We left Puerto Tranquillo with mixed emotions, Ezzy was no longer with us, and although it was for the best we did find ourselves secretly hoping she would come bounding down the road and take up her usual position just off my back pannier. Alas, it was not to be, we left and immediately started climbing, this is quickly becoming the norm out of any town on this route, we also started through a stretch of road works where all they seemed to be doing was watering the road, at least any feeling of guilt over not cleaning the bikes on a rest day diminished as within seconds my rear derailleur was clogged and sounding horrible, at least the scenery was special! The weather was amazing over the next few days with us being able to get our legs out and start really cracking on with our tan lines. We even managed to see the local gauchos working the ranch, castrating the bulls. Jess didn’t seem to see what the problem was as I was wincing every time they did the deed. I couldn’t help feel a little bit of sympathy when the bulls took revenge and had the gauchos running. On more than one occasion a bull had them diving for the fence to avoid being rammed. It was just after this show that we witnessed our worst stretch of road to date, luckily for us it was a downhill but even that was a struggle. Loose rocks that had us skipping out on many occasion, I would hate to have to ride up this section. Again the scenery helped make up for this horrific road and we arrived at our first bit of tarmac in over 16 days of riding, our butts were overjoyed and to celebrate we ate the biggest hamburger we could find! From here we went in search of cheap accommodation, for 4000pesos each we were given a hot shower, a place to pitch our tent and then as much meat as we could eat courtesy of two of the local ranch hands, Chile really is the nicest country. We left Cerro Castillo knowing we were only 2 days away from our first big city, all that was in our way was the highest climb we would face on the Carretera Austral. We were told we had 8km of flat before the climb started, whoever told us this was not a cyclist, rule one of cycle touring, never trust a non cyclist when they tell you about what the road ahead is like. We slowly climbed before the switch backs kicked in with earnest. Up and up, higher and higher, we inched our way to the top knowing we had a good decent ahead of us. The one joy of climbing mountains is the views, you can almost guarantee you will be rewarded for your hard-work, this climb did not disappoint. The descent was fast and the views were awesome, this is why we cycle tour. The day held one more 10km climb before we were done and it was predominantly down hill, I say predominantly not fully as once again we had been told, there are still a few leg breaking climbs to do although they are short compared to what we had already done. It was as we came to the end of the day that we came across our first mechanical of the trip, I mean proper mechanical, not dodgy brakes or a funny noise that we can’t explain so we ignore, although this may have been why I had said mechanical! This was a real ’I can’t ride my bike any more, now what?’ The bearings in my pedals where shot. Ok, they had been making a funny noise since the day of rain but still, I just thought they needed some WD40, that stuff fixes everything, doesn’t it? With my bike placed in the universal distress position, upside down, we stuck out our thumbs. After 10 minutes or so we were loading the bikes into a pick up truck of a lady who was going for a ride in Coyhaique and happened to know where a good bike shop was that would be able to fix the problem, result! Coyhaique really is a proper town, it has two, that’s right, not one but two big supermarkets and everything else you expect from a big town. It even has a ‘casa de ciclista’. This is the most unusual place we have stayed in to date, it’s a hand built dome out of recycled material. The toilet is into a wheel barrow and the shower is from a stream, still, its was free and we were able to stay for a few days while our bikes were taking some R and R. There are two other cyclists staying at the Casa de Ciclista, two Brazilians, Daniel and Joseph. They speak very good English and are the first cyclists we have seen that are heading the same way as us, we have decided to ride north with them, well, until they realise how slow we are and leave us that is!
0 Comments
Fully rested and stuffed on snacks we were ready to give the Carretera Austral another chance. We loaded the bikes and rolled out as a 2 for the first time in a month, or so we thought… We had barely left Cochrane, granted we were already climbing, before we realised we had a new travelling companion. This one never moaned. Didn’t need to be taught how to pitch a tent or pack panniers. She was the ultimate lightweight traveller and she was with us for 120km. We called her Esmerelda after the lake that she found us by; Ezzy for short. The Carretera Austral did not disappoint. The relentless ups and downs continued on a road that went from smooth well-compacted mud to loose rocks that made riding hazardous at best. It felt like I was constantly wrestling a overweight child who wanted to go only to the side where the gravel is loosest. Non of this seemed to matter however as we had something else to focus on; Ezzy. She would race to the top of the hill where she would wait for us, if I even looked like thinking about setting off before Jess arrived she would give a small bark and start walking back down the hill towards the advancing Jess. On the longer stretches of downhill she would run as fast as she could to keep up, if we did manage to get a little far ahead of her she would give a yelp of protest. The funny thing is we found ourselves braking on the down hills, not wanting to get too far ahead of her, and here I was pretending we were trying to loose her! It took us just over two days to get to Peurto Tranquillo and the whole time the road was amazing, following the Rio Baker the kayaker in me was loving it, every turn showed yet more rapids in the bluest glacial melt waters. The road constantly climbing then descending back to the river banks. Still tough this road was continuing to give pristine vistas at every opportunity. It was in these 3 days that we also met the first harem of cycle tourists, they were all heading South for the Villa O’Higgins border crossing but it was nice to finally be able to chat to other cyclists and learn what we had ahead of us. We met 2 couples in as many days who were able to give us valuable information on what lies ahead. We also met our first Brazilians on this stretch, granted they were cruising in a 4x4 but still, the overwhelming friendliness of them put us in good sprits for when we finally get to Brazil. We descended into Peurto Tranquillo under cloud and rain and again bumped into the Brazilians, Ezzy still in tow after two nights of camping. Cold and damp we opted for a Hospedaje instead of our original plan of camping and we set about getting ourselves on a boat to see the Marble Caves. Ezzy wasn’t allowed into the Hospedaje so she was forced to make friends with the locals and sleep on the street. We felt guilty but at the same time we knew we couldn’t keep riding with her, no matter how much we wanted to. She also wasn’t allowed in the boat but that didn’t stop her trying. We got a boat trip that afternoon and off we set with some Americans and a snap happy lady from Ecuador, if every Ecuadorian is as keen on photographs as she was, we are in for an entertaining time through that country.
Cycling the Carretera Austral didn’t start off as planned. First we had to make a hasty exit form Villa O’Higgins as we had no Chilean Pesos and they didn’t except US dollars nor did they have any ATMs, luckily we were able to pay for our hostel and one supermarket in the town accepted card so we were able to buy supplies for the next 4 days on the road. It was with visible excitement that we hit the road, ready to take on the challenge that I had read about probably over a year ago. True to form the weather was at it’s Patagonian best, that being rain, we couldn’t complain though, this is renowned for being the wettest part of the Carretera Austral and very few people make it through without some form of down pour, this is also the first real bit of rain we have had. It just so happened that once the weather turned wet we also had our first mechanical, Jess’ front rack decided that it had had enough of ripio roads and spat its dummy out. Bent, snapped and broken beyond roadside repair we were left to re-adjust the weight and strap the contents that my self and Oli could not carry to the back of Jess’ bike, hoping the one front pannier wouldn’t be too much of an inconvenience to her steering. By the time we had sorted this problem we were soaked and very cold. A quick lunch was taken in what I would call a glorified shed and that was about the highlight of the day. We rode with heads down as the water encroached over every inch of us, it found ways into our waterproofs, up our sleeves, down our necks, we just couldn’t get warm. Luckily for us we found a refugio, something the Carretera Austral is famous for. These are wooden shacks, if you will, that offer shelter from whatever weather you maybe experiencing; we dived in and battled to get a fire going. Without this luxury of a roof and fire I hate to think how miserable our first night on this iconic road would have been, especially for myself as I was now feeling less than ideal health wise. With the fire roaring I retreated to my sleeping bag hoping I could sleep off whatever it was that was wrong with me. I couldn’t sleep it off. I awoke with no motivation or energy, to call me useless would have been a compliment. By the time we should have been setting off and Jess and Oli were packed I was still sat with four open panniers not really knowing what to do with myself. I did eventually get my kit sorted and got on the road, luckily the weather was far kinder to us today and the sun was out to play. The next 4 days were a struggle, I had no appetite and was beginning to feel the rumblings of a dodgy stomach, and to make it worse Oli began with the same symptoms only 24 hours behind me. As stunning as the road was it was brutally tough. Jess held the camp together doing more than her fair share of cooking, tent erecting and washing up. Myself and Oli did more than our fair share of lying down. Every lunch stop ended with us both horizontal while Jess handed us food; that we either picked at or point blank refused. On the 4th day Oli had had enough, he decided, with his imminent departure only a few days away, a hitch to the next town in order to sort and pack his bike and be in better condition to travel. All that was left was for Jess to put me in the hurt locker and make sure we did the necessary distance before I led back down in order to wave Oli off. We rolled into Cochrane in the nick of time and met up with Oli before his departure. I was also starting to feel human again, the hills no longer had me cascading through my gears and I also managed to climb out of the smallest chain ring. We had a somewhat baptism of fire in the first four days of the Carretera Austral, the road I had tried so hard to get to, the hills are steep but the scenery is unbelievable, I am nowhere near good enough with the camera to do it justice, especially when lacking in motivation to do even the most mundane tasks never mind get my camera out. Although we all suffered, Jess was kind enough to let us know the hills were tough even when not sick, I am so happy we have managed to ride from Villa O’Higgins. It was a shame that Oli’s last few days on the bike with us were tarnished by illness but I’m sure he will be looking back remembering how good this stretch was. It’s been great having Oli on the road with us and I’m sure we’re going to miss his general disorganised approach to cycle touring life. Jess and I have now opted to take 2 rest days Cochrane to do absolutely nothing but eat and watch films, hopefully this will let me fully recover so that I can really enjoy what is next on the Carretera Austral.
|
AuthorDanny and Jessica living the nomadic dream. Archives
September 2017
Categories |