Michele Travels

Caleta Tortel is a coastal village in Chile’s Aysen Region. It was officially founded in 1955 to facilitate the lumber industry. Specifically, the abundant Guaytecas cypress trees native to this region. The village is situated between the mouth of the Baker River – Chile’s largest – and a small bay off the Baker Channel.

In the late 1800s the Commpania Explotadora del Baker attempted to colonize the area. They established a dock and a sawmill at Puerto Bajo Pisagua, which would later become Caleta Tortel. After a series of unfortunate events, the company went bankrupt in 1908.

In 1955, the Chilean Navy established a post at Caleta Tortel, marking a more permanent settlement. The village’s unique stilt foundation architecture and wooden walkways reflect its adaption to the challenging terrain. Nearly everything is constructed of the treasured cypress wood many have sought to exploit. There are no streets so no cars.

For most of its history Caleta Tortel was only accessible by sea or air. In 2003, a road connecting the village to the Carretera Austral** was constructed. The opened access to the village and fostered the tourism industry now in place.

** The Carretera Austral is a 770 mile (1,240 km) scenic highway that runs through Chile’s rugged and remote Patagonia .

Isla de los Muertos

While still at anchor in the Baker channel, our ship offered zodiac excursions to the Isla de los Muertos.

The ‘Island of the Dead’ is a small, mysterious island closely woven into the cultural fabric of Caleta Tortel.

The Commpania Explotadora del Baker (mentioned above) brought Chilotes – people from Chiloe Islands – to harvest the Guaitecas cypress trees. Conditions were extremely harsh. Many workers suffered from malnutrition, disease and exhaustion. Local lore suggests that once the company went bankrupt, the workers were forgotten. The official version states that three attempts were made to extract the workers from the island. However, these attempts faced their own perils. Many died waiting for the steamer to rescue them.

Our excursion to the island was interesting. The waters surrounding the island have an extremely strong current. While waiting for our turn to dock, Sebastian guided our zodiac into a shallow cove. Two of our members took up oars and paddled us further into the surrounding rainforest. Very cool.