Distance: 62.94 miles

Time: 7:55

Elevation Gain: 5,525 feet

In the morning, Fabian and Noah were up early, and asked if I had any recommendations for food to eat on the road. Having some of the Bizcocho scones and a small tub of Manjar dulce di leche in my panniers, I passed forward the morish flavour combination that I’d been recommended by Pablo, right at the start of the trip. It seemed like there might be new converts to it too, as Noah took photos of the various packets to remember for the future.

Soon, they were gone, heading north towards Caleta Tortel, and for me, I was waiting for the first ferry of the day, at 10 am. Well, the first passenger ferry of the day, a boat for dangerous loads, had already left at 8 am, carrying the Copec petrol tanker, presumably to service the filling station in Villa O’Higgins.

On reaching the other side, at Río Blanco, there was another little cyclists’ shelter, but this one with toilets. It was a quarter past 11 by the time I left for what was undoubtedly going to be my longest cycling day of the trip, 100 km on gravel roads.

The first few miles passed quickly enough, and the road was relatively flat for the 8 miles to the Río Bravo María campsite, after that the terrain became far more challenging, with a series of tough climbs dragging me quickly away from the river.

It was a wild day, with regular showers and a strong cool wind, thankfully blowing in a favourable direction. To combat the cold, I was wearing extra layers, but in turn, each time I reached a hill, I quickly overheated and got off the bike to push. I knew that pacing myself was the key to making it all the way to Villa O’Higgins today.

22 miles in, after an energy-sapping sequence of steep climbs, I reached a refugio, or shelter, near the top of a hill, in an exposed spot. There were a Chilean couple already cooking up some lunch when I arrived, and they were generous enough to bring me over a cup of coffee while I prepared my own.

10 miles later there was another similar shelter, after which the road dropped and flattened out along the side of a lake. The tailwind whisking me along at a speed rarely accomplished on this trip.

I stopped at a thunderous waterfall, being asked if I’d like my picture to be taken by a man. On offering to return the favour, the man politely declined, before climbing back into one of two police cars parked nearby.

It wasn’t long before I spotted the glaciated cap of the mountain high above from where the cascading water was originating, the hillside shining with the many streams of glacial melt running down its slopes.

Towards the end, I rose slightly once more, with fine views offered up over Lago Cisnes, before the road took a long detour along the side of Río Meyer, before making the last approach to Villa O’Higgins.

After checking in at Los Pioneros campsite, I made to pitch the tent, quickly realising that my tent pegs must have escaped during the short period that I rode with one of my bags accidentally open on the rough roads. Scavenging some sticks from around the site, I managed to do a reasonable job of staking it out.

Afterwards, I made for the kitchen to prepare some food, and was introduced to a fellow cyclist called Belén. She offered me a huge bowl of salad that she’d made and had plenty left of, and I was happy to accept.

She told me that she was waiting on the boat to Candelario Mancilla, that she was booked on the Saturday sailing, that it had already been postponed until Sunday, and that most of the other people on the site were waiting on the ferry too. She did also know of somebody that had successfully got a place on the Monday sailing earlier in the day, so for tomorrow, visiting the Ruedas de la Patagonia office, to book the boat, was a massive priority.