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==Season 2024/25==
* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2025-02-14 to 2025-02-15 / 2 days / Packrafting/ SOBO/ RP, variant G / Tomáš &Natalie'''</span>
From La Junta camp, it took us about 5,5 hours to reach the hot spring (Variant G) despite facing significant wind for the last 90min (20-30 km per hour?). The river is nicely flowing despite having several slower sections. Rapid 24.1 caused us trouble. In the middle of the two rapids I wanted to check the map for the hot springs, so we exited to the giant eddy on the right. When we tried to re-enter, Nat wanted to make a plan, but I did not give it enough time, so we ended up edging wrongly, hitting whirlpools that filled our Beluga (we named our raft!) and almost capsizing not that far from some large strainers. I was not expecting the whirlpools and eddy lines to be that strong. Natalie did not want to risk falling in front of the strainers again, so she chose to walk (more like crawl) through driftwood to the lower part of the rapid. With more care, I had no issues entering the current the second time though. The hotspring belongs to somebody, you are not supposed to loiter, make fires or camp. It has a good temperature and is clean, visit it! It does not seem to be used often, judging from footprints, so you would probably get away with camping. The two changing rooms might be big enough for one person in each to sleep diagonally, or perhaps (!) pitch a tent next to them. During the day, there were no mosquitoes there. We left around 6PM and at that time the wind had subsided. We paddled the next 10 km to here: -43.90048, -72.82275 in 100 minutes. Jen Ni notes that the tide begins to cause an effect around the large 270°turn, so we wanted to get close to there since our low tide the next day was at 10:30am (Puerto Montt). At camp we were not "swarmed" by mosquitoes like Davide, but there were many, and they were unusually vicious. We started with first light shortly before 7am the next day. It took us 80 minutes to paddle 7,7 km to the water waypoint. The next 7.5 to camp at 61.7 took 70 minutes and the last 6 km to Canal Garrao took another hour, so we arrived at the canal by 10:30am. Therefore, without headwind and with tide in your favour, you can get to the Canal in five hours from the hot spring. In the canal, which took 90 minutes, there was no significant wind or tide. We had to walk the boat for a few hundred meters on the beach, as we kept to the left, but boats passing by on the right indicated that the right was deeper. I chose to follow the RP for the last bit, which crosses the fjord to the north even though Nat was favoring staying along the longer southern coast. When you face a rising tide, my idea to stay on the RP is probably not such a good idea. Both wind and tidal currents seem to be concentrated between mainland and the island at -43.79032, -72.93086, producing a strong push against you. It employed all our strength to overpaddle it, and because all exits are covered in barnacles, there was no place to rest. It took us 80 minutes to paddle there and back to the southern shore (~3km); -43.78535, -72.94612, where the wind and current were significantly less and we saw the cute dolphines. So moral of the story, if one is fighting the tide/wind we recommend staying along the southern shore or going left of the small island.
In Puerto RMB, Hostal el Viajero is still 15 thousand per person. There are rooms for either two or three people, no dorms and a large garden for cleaning your boat. We had the whole second floor to ourselves, giving us one of the best ever price to quality over the whole GPT. Entel in town was slow (3G+) but functional. The shop selling the ferry tickets (Supermercado Isla del Palena) does not have Starlink, the restaurant/hospedaje next door does (Hostería Isla del Palena). I bought the last three nectarines in town. The next day, the ferry arrived ten minutes late at 9am and took one hour to discharge its cargo to townspeople, though we were told sometimes it comes and leaves in 10 minutes. It passes a penguin colony on these island: -43.77428, -72.95423 and -44.48459, -72.72564, which were close enough to observe. There were also many swimming around the ship as we left RMB. The stop in Melimoyu was long (1 hour?), perhaps ask if you have enough time to go walk around the carless village. The ferry arrived at 20:30, about one hour (?) late. From Puerto Cisness, a bus leaves for Coyhaique right after (well, more like half an hour) the ferry arrives. You can buy tickets in the office on board of the ferry. We had to pay the full fare of 10 thousand CLP to go to Villa Manihuales, which took 2 hours. There was a short weather window and we thought it would be easier to get to start of 29P from there.
* <span style="background-color:aqua;">'''2025-Jan-18 to 2025-Jan-19 / 2 days / Packrafting / SOBO / RP + Variant G + RP / Davide Materia'''</span>
