Activity Summary
Monday 4th December - Day 426
Ferry to Castro, Chiloe Island
Drive to Puerto Montt
Drop car at First Rent A Car
Buy bus tickets to Bariloche
Chill in the hostel
Tuesday 5th December - Day 427
Check out
Bus to San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina
Chilean border crossing
Transport
Puerto Montt
Ferry from Chaiten to Castro
Drive from Castro to Puerto Montt (small ferry in between)
Accommodation
Puerto Montt - Si Po Hostel
Number of nights - 1
Price per night per person - £18
Positives:
Private room
Separate beds
Close to the bus terminal
Kitchen was decent
Negatives:
Shared bathroom
Bedroom door was a nightmare to close
Recommend?
Yes
Diary
Monday 4th December - Day 426
The ferry arrived at Castro roughly on time which was a nice surprise. The journey started off pretty chops but as soon as we left the bay and were out on the open Sound it seemed to be pretty smooth sailing.
We both got some rest despite the TV pricks and a nearby snoring foghorn threatening to derail this.
From Castro it was do in reverse the outward leg from a few weeks before. The small ferry gave Luke a chance to grab a coffee and we were in Puerto Montt at around 10am.
Thankfully we were able to check into our hostel early so it allowed us to dump everything from the car for a sort out later.
Not needing the car anymore we dropped it back at First Rent A Car and while we had no problems regarding damage (woop woop) Luke had a problem with them trying to return the guarantee to his now expired Amex. Conversing all this via Google translate was a pain in the ass and we ended up having to leave it, pick up Luke’s new card for him to return to resolve.
Next order of business was to buy bus tickets to Bariloche for the next day. It cost CLP35kpp and a lot cheaper than online.
Nicola sorted through our stuff while Luke, replacement Amex now in hand after many an annoying conversation with Amex and DHL to get it sent successfully, returned back to First. The new card didn’t work and then after much pressing found out there was nothing to worry about and the hold would expire after 15 days. He then found out there wasn’t actually any hold on his card and the whole ordeal was pointless.
He had a de-stressing walk back to the hostel and through a combination of exhaustion and Puerto Montt having very little to offer, did little but rest, chill and cook.
Tuesday 5th December - Day 427
Our bus to Bariclohe was around midday so we had a nice chill morning, checked out at 11am and were then on the bus to the border.
The journey was easy enough, this time Luke not having to worry about bad weather closures between Chile and Argentina, but border control on the Chilean side seemed to take a while. Every time we stopped we never really got clear instructions about what to do so often people just sat on the bus like lemons until someone took the lead.
Getting out of Chile is so much easier than entering. PDIs taken, passports stamped and then we were back on the bus driving through the mountain pass.
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