Day 6: Las Correntadas

After our usual morning routine, we met for our full-day exploration of hyaking — a combination of kayaking and hiking. This is a popular exploration, and there were eight of us on the trip plus Laura and Mica guiding.

When we arrived, Jorge — our specialist kayak guide – provided our equipment and gave a quick lesson. All of the other guests opted for two-person kayaks, while we each had our own. We didn’t really think about it, but Jorge said a German woman once called the double kayaks Scheidungsmaschine, or “divorce machines.”

Ships ahoy!

Moments from a port-side collision

Paddle-boarding, but sitting down

We paddled up the Río Cochrane for about three miles. We were on the lookout for huemules and pumas, but did not spot any. While we were technically kayaking against the current, it was very calm. At the end, there were what the guides called “rapids” but really just a stronger current. We all made it through successfully. The only people to get wet were the few brave souls who decided to brave the frigid waters and jump in (we did not… we ate delicious hot soup instead).

Put on your helmets, it’s getting serious! (Not really)

We made it!

Once everyone disembarked and dried off, we said goodbye to Jorge and started on the second half of the adventure. We first hiked up to a lookout with a view of Río and Lago Cochrane.

Hi Nacho!!!

Rio Cochrane

The lookout is where we stopped for a leisurely lunch. The clouds broke and the sun began to shine thru, so the colors of the river became more vivid.

Walking to our lunch spot

Rio Cochrane headwaters

Normal people eat lunch on full-day explorations

Boundary Waters vibes

After lunch, we continued hiking on the Carpintero trail and did, in fact, spot some carpinteros. This time, we saw the male with the red crown. The hike had some fun ups and downs over rocks and man-made stairs. The Río Cochrane was to our left as we essentially walked back the path we kayaked. We even spotted our Kayaks in the river and passed Jorge on the trail enjoying his lunch. We made it back to the van for our end-of-exploration drinks.

hahahaHAha … hahahaHAha … hahahaHAhaHAhaha … hahahaHAhaha

Turns out we kayaked this portion of the Rio Cochrane…

…and this part too!

Confirmed

There may be heavy rains in the area tomorrow, so we picked two half-day hikes. But at least we had clear skies last night for some great star gazing.