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
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...
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.
