Leg 4 - Chile Chico to Esquel - The Carretera Austral

Route summary: Chile Chico, Cochrane, Puerto Rio Tranquilo, Villa Cerro Castillo, Coyhaique, Puerto Cisnes, Castro, Lenca, Hornopiren, Chaiten, Esquel


Days: 15
Zero mileage days: 2
Distance (point to point): 406km
Distance (driven): 2,362km
Inefficiency factor (Driven/P2P): 5.82
Avg. speed: 157km/day

Click here for detail.


This leg was why I created the "Inefficiency factor" metric! This part of Chile is a bit fractal like, in that the closer you get to it the more little places there are to go to and so, for 406km of distance moved, I rode over two thousand kilometres.

The first ride from Chile Chico to Cochrane was stunning. Along the south side of what was now Lago General Carrera (1). Signs that said dangerous corners for 16km indicated the presence of high roads with steep drops into the lake and on one section you were advised not to stop for the next 1km because of the risk of landslides, but the road was stunning. The lake on the right and snow capped mountains on the other side, occasional steep climbs and descents. The road continued like this for about 120km...

It then met the Carretara Austral proper and I went south, reaching Cochrane about 4pm after some of the most "corrugated" road I'd ridden on to date (which shakes everything loose) and was spat on by a Huapo (that I was trying to free from a barbed wire fence at the time). Deciding it would be interesting to see it to the end I drove another 120km to Puerto Yungay, from where you can get a ferry across a fiord and continue south for another 70km or so to Villa O'Higgins, the end of the road on the Chilean side. I arrived at Puerto Yungay, after a ride through some amazing gorges (right), the final run in driving past snow on the side of the road in a south facing valley. Arrive in Puerto Yungay (bottom), no ferries until at least the next day, and nowhere to stay. So turn around and do the 120km back to Cochrane. Daily mileage of 442km, my 5th biggest day to date and all of it on ripio.

The next day was another side route, 70km up to the Chilean side of the Roballo pass that I'd wanted to go across. The first 10km or so was through an area which had seen a forest fire, recent enough that you could still smell it (2). Then it was into a beautiful valley, with amazing views, herds of guanacos and other wildlife. It gradually became more and more isolated, the further up the valley you got and the road, not good to start with, got a little worse with more "water features" (my first of the trip).

But then it opened up a bit, and I found myself riding along the side of a small runway, just around the corner from the Chilean customs post. Turn around, a quick sandwich, coffee and then it's back down to the Carretera Austral. Quite a big detour but it was very beautiful.

Then back north, following the past innumerable lakes to Puerto Rio Tranquilo on the shores of Lago General Carrera. This is famous for the Catedral de Marmol (below right - see here for more photos, including one of me in a wetsuit, (3)), an outcrop made of calcium carbonate, some of which has metamorphosed into marble (4) that has then been eroded by the waters of the lake into the most beautiful shapes.

Then on to Villa Cerro Castillo where I came across the only unhelpful Chilean I've ever met (and she was running a hotel), but in more positive news I also found tarmac, wifi the Las Manos de Cerro Castillo (less numerous than in Argentina and in a significantly less well funded location, but a very helpful guide). I was also reminded about the Patagonian winds, which picked up as I rode to Puerto Inginero Ibanez. The bike looked like this when I came back from a coffee...

Then on to Coyhaique. Coming out of Cerro Castillo the road weaved tightly up a hill and into a pass (Portezuelo Ibanez, altitude 1,120m), which looking at the map is I think an Atlantic / Pacific watershed. So I could finally say I'd crossed the Andes (and also new max altitude for the bike). Then a long ride down into Coyhaique. Cloud clung to the sides of the valleys but parts of it were in sunshine. The light was amazing and on one occasion I nearly drove off the road as I was admiring the view.

Three nights in Coyhaique avoiding the rain (and snow), then a ride along one of the most beautiful stretches of road to Puyuhuapi, down narrow green valleys with countless waterfalls from the recent rain and then tracing up wider ones with snowcapped peaks around every corner. I spent the day grinning like an idiot, astonished that it just seemed to get better and better.

The tarmac then ended and the road continued over a pass (much lower here) through jungle and some pretty awful roads (muddy and pot-holed) but with things like this waterfall to look at on the way up. It was cloudy with occasional showers and so I wasn't too positive about seeing the hanging glacier Ventisquero Colgante and after the 40 minute walk to the mirador I was greeted with a fairly cloudy view. Fortunately it cleared and you could see the face of the glacier and the waterfall that it fed. Ice falls from this are apparently fairly spectacular (given the height) but although I heard two, I didn't see any (the distance is such that by the time you hear it, the ice has already dropped out of sight).

Then onto Puyuhuapi, a small town settled by German's. Refuel me and Lena and then turn around and head south. A very relaxing few hours in some thermal springs (lot of volcanic activity = lots of thermal springs) watching the light fade and the stars come out, then back onto the bike and back over the pass in the dark and on to Puerto Cisnes in order to catch the ferry to Quellon in Chiloe at 6:30 the following morning.

Spend all of 6 hours in the hostel before heading to the port, getting there 90 minutes before the ferry's due to arrive (so 5am - a bit late as they say you need to be there 2 hours before)...

10am and the ferry's still not turned up and I'm incredibly cold, so go in search of breakfast, a fire and wifi to find out what's happened to the boat. Apparently bad weather had delayed it, and it was due to arrive at 6:30 that evening and spend the day killing time. This time the ferry does go - the delay means that we do a lot of it at night, so we miss seeing much of the fiords, and are teased with stunning views as the sun goes down.

Then there's nothing to do but settle down, watch the series of horror films that are being shown on the screens, sleep and occasionally head outside when we reach one of the (tiny) ports the ferry calls at. The ferry runs once a week (in each direction) and is the lifeline for some of the tiny island communities.

A cloudy day the following day, so opportunities to see whales are very limited (I met some people who did the ferry the opposite way and saw whales and Killer Whales). Arrive in Quellon which seems only to be famous for being the end of the Panamerican highway, so ride out to that (interestingly 20,000 km to Alaska now, whereas in Ushuaia it was only 17,848km so I seem to be taking the long way up...) and then head north to Castro.

Tarmac apart from 20km of some of the worst road I think I've ridden on (muddy, potholes) sandwiched in between a coach and a large 4x4 that seemed to want to overtake. Chiloe is famous for it's churches, there are lots of them and they're both pretty and old. Up close they look pretty badly built and I thought that one of the reasons so many of them were Unesco recognised was that they were amazed they'd stayed upright for so long. But while the outside may be covered in wrinkly tin, some of the woodwork in the interior is stunning.

The other thing that the island is famous for is the palafitos (or houses on stilts that sit above the water, enabling you to fish off the back of your house, or more your boat from it). Some of which were very beautiful while others looked minutes away from being a leaky boat. I couldn't quite see why you'd choose it as the location for a gym (I think it was called "Gym on stilts"). I had coffee in an art gallery in a (well-constructed) palafito, but I have to say I wouldn't choose to live in one. You can sense the house moving underneath you (only very slightly, but it's definitely moving), but it's not obviously visible which gave me a rather unpleasant feeling of motion sickness!

There's also (yet!) another very beautiful national park on the Pacific coast with wildlife trails through some apparently pretty unique biospheres. And then there's the first proper sight (on this trip) of the Pacific ocean. Go due west from here (42° 35' 05"S) and the first land fall is New Zealand. Keep going west after New Zealand and next land is Tasmania, and after that it's Peninsula Valdes (back in Latin America and where I was in the first week of the trip).

Bump into an Italian couple again (I've lost track how many times we've seen each other) and have an lovely late afternoon / early evening and meal at their stunning hostel (below), watching  hummingbirds feed as dusk falls and then reluctantly climb back on the bike and leave the idyllic scenery and return to Castro.

Timing is everything now. I was told by a Dutch couple about a very good weather forecasting program (5) and that was telling me that a very large weather front was coming in off the Pacific, bringing 3-5 days worth of rain. So if I wanted to head back onto the Carretera Austral and get to Chaitan (the plan I'd settled on after much deliberation in Coyhaique), I needed to move now.

But first, some bike admin. The Carretera Austral has started to take it's toll and the front fairing has developed a squeak. Gaffer tape and zip ties applied to reduce the movement and appear to have some success. Check the oil level and it's worryingly low. Then spend the best part of 2 hours trying to find a funnel to top it up and some more engine oil to replace what I've used (6). Succeed in the former, fail in the later and head on (albeit later than planned).

North to Ancud and then on the ferry back onto the mainland (boat number 5 for the bike on this trip) and then north on route 5 and the view you don't see everyday - a dual carriageway! Oh, and a couple of volcanoes.

Skirt the top of the Golfo de Ancud then back south (wrong way again) and spend the night ready to take the ferries the next day. On the way I decide to visit the Parque Nacional Alerce Andino (7) and I walk up (through lush rainforest and crashing waterfalls) to one in particular alerce called the Milenario. I've heard it's been estimated at being 3,000 years old, which is astonishing - this tree started growing at around the same time the Iron Age was beginning. The landscape of Patagonia keeps reminding me of the Lord of the Rings with its jagged mountains, and here I am stood next to what has to be the inspiration for the Ents. 

Down to the ferry and realise that although I can take the first one on the bi-modal route, I'll miss the second (and therefore third), but take it anyway on the basis I can stay the night in Hornopiren. A great ferry ride with snowcapped mountains peaking through clouds, rewarding you for staying out on deck.

A good ride (~60km) ride across to Hornopiren and the clouds have cleared giving a great view of the ferry's route the next day.

Wake up to very heavy fog and silently rue having put my binoculars in my jacket pocket on the basis that there would be lots to see. However, as the ferry pulls out the fog starts to thin and clear in patches. And you can see rainbows form in the fog, then that clears leaving some cloud draped over islands. Banks of fog still remain and we're heading for one, so I stay out on deck, knowing that what I'm seeing now is the definition of ephemeral, making a conscious effort to remember it all.

A 10km sprint to the other side of the peninsula and the final ferry (Lena's 8th).

Then it's a ride across Doug Tomkin's Parque Pumalin (rubbish roads - muddy, big round boulders and hilly - and I'm tired) but some great views before arriving in Chaiten. Just before leaving the park the road goes through the grey remains of a forest burnt by the pyroclastic flow that followed the eruption of Volcan Chaiten in 2008.

So, the next day I decide to walk up the Volcano. The path takes you up through the forest killed by the pyroclastic flow. Smaller shrubs and bushes have returned but there are no (living) trees and the skeletons of the old ones gives the place an eery atmosphere, especially with the low cloud. Then I emerged above the cloud to stunning views.

The board at the bottom had said it would take an hour and a half to get to the top. 1 hour 20 mins after setting off I arrive, a sweaty, knackered mess. But then I don't think you're supposed to do it in motorcycle gear...

Spend some time taking in the views, watching smoke rise from various parts of the side of the caldera (you're not allowed any closer) and looking at the various different types of rocks, from black glassy ones, through red to white pumice-like stones - none of which I can identify (see note 4 again). Then back down again, significantly quicker!

Then it's back on the bike. The weather forecast is still saying that the next day is going to herald 5 days of horrible weather so I want to get into Argentina and into the rain shadow of the Andes. Tarmac gives way to ripio and some pretty bad roads, that get worse when I leave the Carretera Austral at Villa Santa Lucia and head towards Futaleufu. Time's pressing on so I don't have time to stop off for too long to admire the stunning views or get closer to two more hanging glaciers that I pass on the road. This is a truly astonishing place.

I drive into Futaleufu just as it's getting dark and by the time I've cleared Chilean and Argentinian borders it properly dark. A 40km night ride on ripio into Trevelin which is suffering from a power cut when I arrive. The lack of an ATM I can use and a place to stay means I head on to Esquel, another 25km down the (thankfully) tarmac road and somewhere to stay. The Carretera Austral is a stunning route, but hard work and I was looking forward to a decent night's sleep.

Notes:
1. The lake is shared by Argentina and Chile, the former call it Lago Buenos Aires.
2. I understand that the valley is owned by Doug Tompkins who founded the North Face clothing company. He sold the company and used the proceeds to buy up large tracts of land in Chile, to establish private parks (some of which have been donated to the Chilean state on the condition that they remain national parks and restricts the ability to explore or exploit any mineral deposits). There have been mixed responses to this from the Chileans. I think some see it as a positive way to protect the environment. Others see it as a US billionaire preventing Chileans from exploiting their natural resources in the same way as the US did to kick start their industrial revolution and underpin their economic development. I heard later that there was a suggestion that the fire had been started deliberately by someone in the latter camp.
3. Take this as either warning or incentive.
4. This is what wikipedia tells me. Don't get me started on how embarrassed I am about my knowledge of basic physical geography and geology - how I got an A at GCSE without ever having been taught any of this is beyond me!
5. Called Zygrib if you're interested.
6. I try and carry 3ltrs of oil with me at all times, just in case...
7. Alerces are a type of cypress and are the largest and oldest trees in Latin America. A tree in 1993 was estimated to be over 3,000 years old.

Catedral de Marmol, near Puerto Rio Tranquilo, Chile

Formed by the water erosion of the marble and less robust calcium carbonate deposits, the shapes are amazing, with a remarkably small amount of rock still holding up the tower above. It will all collapse one day - you just have to hope you're not the unlucky one...

Gratuitous photos of me in a wetsuit, it's alright, there's only one!

The thing that I found interesting was that the marble wasn't eroded smooth, it was all covered in these beautifully smooth dimples, which seemed to reflect the small waves on the otherwise remarkably still water (given the size of the lake).

It also reminded me of the below, a bottle fashioned out of Italian marble by Andrea Morgante for The House of Peroni last year. It was always my favourite design in the bottle project, because rather than using a very polished finish he created a finish where you could still see the effects of the craftsmanship.

So, basically, I was sat in a canoe on a Chilean (and Argentinian) lake, in a wetsuit, under thousands of tonnes of marble, thinking about beer... 

[click image or here for more on the bottle, over 18's only]

Leg 3 - Punta Arenas to Chile Chico

Route summary: Punta Arenas, Porvenir, Puerto Natales, Torres del Paine, El Calafate, Pink Hotel, El Chalten, Tamel Aike, Bajo Caracoles, Chile Chico


Days: 20
Zero mileage days: 6
Distance (point to point): 738km
Distance (driven): 3,206km
Inefficiency factor (Driven/P2P): 4.34
Avg. speed: 160km/day

Click here for detail.

Punta Arenas' claim to fame is that it is the southernmost city in the world (Ushuaia is apparently only a town) and also has the southernmost vineyard (inside the conservatory of a very fine building in the centre of town that I think is now a Hotel). It has a cemetery which is similar to the one in Buenos Aires in having lots of ornate mausoleums which makes the place feel like a small city. All of this is surrounded by a wall and with a large front gate which were apparently paid for by Sara Braun (1), who made the donation it on the condition that she be the last person to use the main front gates. So, on her death she was carried through the front gates and they were closed and locked, and still are. It's quite a surreal place, some very beautiful buildings for containing peoples bones, and the same division between the wealthy, and the less wealthy. The latter's remains being housed in much smaller, and less ornate homes. I couldn't help notice the architectural similarity in the two "homes" in the picture on the right.

The other things of note in Punta Arenas are the brewery for Cerveza Austral (I tried to visit but they weren't doing tours) and a statue of Magellan in the middle of the town. On the north side of the plinth is a statue of and I saw that people kept touching his foot. A postcard told me that if you kiss the Indian's big toe, you'll return to Punta Arenas. It's a nice place so I have it a go - it was more effective than I thought it would be.

Then it was across the Magellan Straits again, this was longer (about two and a half hours) to Porvenir with dolphins seen at the harbour gates as we arrived. A night in Porvenir in a rather rickety hostel, an interesting encounter with a Canadian working in the oil exploration industry and an introduction to Austral's Calafate Ale (2). The next day involved a ride out to see the only King Penguin colony outside of the Antarctic and spent an hour or so watching them before heading back to the top of Tierra del Fuego and crossing the Magellan Straits again. This was a very windy drive (3) and another windy crossing. I was lucky to get on the ferry I did, one more sailed immediately after the one I was on and then they stopped running.

It was then a long, windy ride to Puerto Natales, the launch base for the Torres del Paine national park about 120km to the north. I decided I needed a day to prep kit and food etc, so had a lazy day in Puerto Natales (mostly spent drinking coffee and eating cake in a cafe with a spectacular view). Off to the national park the next day for an amazing 5 days (albeit the route didn't entirely go to plan) - some of the most stunning scenery I've ever seen and some great walking (more here).

Back to Puerto Natales and I decided that I'd need a new rear tyre for the bike (christened Lena on the ride up from Porvenir). No one could help in Puerto Natales and I was told that although I might find somewhere in El Calafate it was likely to be more expensive. An internet search suggested that my options were Punta Arenas (back south), Rio Gallegos (back east) or Puerto Montt (north). I didn't think the rear would last on the Ruta 40 and Carratera Austral to Puerto Montt and didn't really want to have to go back to Rio Gallegos so decided to head back to Punta Arenas. New rear tyre fitted, some draught Patagonian Ale in town after a stunning sunset illuminating the sky across the Magellan Straits and a walk back to the hostel through the main square. This time I only touched the Indian's big toe, although it's a nice place I didn't want to be back again in less than a fortnight.

The ride back up towards Puerto Natales was a bit tedious (some of the road I'd now driven down three times). The highlight was having tea in a shed. In Puerto Natales I'd met an English couple and a Scottish bloke who were cycling. The former had spent two and a half years cycling from Alaska and were on their way to Ushuaia, the latter had been on the road for a year, having started in Venezuela. As I was riding back I saw three bikes parked outside a shed, so pulled off the road. They were having lunch inside and kindly gave me some tea and I shared my biscuits. A contender for the definition of Britishness and definitely one of the most memorable cups of tea I've had on the trip. 

Then it was back into Argentina and onto Ruta Cuarenta (40), which has pretty legendary status as a hard road, although nearly all of it that I rode that day was tarmac and a beautiful winding road following the Turbio river north, enough ripio to be interesting without being too tiring and then on to El Calafate, entering the town shortly after the most amazing sunset. It as a amazing day on the bike (good roads, clear weather and problem free).

El Calafate is the closest town to the Perito Moreno glacier. The glacier has a face 5km wide, is approximately 60m tall and is one of the few glaciers that's still advancing. It's an amazing place and very difficult to get a handle on the scale, until a piece of ice falls off the face and you see the time it takes for it to fall, and then the size of the splash that it creates (more here). 

Rather than head back to El Calafate for another night, and then ride up to El Chalten, I decided I'd ride to the Pink Hotel. I'd been told about the place by the cyclists that I'd met in Puerto Natales (4). Click here for my review...

A beautiful ride to El Chalten, with the mountains including Fitzroy and the Cerro Torre gradually getting larger as you approach them from the east. The cover photo of the blog was taken at a mirador just before entering the town. Two great days of walking followed, the first covering significantly more ground than the second and ending with the sun setting behind the Cerro Torre and casting the most amazing shadows onto the west facing hills opposite. 

The second day was easier, a ride up to the lake where the hardy can take a ferry and then walk into Chile and the very bottom of the Carratera Austral (unfortunately not passable by bike), waterfalls and sunset atop a smaller hill overlooking the town. The clouds had come in on the second day (after the most amazingly blue skies the previous two days) but at sunset the clouds reflected the light from the sun onto the east face of the mountain, briefly lighting them up.

At the park office they were warning of deteriorating weather conditions. I'd given up on trying to do a four day hike round the back and above the glacier and decided to run away from the bad weather and head back east, then north. A good ride, about 120km of ripio when the ruta 40 showed what it could be like (5). A brief encounter with a Canadian rider on a big BMW, heading south, then tarmac (which I was very grateful for at this point), refuel and a big raincloud on the horizon was moving up from the south. I initially thought I was going to be able to miss it but the road took me into it's leading edge. The next hour or so wasn't much fun, gradually getting wetter, the road went onto a ridge line, which meant no shelter from the cross wind and also meant you felt quite exposed to the occasional lightning that I could see in the main body of the storm. I managed to ride out of the rain, but the sunlight was fading at this point so stopped at a place that advertised accommodation, just in time as shortly after checking in, the storm caught up and the most torrential rain storm arrived.


The sun returned the following day and an easier than expected ride up to Bajo Caracoles where I met a Londoner, who now lived in France, on a motorbike he'd bought in Santiago (and wasn't working properly). After chatting to him for a bit, he set of south and I went to the Cuerva de los Manos (Cave of the Hands). These cave paintings, on the side of the most stunning canyon, date from around 9,000 years ago until around the time of the arrival of the Europeans and are largely made up of positive and negative images of hands created by blowing paint onto the wall. It's an amazing place.

Back to Bajo Caracoles where I found out the hostel had closed. The guy that lived next door (and who had told me that the hostel was closed) offered me a bed in his spare room (I assumed he had something to do with the hostel but it was out of season). Only after agreeing did I discover there was no running water, the place smelt decidedly weird and the bloke was always whistling - I was beginning to think that it was like something out of Deliverance. The next morning I awoke (good first start) to snow (not so good). I didn't fancy another night in Bajo Caracoles but at the petrol station I was warned off taking the route that I was planning into Chile (over Paso Roballos) because of the weather and instead decided to head north to Perito Moreno, Los Antiguos and back into Chile at Chile Chico. A pretty unpleasant ride to Los Antiguos in the snow, which at times was falling so fast I had to wipe my visor clear 4 or more times a minute in order to be able to see. Bajo Caracoles is at 633m and the road to Perito Moreno went as high as 829m (that I saw), but Perito Moreno was lower and warmer (and so it was only raining there). Defrost for a few hours in a very accommodating cafe, then on to Los Antiguos on the Argentinian side (a lovely ride in sunshine) and back into Chile and Chile Chico.

Notes:

1. The Brauns were one of the very influential families responsible for opening up Patagonia and I think founders of La Anonima, which is now a supermarket chain in Argentina). The house in the centre of the town with the vineyard was Sara Braun's palace.

2. Calafate is a local berry, and the story goes that if you eat calafate you will return to Patagonia. I'm not usually a fan of flavoured beers but this one is very good.
3. I chatted to some guys on the ferry who'd been driving behind me earlier. They said they'd never seen someone go round a right hand corner with the bike leaning over to the left!
4. It seems to be a bit like The Beach, an almost mythical place that's handed on from cyclist to cyclist (and occasionally motorcyclists).
5. Much was alongside a freshly made tarmac road that hadn't quite been finished, and these alternate routes were worse than the normal ripio, with some very greasy muddy sections.

Pink hotel

Here's a tour of the Pink Hotel. It's apparent that I've been away for some time as I struggle with the day of the week (it was actually a Sunday), although I'm not (yet) suffering as badly as the cyclists I'd met who still thought it was 2013 when they made their entry into the Pink Hotel's visitors register...

In case you'd like to stay, it's located at 49° 53' 26"S, 072° 02' 26"W, about 10km south of La Leona on the east side of the road. North entrance is blocked by weighted barrels and barbed wire (but bicycles can be walked past), south entrance is easier for motorbikes but there's no access to the house other than going over or under the wire.

Perito Moreno glaciar

The glacier was amazing. The ride out to it was pretty special, initially across some wide plains with spectacular mountains in the distance.

Then, for the last 30km or so, the road weaved along the north shore of the Brazo Rico river. There were regular signs telling you to watch your speed. I think partially to prevent people from enjoying the road too much as it can get icy in the shade, and partially so that you don't just drive off the side of the hill, slack-jawed when you come across a view of the glacier like this:

It's difficult to get a sense of scale, but from the port on the right of the image, to the face of headland opposite the glacier is about 2.5-3km. I was told that the face is 5km wide (it's on two sides) and the glacier is up to 60m tall.

One of the reasons the Perito Moreno glaciar is famous is that it's advancing, the other is that it's easy to get to to look at. This is because there's a headland opposite on which they've made various walkways. What happens when the glacier reaches the headland? Well, it blocks the Braco Rico river, which flows clockwise in the map below out of the north to Lago Argentino. The river then undercuts the glacier, creating an ice arch, which then collapses, in quite a spectacular fashion (called a rupture).

As well as the walkways (which have a good view of the north side of the glacier) you can take a boat which gives a better view of the south side of the glacier (below), and gets you a bit closer, about 300m we were told.

While we were there we saw a couple of big chunks of ice fall. I managed to get one on film below. You can kind of get a view of scale from the time it takes the ice to fall and the size of the wave that it creates.

I thought that this big piece was going to fall (it's on the right hand edge of the photo above). It was in the sun and you can see the water streaming off it at the bottom.

Sure enough, it did fall about an hour later when I was on the headland. I saw it but (typically) had just put my camera away. I did manage to catch one more ice fall though (below).

It was a beautiful place to spend a couple of hours. I get the impression that during high season the place gets very busy (given the number of walkways), but it was fairly quiet when I was there and the weather was stunning.