Douglas Tompkins made a fortune as one of the developers of the US company Esprit. After selling his share of Esprit, he and his wife Chris launched the Parque Pumalin Project. They gradually acquired 800,000 acres of mostly untouched wilderness between the Argentine border and Chile's inland sea in the area just south of Puerto Montt. For years the Tompkins have been trying to develop a model national park and present it to the Chilean state. This mystifies many Chileans. Some are very opposed. You can imagine, for example, some Americans might be opposed to the Japanese buying up half of Montana, turning it into a national park and giving it to the US government - subject to restrictions.

Some other Chileans see the Parque Pumalin Project as a wonderful way to preserve a unique piece of their natural heritage. The proposed Parque Pumalin will be larger than Yosemite. It is probably also more spectacular than Yosemite, but who knows; it's difficult to see because there are few roads, trails and other facilities. We now know enough to avoid opening up wilderness areas to heavy use, like we did in Yosemite Valley. But the Parque Pumalin seems to be, at present, almost impossible to visit. The Tompkins are building some trails and environmentally friendly facilities, but the area is so big and the mountains so rugged that it would take a national civilian conservation corps years to even make a dent in the work that needs to be done. The Chilean government already is spending a lot of money to maintain the Carretera.

Carolina, at Parque Pumalin HQ in Puerto Montt, called ahead and found that there would be a bus from Chaiten to Caleta Gonzalo on Monday and another from CG to Chaiten on Wednesday. Price is $6 USD each way. She made me a reservation on the bus and also for a cabin at Caleta Gonzalo.

The Carretera Austral from Chaiten to Caleta Gonzalo is bumpy and not that scenic, especially on a foggy day. I think it is the only road in Parque Pumalin. About halfway to Caleta Gonzalo their is a trail head for a short walk to a grove of Alerces, ancient redwood trees similar to Sequoias. Unless the traveler is aware, he will miss this entirely. The bus doesn't stop or even slow down.

The rest of the forest is scraggly, a lot of brush with a few large trees looming above. It must be hell to deadhead through this stuff, especially because of the steep slopes. It reminds me of the forests in the central mountains of Taiwan; mists, cold and all. At great expense and loss of life the Taiwanese have carved a few precarious roads through their mountains. Here there aren't even trails. Don't misunderstand me, the Parque Pumalin is a real treasure, just well protected against casual incursions. Yosemite should have such natural defenses.

Caleta Gonzalo is just a small cove at the northern end of a section of the Carretera Austral. The road terminates in a parking lot and concrete ramp for private passenger boats and, seasonal, public ferry boats. The Tompkins have built several large wood public buildings and a half dozen really cute, craftsman style cabins (see photo above). I spent a couple of rainy days there.

My cabin at Caleta Gonzalo was newly built with a variety of rough hewn logs and old woods. The furniture was craftsman style and the beds were covered with homespun wool blankets. The big window overlooked the boat ramp, the fjord and the mountain. It had two single beds on the main floor and two mattresses on the floor of the loft. The plumbing and electrical were new, first class. The water in the shower was hot. Heating was provided only by a small electrical heater, but the cabin was well sealed against wind and rain. There was a really exotic, brass gas heater on the wall but it was out of service; too bad.

Caleta Gonzalo is a ceremonial gateway for Parque Pumalin and a demonstration of modern infrastructure for a park. When I was there the PP workmen were edging part of the Carretera Austral with fieldstone and concrete curbs to prevent erosion. Doug was in amongst them in mud splattered clothes and rubber boots. He is a hands-on person. He greeted me briefly when he thought I was a visitor from the BBC.

A lot of the Tompkins' improvements are intentionally out of sight. The electrical wires are buried. I don't know where they originate; there is no sound of a generator. There is obviously a fresh water supply hidden away somewhere. The PP facilities have flush toilets which drain into some sort of septic tank system. There are separate storm drains.

The tent camping area is very attractive with designated sites spread out over a large area, well drained grass surfaces, safe drinking water, gravel paths, flush toilets, sinks to clean cooking utensils.

The mountains on either side of Caleta Gonzalo rise up so steeply that one cannot walk very far along the waterfront. I spent most of my two days fishing and wandering along the Rio Gonzalo which extends straight inland. The water is beautiful; it is very clear with an unusual blue-green cast. I caught and released a few small brown trout and one big enough to eat. Had one hit by something a little bigger. Later, experienced fishermen said that I should have gone further upstream. The Rio Gonzalo dumps its sparkling clear water abruptly into the inky green water of the Renihue fjord. I dragged my lure across this turbulent junction for an hour hoping to hook one of those sea monsters that crave change. I caught one strange silvery fish which I supposed was an anchovie.

Jamie, a pretty Chilean girl with English to match my Spanish, cooked muy delicioso meals for me at the cafe. The first night she made a butter lettuce and shredded radish salad with olive oil and vinegar dressing, grilled salmon, french fried potatoes and pan integral. (Thanks, Jamie. I sensed that you weren't really overjoyed to have to hang around cooking for one guest, but you maintained your good humor.)

Guidebooks rightly rave about the Cafe's salads and whole wheat bread (pan integral). The white breads and biscuits served in most Chilean restaurants are not very tasty. The usual pan integral from bakeries and big supermarkets also lacks something. If you pass through Caleta Gonzalo, buy a couple of loaves of their pan integral - or maybe it is really "pan amasado".

The ubiquitous Chilean "biscuit" deserves another swipe. It seems to be a cross between an American baking powder biscuit and a dry cracker (galleta). It must have an infinite shelf life. I don't think I have ever tasted a stale one. I know that I have never tasted a good one. The recipe may not be too different from the recipe for scones - but some critical ingredient has been omitted. (This one paragraph may earn me the hatred of millions of otherwise tolerant Chileans who's mothers raised them on homemade biscuits)

One morning Jamie and Christian called on their radio to get me a motorboat with driver. It cost about $45 USD for 1 1/2 hours; expensive! The driver took me inland along the fjord to see the sea lion colony and the Rio Renihue delta. At one point our boat was surrounded by small dolphins leaping and playing. If I had a wet suit I would have joined them. The sea lions are always around; the dolphins are not.

Everyday there are a few small boats which arrive at and depart from Caleta Gonzalo. They drop off and pick up people and cargo. I figure they servicing the salmon farms and villages dotted along the Renihue fjord. If one spoke good Spanish one might be able to hitch rides on some of these.

If Parque Pumalin gets a little more developed it may attract a lot of foreign visitors bringing money. This may convince the Chilean government that the Parque is worth backing. In general, the whole area around Puerto Montt, to the north and to the south, provides a suite of varied tourist attractions which need to be promoted. The environment does not look like it would suffer from too much traffic, especially in the off season - which is 10 months out of the year.

When I first arrived in Puerto Montt I called Carolina at the Parque Pumalin HQ on Ave. Buin. She said to come on up and she would give me some information. We talked for a half hour, during which time she kindly made reservations for me at Hotel Mi Casa in Chaiten and at the PP cabins at Caletta Gonzalo. Later I read that officially she is not supposed to waste her time providing travel agent services for dumb tourists, like me. She probably figured I would get lost unless she looked after me.

These WWW links are related to Parque Pumalin.

• Nitty gritty specifics re PP, including telephone numbers, costs, boat tours; all useful stuff. Outside Magazine, June 98, Stephanie Gregory.
• General overview of Tompkins' PP by Alex Frankel in Outside Online, 1998.
• Another general article; this one by James Langman in E/The Environmental Magazine, 1997.
• See Parque Pumalin from kayaks and sleep aboard a 65 foot sailing boat. Nice web page. This is the outfit operated by Carolina's husband, with headquarters in Puerto Varas.
• Another page by a sea kayaking company with tours to the coast of PP. This one is centered in Chiloe across the broad inland waterway.