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Greetings from Patagonia. Today we're taking you on an epic journey across the Andes mountains from Puerto Varas, Chile to Bariloche, Argentina via a series of boats and buses. This journey is known as the Cruce Andino and this was our return trip. And even though we had traveled this route a few days prior, the return journey had some surprises like a visit to Petrohue Falls, a stay at Hotel Puerto Blest, and a hike to Cascada de los Cantaros. The return trip did not feel repetitive at all and the landscapes were just as impressive as you'd expect from Patagonia. So, let's kick off the journey by bus as we leave Puerto Varas behind.
Alrighty, so next up we are visiting Saltos de Petrohue. Here you've got a series of boardwalks and paths that wind through the forest. And you can also see the way the water has carved this canyon into the rock. Pretty cool, pretty impressive. Sam is a running around getting all the footage for you guys and I'm pushing the stroller. It is accessible. Petrohue Falls is a really cool stop in Vicente Perez Rosales National Park. And this is where you can see the water from Lake Todos los Santos flow over lava that originated from the Osorno volcano. It's a dramatic landscape where turquoise waters are
paired with a black basaltic lava. On a clear day, you can see the Osorno volcano, but fret not. It may look a bit gray, but the skies cleared up and we got those impressive views soon after. Next we boarded our bus again and traveled to the port in Petrohue where we got on a catamaran to cross the length of Lago Todos los Santos, also known as All Saints Lake. Hello. So, we are currently cruising Lago Todos los Santos. Lake of All the Saints. We have seen volcanoes. It's been spectacular.
This little lady has been drinking milk, playing with her toys. Right? The trip continues. This is the first lake of the journey today. Going back from Chile to Argentina. Woo! Who's on the boat? You're on the boat. The journey was incredible. This lake sits in a national park where you are surrounded by old growth Valdivian temperate rainforests. It is so incredibly green. And the Osorno volcano made a special appearance, snow covered and with some low hanging clouds, looking as impressive as ever. Also, there were sections of the lake where the water looked almost emerald green in color. I mean, if you want to see raw, untouched nature, I can't think of a better journey than this one.
We then arrived in Peulla. This is where we had previously stayed on our outbound journey. We had lunch at Hotel Natura Patagonia. They had a three-course buffet on offer, so Sam opted for the soup as his starter while I had the salad. And then he got the lasagna for his main and I had the mustard chicken. And then we both got the passion fruit cheesecake for dessert. After lunch, it was time for our daughter Aurelia to enjoy her favorite activity, the trampoline. She loved it so much when we stayed here that we decided to spend all of our free time right here. Unleash the kraken. The kraken's unleashed.
Unleash the kraken. I think the kraken's going to sleep well. She played so hard. She got to jump on the trampoline. She also got to run around the whole restaurant more or less. Not run around, speed walking. We then boarded another bus where we began the drive from Chile to Argentina. Our girl slept like a champ and before we knew it, we had arrived in Puerto Frias, Argentina. Lake Frias has such a unique color and that is because it is fed by glacial meltwater from the hanging glaciers of Mount Tronador, also known as the thundering mountain. This is the shortest lake crossing on the Cruce Andino journey, but we got a bit of free
time at Puerto Frias to enjoy and soak in the scenery. And that we did. And then after one more bus ride, we arrived at Hotel Puerto Blest for the night. We were pretty wiped from the long journey, but we pulled ourselves down to the restaurant for a quick grilled sandwich and a slice of carrot cake. And that's one thing to keep in mind. If you're planning to do the Cruce Andino trip, you may want to consider breaking up the journey with these hotel stays inside national parks. This allows you to slow down and enjoy the location
a bit longer. We were advised to do so when booking this trip with our baby and I'm really glad we did because it was a demanding journey. That afternoon we had some pool time at Hotel Puerto Blest. We were pleasantly surprised that it was a heated pool, not overly warm, but it was a nice way to unwind after a busy day. I don't think she loves it. Oh, she loved She liked it before. Doesn't like it now. We started the next day with a feast of a breakfast, deli meats and cheese, medialunas, fresh fruit, toast, orange juice, and coffee. It was just what we needed and even Aurelie approved.
Well, good morning friends. We are currently trying to figure out the plan of action for this fine morning. I've got a map of the trail system here at Puerto Blest and we have seven different trails to choose from. They range from 15 minutes, the easiest one, the shortest one, up to 1 hour and 15 minutes. And then, aside from the trails, we also have the option of taking a little boat, a little catamaran from Puerto Blest up until Puerto Cantaros. That happens in the afternoon, so we may just do that and we'll see how far we get with our baby. She's already feeling active.
She's pumped and singing. Ready to go. She's ready to go and we'll see how we're able to take her along on the trails. Hopefully it's stroller friendly. We're going to find out. We don't know. Yeah, I'm not sure this is going to work out. It's quite rocky. Yeah. But we'll see. Yes. We'll see. It's funny like when you ask somebody who doesn't have a baby if it's stroller friendly. Yeah. Cuz they figure a stroller is going to roll, right? I'll I'll I'll be 100% honest. Before I had kids, I was like 100% oblivious to the needs of parents and babies, so I get it. But you know what?
It is a little smoothie here if we have to Is it this part or is that part? know she said go right, so it's that way. try it. I'm not sure how long we'll we'll get. Yeah. But what's nice is we do have some time here, so we kind of have a backup action plan if we're not able to do this as a family. And it would have been so awesome to have the backpack I have back home in Canada. It's a baby carrier. Could have definitely taken her out on that. But that just wasn't possible to Argentina, so yeah, we haven't picked one up since we've been here, which is fine. We'll see what we can do and if we can't do it as a family, after lunch,
I'm going to go off and do some of the trails and film them. So, we got a backup plan. And here through the forest, we can see the waters of the river Frias with that unique turquoise milky color. Hello. Hello baby. You were singing again. Hello. Woo, the Lion King. Wee, Lion King. Well, hello guys. I'm out hiking now. Kudos to Audrey and Aurelia for giving me the opportunity to do this. It's wonderful to be out here on the trail.
The one that I've chosen to do right now is just the short 1 hour hike from the hotel to the waterfall. And so far, I am the only person out here on the trail. I started off with a viewpoint of the hotel. It's the first time I've been able to see the hotel from a higher vantage point and it looks spectacular. And now I'm out on the proper section of the trail. And guys, yeah, there's no way we could have brought this stroller out here. It's just hilarious to think that was a even considered as an option, but it's just fantastic. It's quiet. It's peaceful. There's nobody here. There's a lot of tree cover here at the moment.
There hasn't been any other lookout points, but I'm just enjoying being out here in the thick of nature and having a great time. Alrighty guys, I've reached a point where I want to inform you of another trail. Now, if you had a lot of time, you could consider doing the Paso de las, I think it's Raoulies. And that one is 5 hours and 9 km. So, I'm definitely not going to have time for that. I've only got about an hour left of hiking, but I'm definitely an option if you're staying here and you've decided to do some serious hiking, it is available. So, check that out. Alright friends, I guess we are getting closer to the payoff point, the waterfall at this point. Given the types of steps that we're on at the moment, this feels
like it should be leading towards the waterfall, so very excited and I can't wait to see it. I have earned it. Oh, here we go, baby. Suspension bridge time. Bring it. Bring it on, friends. Woo. Yes sir e Bob, we have arrived to the first viewing point. I can hear the waterfalls crashing down and I can't wait to see them with my own eyes for the very first time. Just a few more steps and we'll have some amazing views. Oh, wow, I can see it now. This is going to be awesome. Worth the hike? Absolutely. There are two ways to visit this waterfall. You can walk from Puerto Blest to Puerto Cantaros, which is 1 hour one way
and from there you need about another half hour to climb up to the different lookout points and see the waterfalls. Alternatively, you can take the boat from Puerto Blest to Puerto Cantaros, about a 5-minute ride, and then you just have to climb up to the viewpoints. Well friends, wrapping up this hiking session and it was fantastic. I'm now walking back on the Sendero Bahia, basically the bay path. And um definitely the highlight was going to visit the waterfall. There were three different vantage points, three different viewpoints um called locally as miradores. And by far, my favorite one was number three. So, if you're visiting, make sure you make it all the way up to the third one. It is a little bit of a climb up
the stairs, but very much well worth it. And overall, this was just a fantastic experience hiking. You know, we only got a little taste of what there is to offer here in this part of the National Park with just 2 hours to do all of this, but it's made me realize that I'd love to come back in the future and actually do some of the more challenging trails, the ones that are 9 km, that take 5 hours. There was that one. There were a couple others to do as well. And so, if you have a couple of nights here, you can probably do that. Um and if you don't have a baby either. But um kudos to Audrey and uh baby Aurelia for giving me the opportunity to go out and experience this. And it's just made me connect a lot more
with this place. You know, when you just kind of hang out at the hotel, you're kind of uh pampered a little bit. But being out in nature and the raw nature in a National Park like this, that's what it's all about. And I'm really glad I had the opportunity to experience this and I highly recommend anyone visiting to go out and get out on the trails and experience the natural beauty here. It's just stunning. So, Sam hiked the entire thing solo, there and back. And then, later that afternoon, we took the boat over so that I could see the waterfalls, too. But by then, it was raining quite heavily, so we stayed on the catamaran and then just continued the journey back to Bariloche across Lake
Nahuel Huapi. And that was our return journey on the Cruce Andino. You have now seen what the trip there and back looks like. This was one of my favorite journeys that we've done in Patagonia in recent years, so I would highly recommend it if you're looking to go more off the beaten path. Lastly, if you enjoyed this video, we invite you to subscribe and we'll see you soon with more videos from Bariloche, where the adventure continues. Ta-ta.
