Puerto Guadal

THE PEARL OF LAKE CARRERA, CHILEAN PATAGONIA

Past & Future — today & tomorrow in Puerto Guadal

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PAST AND FUTURE

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Puerto Guadal,
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The first settlers arrived in what is today Puerto Guadal between 1922 and 1926. In the 30s, this protected bay began to be utilized as a port for shipping animals and wool north, via Chile Chico and Puerto Ibáñez. As a result, hardy souls from more developed areas began a kind of spontaneous colonization of the area, looking to start small business, or to homestead farms, and exploit the abundant forests of the area

In the 60s French mining interests were attracted to Puerto Guadal and for a while the Empresa Minera del Plomo mined lead, zinc and copper at the Mina Escondida, hiring many outside workers and boosting the town's economy. But the mining boom was short lived.

After the construction of the Carretera Austral or Southern Highway, Puerto Guadal gradually started developing as a tourist center. In recent years all the streets have been paved, and the town's water and sewer systems upgraded. And in 2009 Puerto Guadal's plaza was completely redesigned and rebuilt to become the handsome town center it is today — one of the loveliest plazas in the region. In 2012 cell phone service became available for the first time in Guadal.

Thanks to the support of the Municipal government in Chile Chico (effectively the "county seat" of the comuna to which Puerto Guadal belongs) the town has continued to enjoy steady progress. Yet life in Puerto Guadal is still calm and unhurried. In summer, the town's gardens are a riot of colors, and multi-hued roses are local favorites. A town with a very human scale, in an environment of unusual natural beauty — a unique community in the heart of Patagonia.