Distance: 22:26 miles

Time: 4.11

Elevation Gain: 2,536 feet

Just along the road from the ferry port, there was a sign for a cabaña – or cabin – and Pablo quickly entered into a dialogue with the owner. It was quite large, on two levels and had 4 bedrooms, certainly plenty of space for the three of us, and relatively inexpensive. It looked like we’d evaded setting up our tents for another evening.

Being 100 yards along the road from the ferry port certainly came in handy in the morning, too, when we had to be packed up and at the ferry terminal at 9:00 to get our ticket dates amended from whatever they had been set to when we booked for this ferry the day before.

It was a glorious day, so I was not complaining at the prospect of a lengthy ferry journey in such a picturesque location. The fact that cyclists had to board first, a full hour before departure, did seem a tad excessive, though.
After 3 and a half hours of cruising down a stunning sea lake in bright sunshine, the curve ball of the bi-modal ferry was about to come into play. All we knew was that, shortly, we’d be alighting at Leptepú in the Douglas Tomkins National Park and we’d have 10 km to cover before the next ferry, potentially half an hour later.

As Pablo was a little worried about pushing hard with a sore knee, a plan was hatched with one of the drivers on the boat, that he could take our panniers between the ports in his pick up truck. The only issue with this was that the driver wanted to rush to make the first ferry, so a new plan was hatched where Marlen would go with the bags – and her bike – in the back of the pick up truck, and get out at the port to wait for us.

The first ferry? So there was a second ferry, then? That was the thought that played on my mind as we raced across the island, arriving at the port to find a long line of cars and the other cyclists who had been on our ferry, but no Marlen. We had to assume that the man with the pick up truck had made the first ferry, then, but without time to let Marlen out, perhaps she’d be waiting on the other side?…

While we waited, I spoke to a father and daughter from near Gold Coast, in Australia. The daughter had been backpacking in Chile, when the father had said he would come and visit, but only if it involved a cycle tour, so this was day two.

Eventually the ferry returned, and we were pleased to find Marlen waiting with all of our possessions on the other side.

The plan had been to carry on for 27 miles to Chaiten, but having had to wait for the second ferry, it was now nearly 4 o’clock, and we could see that the road ahead looked like it would be fairly rough gravel, so it was decided that we should aim for a campsite at Lago Río Blanco, some 16 miles away.

The road was rough and rocky, at times a challenge to keep going on a loaded touring bike, and I considered a new barometer for whether my 45 mm tyres were sufficient. If they made it to the end of the route in one piece, they were.

After Pablo had told us, on several occasions, that it was downhill for the next stretch, just before the track rose again, we arrived at a stunning viewpoint overlooking the Lago Río Negro, not long to Lago Río Blanco now, and still the road climbed and perhaps the steepest slope yet.

Eventually we plummeted down to the lakeside and turned into the campsite, which was in a beautiful spot, but unfortunately only had a very few camping spots, mainly on decking beside the water’s edge. Luckily one of the other campsite inhabitants offered us part use of their parking space, to set up our tents, and another couple brought us over a table and chairs to use, turning it into quite an acceptable ad-hoc campsite.