Wednesday, 19th Oct.
It was time to get out of Coyhaique, it had been three nights and I was itching to get going. My travel partners and I pulled the bikes out of the shed they’d been stashed in and got out on the main road. Heavy traffic and a narrow lane for the first hour and a short climb up into the start of expansive grasslands. Much of the forest had been cleared for grazing in centuries past and patches of mossy orchards and some replanted pine stood in rows instead. The sharp valleys of previous days mellowed and widened into low glacial hills. Despite the less dramatic walls over the day we would still gradually climb 700m into the Cerro Castillo national park. It was an easy climb after the days of rest, spread out over 50km and we had the wind at out backs.
Ben dropped back early on with a puncture, we’d hear from him later that he’d had a second shortly after. Stopping outside a small shop for a lunch break we met two Brazilians who had been riding the route a couple of weeks ahead of us. They had got a few hundred kilometres further down the road before running out of time and were now on their way back to catch a flight from the city. They gave us some insight into what lay ahead, telling us it would soon be a good idea to carry about four day’s food as shops became sparse and poorly stocked.
I’d read of a campsite beside a lake in the national park that might not be open this early in the season but could still provide shelter. Arriving at the entrance by Laguna Chiguay I found it empty, completely unoccupied and no rangers in sight. It was then a short ride down through a spooky forest, leafless and grey with pale green moss clinging to the tightly grouped trunks. Wind was gusting through swaying the tops of the skinny trees with the occasional creak and crack. A handful of wooden shelters were spread about, each with a clearing and a working tap outside, I pulled my bike into of one of them and set up my mat on the bench inside.
Tom turned up and we got a fire going as there was already a chill in the air. Still no sign of Ben, he would eventually arrive a few hours later as it got dark after yet another puncture. I cooked a large pot of sausage, beans and quinoa, ate it all and sat on a bench by the fire, happy with such an easy day. The bike had felt good after I’d rebalanced it by bringing more weight to the front, the new bottle holder had held up well and I could feel the difference having the weight down low. It was good to be out in the open again after the days in Coyhaique. Two weeks into the ride, with a potential for 3 or 4 times that again to come. I’m starting to look at hikes and excursions to do further down the road, Mount Fitzroy and Torres del Paine in particular. I still have December with no plans so I’m in no rush to get to the bottom, and it will be the start of summer by then.
Austral Spring 