stove at a local's retreat, and took a dayhike through the lush, mossy and living jungle to the other side of the island, while waiting for the boat to return the following week.

The Chabuco arrived on schedule and we finally were able to board and continue with our plan. After fifteen hours of weaving our way through narrow sea channels lined with lush green mountains covered with giant foliage, rushing waterfalls, and revealing huge snow covered volcanic glaciers at every bend, we arrived in Puerto Cisnes. Here we would embark on a 100 mile sea paddling trip along the protected coast to Puerto Chacabuco. But not so quickly. To our dismay, when we checked in with the local Chilean Navy to get a permit for our trip, they expected us to have a walkie-talkie radio. Even our limited Spanish allowed us to get the message loud and clear. "No walkie-talkie, no kayak trip". After much arguing with the Navy, discussions with a helpful storekeeper, the police, the big salmon factory manager, other Chilean tourists, and even the mayor of Puerto Cisnes, we had no success. We tried to buy or borrow a walkie-talkie in Puerto Cisnes. This was a small town and there were none to be had. Our only hope was to buy one in Coyhaique, about 120 miles away. This took us 3 days, two 6 hour bus rides, and an unexpected outlay of $400. Finally on February 24, two weeks later than scheduled, we launched our kayaks in the sea. The weather was great; it had been great for over a week. We wondered how long it was possible to have good weather in Chile.

The kayaking terrain is very similar to southeast Alaska and the Queen Charlotte Islands. Heavy vegetation extends to the high tide line and it is difficult to find camping spots, except at places where streams emerge from the high cliff-like shores. Here camping is possible but mosquitoes like these areas also. Chile has no bears (or snakes either) but we were pestered by a very large biting fly called a coliguacho, similar to a horsefly which appears when the weather is good. Early in the trip, we were lucky to encounter sea life in the form of a large colony of sea lions that were so curious about us that a group of at least 30 of them followed our boat all the way beyond their bay as we paddled past.

The weather turned bad on our second day and got worse on day 3 when we had to round a point exposed to northwest winds. We turned back when we encountered huge breaking waves extending across the entire horizon, and made an early camp with plans to try again the next day. The next day, in anticipation of bad weather we geared up in wet suits and extra layers of clothing to be prepared to deal with the weather. Only, we were to learn later as we paddled uncomfortably in our hot clothing that the storm had passed, and we had mirror smooth water and bright sunny skies. It was hard to believe these were the same stormy seas of the prior day. We put in a 19 mile day to reach Puerto Aguirre that evening. This was a remote fishing town of 1000 people located on an island. We spent 2 nights camped on a small private island nearby and spent time in the village. The town was built on the side of a hill. From the top, you could see the multicolored houses as well as a large snow capped volcano surrounded by glaciers across the bay. The people were friendly and helpful, invited us into their homes, gave us fresh mussels and eel to take back to our camp, and told us about the Chilean way of life. We were supposed to check in with the Chilean Navy here but decided we had been harassed enough by the authorities already. Continuing on toward our destination of Puerto Chacabuco, we camped at a beautiful sand beach with a 270 degree view, warm sea water, and no insects. It was the best camping spot we had in Chile. The following night we camped in a large cove and spent the afternoon soaking in one of the finest hot springs we have ever encountered; there were seven private lush and hot steamy pools with many kinds of birds living in the surrounding foliage.

On the afternoon of our 9th day, we arrived in Puerto Chacabuco and the weather was still good. The locals told us that February had been an unusually good month. Puerto Aguirre gets about 40 days of sunshine per year and it is said that in nearby Puerto Aisen, it rains 370 days per year!

Here, our group separated. We shipped all the kayak gear back to Santiago by truck. (It was lost and barely found in time to make the plane home.) Patrick and Janet flew to Patagonia and hiked through the spectacular mountains of Torres del Paine National Park for several weeks. With less time available, we took a ferry north to Chiloe Island and spent several relaxing days budget traveling before heading back to Santiago and home.

The kayaking was a fun adventure but managing our heavy equipment was more time consuming and tiring than anticipated. We will do things quite differently next time. We loved Chile and want to return to visit our new friends and make up some of our time lost searching for the town of Raul Marin.

General Information

It is easy to travel in Chile. Transportation is efficient and inexpensive and the people are helpful and friendly. Airfare to Chile was less than $900 using ticket consolidators. You can buy almost everything that we have in the USA in the Chilean food markets; Of course, with much less choice in the small villages. Expect to have to use Spanish when south of Puerto Montt. It is very unusual to hear any English spoken. The south is crowded with tourists in January and February, mostly Chileans from Santiago escaping the summer heat. In March, the restaurants and hotels are almost empty. Simple adequate lodging is available everywhere for between $10 and $15 per night for a double.

Kayaking conditions are similar to the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia, and Southeast Alaska. Be prepared for rain at all times. We experienced very little wind but may have been lucky. It is not cold. Temperatures were about 60 degrees F at night. We did not find white gas for fuel. We used kerosene.

We met Adrian Turner of Andean Leisure Ltd. in Puerto Montt who is very helpful. He runs a travel agency, speaks English, and can organize all kinds of adventure trips. He even has a collection of used English books. His telephone number is 065-2585555.