Back to Coyhaique

As has been the case all along, the pope's entourage messed up my plans again. This time to leave the city of Santiago. My flight was at 9 am so I asked for a shared pickup for 7:30 am. The receptionist at the hostel called the most popular one TransVIP. They didn't have any vehicles available in the morning due to the pope's visit. There is only one more shared airport drop company Delfos. He called them up and they suggested a pickup at 5 am. All the rest of the vehicles in the morning were fully filled. With no other option, I booked my place in it.
I requested an early breakfast and was provided with it. At 5 am, the van came and we headed for the airport. At the airport, I had enough time to check-in and after a long time, I didn't have to explain anything about my theft etc 😁
The flight was on time and we landed at 11:30 am at Balmaceda. Hristo had been scouting for car rentals simce the morning in Coyhaique but they were all very expensive so when I landed they weren't there to pick me up. I went around to the car rentals in the airport to see if I could find something cheaper. There were 4-5 counters there but either they were fully booked or more expensive than in the town.
Finally, we decided that Hristo would rent one from the town and tjen come over to pick me up and then we'll continue further South from there. I asked them to pick up some food for me on the way since there was nothing at the airport. Finally, they arrived with the vehicle at around 3:30 pm. We had our food opposite the unique blie church outside the Balmaceda airport and and then were off.
Back on the Carretera Austral, there was a que of hitch hikers wanting a lift towards Rio Tranquilo. We picked up 3 of them (2 girls and a boy, all from Chile). They wanted a ride till Cerro Castillo on the way. None of them spoke any English so we had some problem understanding each other initially. Then we were off.Read more