Monday 17th & Tuesday 18th, Oct.
The most populous town for a long while with 50,000 inhabitants, Coyhaique is a hub for the Aysén region and the adventure tourism it hosts. Surrounded by hills and with quiet side streets, small businesses and a thriving centre full of outdoor shops, it reminded me of the mountain towns in British Columbia. It was a good place to look back over the last two weeks and to make any alterations and preparations for the next leg of the journey.
I spent the first day trying to find a way to attach a water bottle that I’d been carrying on my back to my front rack. It was an awkward fix and none of the bike shops I visited had anything that would work so I looked around for another solution. I settled on a soup ladle from a hardware shop that fit the oversized bottle perfectly, hooking nicely onto the rack and secured with zip ties and cord. I bought a light-weight hatchet for making kindling and a grill for future camp-fire meals; an addition inspired by the Aussies I’d been riding with and their commitment to good eating on the road. That evening, Ben cooked up an excellent veggie bolognaise on his stove in the guesthouse kitchen while I prepped my food for the next few days by microwaving dried beans and drying out quinoa I’d rinsed prior in front of the heater.
I had intended to leave the next but got delayed by indecision and errands so took the day to restock supplies and enjoy the sun, sitting outside near the plaza and catching up with people at home. Looking at the route ahead, and with overnight rain forecast, I set my sights on a sheltered campsite in the Cerro Castillo national park for the next day’s ride, about 50km away.
Austral Spring 