We boarded and left port pretty well on time. The ferry was full and we were lucky we had tickets because one person with vehicle almost did not get on until someone felt sorry for him and opened the office to sell him a ticket. The crossing took 5+ hours and we were pitched to and fro and regularly doused with crashing waves. There was a campground in Chaiten but when we arrived the gate was chained and no one was around. This is a very basic outpost and I guess that we are slightly ahead of the high season so who is going to sit around and wait for a camper that MIGHT come by. I'm sure we could have asked around town and maybe someone would have let us in but that would be hoping so we kept driving. We looked for another supposed campground but it was not obvious and we were not willing to engage our detective skills so kept driving. Aha! a camping sign- we followed it and found a very upscale hotel/lodge with campground in the forest on the shore of Lake Yelcho. It was quite nice and we found our ideal spot and again no competition for the best spot. Dom bulit a fire, our first one in a long time, and we had a most lovely evening outside dining and sipping wine. Dom had an opportunity to use his machete for making kindling. The campground was fully serviced so Dom got the hose and gave Eve a fresh water bath after her salt water dousing on the ferry. Another memorable night and we are off to the next.
This area is a draw for fisherman who drive the tourist business here.
9 votes 
