Our three shelters included a Megamid cook tent— pitched here on a conchal, a heap of mussel shells piled up over generations.

The forests were dense with Southern Beech, bamboo and red flowers of many varieties.

There are few mammals found along the coast of southern Chile but the bird life is fantastic. We spotted many species that were new to us.

Dividing Chile from Argentina, the Andes mountains drop steeply to the water’s edge. There is little flat ground on the Chilean side.

There we dissembled our kayaks to portage  Istmo de Ofqui, a marshy lowland which cuts through Peninsula de Taitao to the Rio Negro.

Rotting skid logs were sign that native fisherman had once moved boats across here too.

And the sun did break through at times—but often for only a few moments which made photography a race against the changing light.

Fresh water was easy to find— it was flowing everywhere as seen here in Caleta Porvenir.

The biting insects also traveled in large flocks. These are called “Pulcos.” Similar to Alaska’s “White Socks,” their bite is intensely itchy.

We ascended the Rio Tempanos to Laguna San Rafael where we paddled amid huge bergy bits  calved from the San Rafael glacier.

The start of this 1½-mile passage was easy to locate. A failed attempt to build a canal there in the 1940’s left a scar that is still visible.

We hauled kayaks and gear in just four loads, feet slurping through the swampy muck.