Cambios

Day 1

We started in increased team size as we joined forces with GPT Packrafter Daniel on this leg. Leaving camp Abuelo Daniel at 6:45am we hoped to ensure smooth passage on Lago Rivadavia and Lago Verde. Note that if you leave too late, there will be strong headwinds on both lakes starting typically from early afternoon, as the general rule is that winds are traveling from the Chilean cost inland starting around noon.

We managed to cross Lago Rivadavia without problems, but had some headwinds already on Lago Verde. We pushed through this short lake and floated down Rio Arrayanes. By the time we reached Lago Futalaufquen, the wind was strong. As the direction of the valley points inland we now had a good tailwind and set our sails. We camped further down the lake just before turning eastwards around the first corner. I won’t specify the spot, as we camped wild and were visited by rangers coming down from the road at around 9pm. They were very clear that wild camping is not allowed in Argentinian National Parks and we had to excuse our ignorance on this matter, even tough we camped only 5 meters away from the official free camper van camp spot. Camping is ONLY allowed at the official campsites in Argentinian NPs. I guess as it was so late and the next camp site quite a ways away, they made an exception and only took photos of our passports for registration purposes. I want to strongly discourage anyone from doing the same as we did. They were very strict and even though they may have made an exception, I’m sure that they will not do the same next time! Be more responsible than we were.

Day 2

We expected to have a calm morning, but winds were not in our favor. We waited until around 11am for the head winds to slow down and then set off paddling towards Villa Futalaufquen. After turning onto the southwards stretch, winds slowly started to shift and we got some tailwind. We set the sails on both boats and continued along the western shore southwards, only to be stopped half way down by officials, which told us that we cannot paddle on the western side of the lake. They mentioned that the beach at the southwestern end of the lake is used as a private landing point for motor boats, and we should stay away from it. They asked us to cross the lake to the eastern side. We continued to sail, now in southeast direction, and landed at about the middle of the lake and concluded a great GPT section.