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Published: March 9th 2007
Our bicycle travels continued along the Carretera Austral, starting in El Chalten, Argentina and ending in Coyhaique (Tobias) and Futaleufu, Chile (Ted), with lots of side adventures along the way (
see map).
From El Chalten, we biked north to Lago Desierto, from where a 32 km-long trail/jeep track leads to the Chilean border and a ferry across Lago O'Higgins. Most cyclists following this route opt for a second ferry ride across Lago Desierto and travel the route over 2 days. But on our journey the Lago Desierto ferry was broken down, and we only had a day. So we loaded all our gear into our packs and pushed our bikes for 8 h along a winding, muddy trail to the border, then rode another 2 h down to Lago O'Higgins.
Along the way, two broken bike racks tested our resolve but we ultimately made it to our ferry and then Villa O'Higgins, at the southern terminus of the Carretera Austral. Here we found a weld for Tobias's rack, and I switched back to a one-rack configuration. Then it was 212 km up the road to Cochrane, with a brief stop in magical Tortel (a town built on wooden walkways fringing
a fjord). Along the way, Tobias' rack broke in two more places but we made temporary repairs with lock ties and wire salvaged from a roadside construction site. In Cochrane, we welded it again, breathing new life into the now-christened ¨Frankenrack.¨ After I found a plastic baby-doll head charm and mounted it to my handlebar, our mechanical problems disappeared for good!
Our path twisted through glacier-clad mountains and we could feel the climate change as we approached the coast. We encountered huemul deer, red-headed carpinteros (woodpecker), bandurria (ibises), Austral parakeets, torrent ducks, condors, and the inquisitive chucao. From Tortel, our route followed the azure blue Rio Baker (reminding me of our mighty Skagit River) upstream to Lago General Carrera, where we found perfect beachside camping. Then north again to Villa Castillo (some 460 km from Villa O'Higgins) where we met our first paved road in over 900 km.
Just outside Villa Castillo we met two lost Germans, and Tobias' friendly directions won us free beers. We paused four days here, catching a rodeo and hiking in the Reserva Nacional Cerro Castillo. Then we cycled north to Coyhaique where we celebrated the 1000-km mark in our bike journey, and
Tobias sold his bike before departing for Peru.
Tobias had run out of time, you see. But I still had a little. So alone I continued north for five days of hard pedalling to Futaleufu - the poetry of the name and notoriety of its whitewater drawing me on. Along the way, the weather grew wet and the vegetation crowded the road - wild treeferns, Gunnera, and fuschia so thick that roadcrews used chainsaws to clear view corridors on curves. Picaflors hummed overhead protecting my tired body and working soul.
Along the way we befriended cyclists Lucy (Canada) and Yan (Holland), hikers Brent, Allegra (both USA), and Peter (Holland), travellers Shachar & Einav (Israel), guide Nicholas (USA and Chile), and a crazy one-armed motorcyclist named Tom (Canada) who had traveled from Colombia on a jerry-rigged 1983 Yamaha. We have pedalled hard this past month and a half, and learned to accept perpetual hunger and tired butts. Dinners of horsemeat charque with quinoa, plus two or three lunches a day, and helados aplenty fueled our bodies.
Reaching Futaleufu I sold my bike to the friendly town bike mechanic Raffa, then spent a day each floating the
Rio Futaleufu and
exploring the temperate rainforest of
Park Pumalin (close to nearby Chaiten), before hopping the ferry to Puerto Montt and making my way back to Buenos Aires. Unfortunately, some bus delays prevented me from reaching Buenos Aires in time to participate in the raucous street demonstrations ¨welcoming¨ President Bush to Latin America...
News that close family friend Tim Anderson´s cancer chemotherapy has ended has me in a sad mood of late. I am missing home and you all more and more each day.
Love and peace to you all.
Credits: Again, all the magical photos were taken by Tobias.
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Tobias
non-member comment
we had a great time down in Patagonia!
Hey ice-cream-man, it is me, paltaman. Just wanted to tell you hello from cordillera blanca, peru and tell you that I miss you as travelmate. We spent such a creazy time together pedalling and hiking in Patagonia. It was wonderful and I will never forget this adventure. And I tell you, your travelblog is awesome man. Thanx a lot!