We set off in search of an adventure. It had been a while since I had heard of a trail south of the province of neuquen. A path in which the important thing is not the route and its characteristics, but the attraction of this journey is its history. Towards the end of 1948, the political situation in Chile had sentenced the work and life of the Chilean poet and politician Pablo Neruda. His permanence in the country was untenable. He had begun to be persecuted, his life was at risk and exile was his only option. In December, after hiding for several months inside Chilean territory, his followers organized a perfect escape plan.
From Futroño, in the Valdivia region, silently embarked in Puerto Llifén and crossed Lake Ranco. Upon reaching the other shore, they waited for him in a vehicle and, along rural roads, they took him to another lake: the Maihue. In the dead of night he embarked again. Only a campfire, at the end of the lake, marked their point of departure. Destination: Hueinahue. There he spent his days, learning to ride, adjusting to his false identity and changing his physical appearance. Don Pablo mixed days of letters and poetry with horseback riding and training for his exile.
On February 22, by boat and at night, he arrived with his family to the mouth of the White River. There he rode a horse to Chihuio and the following night, together with the only baqueano who knew the path, he began the crossing of the mountain range. A long ride awaited them in search of a forced freedom.
the trekking
our tour began camping on the shores of Lake Queñi. We set up our tent, went fishing and the warm sunset we found ourselves having dinner. Early in the morning (6:00 am) we have a quiet breakfast and at 7 we are at the entrance to the trail, just a few meters from the camp. A sign with all the indications announced: “Senda Paso Ipella”. Five hours of walking awaited us to the border.
This path, although it is enabled, You can only travel to the border with the neighboring country. We cannot go to Chile because it is not an authorized crossing. And in our first steps it was inevitable to think of Neruda. The feeling of walking in his footprint was comforting. Reading a book by the poet before the start also meant a connection with the trail, which begins to be traveled along a wide track that was formerly used by a logging company. At times there is a lot of mudIt depends on the humidity of the marshes through which we travel.
As we go, grass and moisture disappear and the coihue canes began to be the protagonists. After an hour, our path was a track that opened between a reed forest. After crossing a first stream, we had the feeling of entering a true clandestine trail. During the walk, to our right we were always accompanied by the murmur of the queñi river. We would also cross several streams that would feed it. Depending on the flow of each one, we can cross them by stepping on stones or getting wet, always with some wading shoes.
It’s a trekking of medium difficulty, that is, it does not have any ascent that requires special training or mountain techniques. Almost the entire route is a slight and gradual ascent up to about 8 km. Then the slope increases as you get closer to the border. We are, oddly enough, crossing the Andes. On the tour we will not see great landscapes. It is a closed road. We always go between mountains for places with a lot of vegetation. Without a doubt, it is an escape path.
Hidden among the vegetation
The oaks and cohiues that surround us with their great height and their leafy crowns mean that we never see the mountains and the sky becomes imperceptible. just half a morning some rays of sun filtered through the thick forest. Finally, the reeds disappeared and we were given a breather. Our path begins to be surrounded by cinnamon trees, false mistletoe or Taique, and other thorny shrubs of medium height. There we realized how important it is wear boots and long pants.
Later, some small valleys are formed under the forest (understory) that is made up of low plants, similar to the malvón: they are wild daisies, strawberries and other colorful flowers and vines that form a green mattress due to humidity. In this place and in each stream the poet was present. One imagined his moments of rest, the gait of his horse, the silence of the thick night, the adrenaline of the escape… All mixed in his mind: exile, poetry, landscape, clandestinity, pride, politics, loneliness, solidarity, identity. , fear… We walked in silence looking for some answer in the environment.
The rise is beginning to be felt. At one point we heard the loud murmur of the river, we climbed to a high point deviating from the path and we discovered a great waterfall. Tall, transparent, pure. A natural pool that invites us to bathe. Sure, it’s very cold due to the thaw, but it’s worth the stop. It is a beautiful waterfall. There we rested and dared to read a poem by Don Pablo, in that natural context. The waterfall has no name, but there it is, half hidden, waiting to be discovered by a walker.
We resume the path
It is already noon and some appear horseflies, characteristics at that altitude and at that time. We put on repellent and continue the march. Some mallines begin to appear on the right hand side and a little further on a beautiful lagoon appears. A sign baptizes it as the Pablo Neruda Lagoon, named after the international meeting of poets who walked to that place in 2009. We are there for a moment, we take some photos and then we ascend, the trail climbs steeply. When we lean out, we appear in a slightly higher sector. Clear. There we see a clearing in the forest and a small metal tower. It has an iron sign that says Argentina on one side and Chile on the other. We had made it. We were at the border post. The place where Pablo Neruda escaped to Argentina to take his first step into exile.
We had lunch there and spent the rest of the afternoon. Moments of talk, photos and then a comforting return to our camp in the peace of the beautiful Queñi lake. Having traveled this path makes me have another look at Neruda. Reading Neruda again will be exciting. Search in each sentence, in each poem, a relationship or a meeting point with this journey of exile and poetry has made me a different reader.
Neruda’s escape
Neruda made the journey to escape political persecution during the fall of 1949. Before that, they lived for months in hiding between Santiago, Valdivia and the Futrono commune. He then crossed the Ilpela pass into Argentina on horseback, where he stayed at a hotel in San Martín de los Andes posing as a logger with false documentation. There he picked him up by vehicle and in mid-April he arrived incognito in Paris to spend his exile in Europe. Pablo Neruda is the pseudonym of Ricardo Eliécer Neftali Reyes Basoalto. The name on your false document It was: Antonio Ruiz Garrorreta. In his memoirs: “I confess that I have lived”, he mentions this escape and his passage through San Martín de los Andes.
Clothing and recommendations
- Trekking boots and pants They are essential for walking surrounded by reeds and thorny plants.
- carry two liters of water per person. It is also possible to collect water in one of the streams that are crossed. The last 6 km there is no and you can not drink from the lagoon.
- carry food on the go: fruits, cereals, nougats, peanuts, candies. Also food for lunch in the lagoon or in the landmark.
- Indispensable: sunscreen, and repellent for horseflies and the yellow jacket. Long-sleeved clothing and, in case of being allergic, some medication as prevention against the bite of these insects.
- Fundamental: waste bags and we will return with the ones we generate.
- read the indications on the trail entrance sign.
- Map: Paths and Forests Guide of the Lanín National Park, Sheet 159-IGN4172-4.
