IslaLeonCamp – Rio Palena
After a full day float, your guide will anchor his raft just below your dome-shaped tent. The camp offers very comfortable wilderness accommodations with spectacular views. A river-bank bush meal on an open fire will get you ready for your second day of the float.
Imagine: in the morning you leave BaseCamp for a two hour drive to the put-in of your overnight trip. Upon arrival the rafts are in the water and from there on you are living in a fly fishing paradise. The river is crystal clear, the water runs through rock gardens, along extended grass lands, below overhanging willows. Trout are hungry for huge terrestrials. Your Fat Albert or Gypsy King is under permanent attack. Just as you are getting tired of casting and releasing fish, a welcoming camp pops up. You are at IslaLeonCamp. Large igloo-shaped tents with great beds welcome you. The guides prepare a great bush diner over an open fire. The stars are brighter and the red wine tastes better than ever.
The next morning you continue your journey. While side-rivers join the mighty Palena, you see the river changing. The forest is getting denser and the banks are lined with logs. Huge brown trout hide under them and only a perfect cast can wake them up. Foam lines in numerous whirlpools hold large rainbows. By the end of the day, you lost count completely. How many fish did I land, but man oh man, how many takes did I ruin? And then your guide tells you that the Pisco Sours are waiting for you back at BaseCamp and all of a sudden your float trip ended and your standing under a hot shower again. What a trip!!!