Tag: tour

Day 3: Hornopirén – Lago Río Blanco


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.

Day 2: Mañihueico – Hornopirén

Distance: 32.18 miles

Time: 3:59

Elevation Gain: 2,644 feet

After a good sleep in the ‘Glamping’ pod, I heated water to have with some quite pleasant granola with cranberries that I’d picked up at the supermarket, before packing up to leave.

The entire stay including the evening meal and a local craft beer, had cost around £20, which definitely seemed like good value, especially when combined with our host’s good humour.

Setting off, with Marlen and Pablo again, we enjoyed a short stretch along the coast, the weather was fair, but there was a stiff breeze in our faces as we headed in the direction of Contao.

Soon, however, the road turned inland and started to climb, and we struggled up steepening gradients, working our way through the trees, into ever strengthening sunshine.

The windchill took the edge off as we crested an undulating plateau at 800 feet elevation, and views back out towards the sea emerged.

A lengthy downhill followed with Pablo and Marlen rocketing into the distance, confidence inspired by their background in mountain biking, and also their far superior hydraulic disc brakes.

Shortly afterwards, we stopped at a local minimarket for some snacks, the sign suggested that it was open, but there was no one inside, not until the shopkeeper emerged from the house nearby to open it up for us.

Pickings were slim, but I ended up with a packet of small scones, the hardness of which gave the impression that they’d been in the shop for a considerable amount of time.

Surprisingly, though, they did taste quite good, especially after Pablo produced a squeezable pouch of Manjar Tradicional as an accompaniment. It’s a type of Dulche de Leche also common in his home country of Argentina.

Another climb led to an attractive and fertile open valley, with horses stretching their legs in the fields that lay either side of the road.

The last descent, down into Hornopirén, was joyous, with a great road surface, and fantastic views of the happily situated bay starting to unfold.

First port of call was, in fact, the ferry terminal, as we strove to source the elusive tickets for the next part of the route, the Bi-modal ferry to Caleta Gonzalo. Elusive, in that we had spent the entirety of the previous ferry crossing – the day before – attempting to buy tickets online, before realising that the system would not be working any time soon.

And in case you’re wondering what a Bi-modal ferry is, it’s a ferry journey, in which we’d have to get out and cycle in the middle. I’m sure it’ll catch on…

Day 1: Puerto Montt – Mañihueico

Distance: 33.6 miles

Time: 3:41

Elevation Gain: 1,719 feet

Unsurprisingly, I got off to a slow start, rushing to get all of my equipment packed and out of the room by the midday check out time. Rolling down the hill to the large shopping centre down by the waterfront, I was optimistic that my bike seemed to be working quite well, and it felt quite comfortable after the last minute handlebar stem swap out.

Although the forecast was promising showers for the day, the hot weather of the last couple of days had made me regret only bringing merino wool baselayers as they could be a little warm in the sunshine, so I rushed back into Decathlon to pick up the lightest synthetic t-shirt I could find, and followed that up by hunting down the Unimarc supermarket to pick up some supplies and a lighter, for my stove.

Finally, setting off along the coastal cycle path at just after 2 o’clock, I was now officially pedalling along the Carretera Austral. Less than a mile later the main road climbed steeply over a bluff, and I continued along the coast to avoid it, being passed by a couple of cyclists going the other way, which gave me hope that this could be a passable route, a hope that soon evaporated when the road turned to dirt a few metres later, and even more so when I encountered a large puddle of standing water covering the entirety of the road.

Never keen to retrace my steps, I climbed tentatively around the edge and carried on my way, passing a large number of surprisingly docile dogs, one of which looked like it’d jumped out of its fur when I emerged at its side, and pedalled by. Finally, the shoe was on the other foot.

Eventually, I rejoined the main road, Highway 7, and as I stopped at a bus stop to have a snack, the pair of cyclists that I’d seen going the other way earlier on, cycled past, having presumably also encountered the large puddle on the dirt road, but taken evasive action.
Shortly after I stopped for my first Empanada of the ride, similar to pasties, this one was of the chicken and cheese variety and was very pleasant.

Back on the road, I was soon hot on the heels of the cyclists from earlier, and I was gaining on them as I tackled the first climb of the route, one that proved tough in the warm sunshine, especially as I was still wearing my waterproof trousers after the earlier downpours.

Catching up with the pair as they stopped outside a shop, we quickly became introduced, they were a couple from Switzerland, Marlen and Pablo, although Pablo was originally from Argentina.

There was some debate as to whether any of us were planning on pushing on towards the Caleta La Arena ferry this evening, or whether we were hoping to find somewhere to camp sooner. Pablo had cycled this stretch in the opposite direction the year before so was hoping to stop at a campsite this side of the ferry, but in the end we missed it, so carried on up and over a couple of short hills to the ferry port, conveniently just as the ferry was arriving.

Disembarking at Caleta Puelche, it was only 4 km to what Google Maps showed – mysteriously – as ‘Camping y Glamping’, and our hearts sank when we arrived and it was deserted, but we made good use of Pablo’s native Spanish language skills to call the number in the window, and the host rushed along to make us feel at home.

In the end, we all decided that our tents could wait for another day, and the ‘glamping’ setup would do the trick, in this case, a large tent with bed, lights, and power. He also offered to make us burgers for dinner, so my stove could also remain happily ensconced within my panniers.

What Better Place Than Here?

With the possibility of a winter trip to Chile in mind, I did consider not going on a cycle tour in the summer, before, eventually deciding that I would be better to have the extra miles in the legs if I was to tackle a challenging route like the Carretera Austral, a route which comprises 40% dirt roads.

In the end, I enjoyed an excellent route through Norway, a country which I was expecting would offer similar challenges and climate to Patagonian Chile, however, considering the lengthy spells of good weather I enjoyed, perhaps it would be optimistic to expect the same again?

The journey started with a trio of flights, the middle flight of which would be, by some duration, the longest flight I’d ever been on, 15 hours it would take to whisk me from Heathrow to Santiago, Chile’s capital city. The flight passed quite quickly, probably largely because I knew I was unlikely to be able to sleep on the plane, so I lined up a series of films to see me through, taking in my first Christmas films of the season by watching Die Hard and Home Alone, perhaps a little late as my family had already had our own Christmas celebration two days prior to make up for the fact that I wouldn’t be around on the day.

After what seemed like another 15 hours, waiting to get through Passport Control at Santiago Airport, I was soon on my final flight, to Puerto Montt, the starting off point for my route. This flight also passed quite quickly, largely because I was chatting to a keen hiker, Zoe from Manchester, who had previously summited Mount Kilimanjaro and trekked to Everest base camp, and was travelling with her infant daughter Aurora. Zoe’s partner is Chilean and runs a hostel and guest house in Puerto Natales where my route will finish, so potentially somewhere to stay when I get that far.

On landing at Puerto Montt airport, my intention had been to get some form of transport to take me and my kit the 12 miles into town, but on collecting my bike box from the baggage carousel, it was looking a bit structurally unsound, so I decided to rip it open and set about putting my bike back together there and then.

For this tour, I am using a different bike from my previous tours, a Thorn Club Tour, that I have had for several years and bought with the main purpose of taking it on routes which would feature some poorer road surfaces. I have fitted a set of Schwalbe G-One Overland 45 mm tyres, hopefully they should soak up some of the bumps in the road.

Removing the bike from the box, everything looked fine, but I soon realised that I was missing a critical part of the back brake, a V-brake noodle which ensures the cable runs correctly, and without it the back brake wouldn’t work properly. I also noticed that changing the handlebar stem – at the last minute – had caused the rear derailleur cable housing to be pulled too tight, so the gears weren’t working particularly well either.

Luckily the route into Puerto Montt appeared to be quite flat, so I decided to see how I got on…

Making it into town, largely able to skirt along the shoulder of the road and thus avoiding some very heavy traffic, I quickly checked into my hotel for the next three nights, the Courtyard by Marriot, Puerto Montt, and rushed down the hill to Decathlon which, fortunately for me, happened to be open until half 9 in the evening, and also happened to sell the elusive V-brake noodles.

After finally getting some sleep that evening, I didn’t plan much for my first full day in Chile, paying a visit to the vast Jumbo supermarket, to pick up some sun tan lotion, and its companion homewares and DIY store, EASY, to pick up some wire cutters for the bike cables, insect repellent, and a gas canister.

My Christmas Day was largely spent working on the bike, the brakes were an easy fix, but the problem with the gear cable housing took substantially longer to deal with, involving unwrapping the bar tape and feeding the housing through the handlebars, before putting it all back together again.

Eventually, the bike was ready to go and I retired to the hotel restaurant to enjoy a traditional Christmas dinner of seafood soup and herb-crusted salmon with risotto.

Tomorrow I would be setting off along the Carretera Austral, and I still had a significant amount of packing to do…