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Day 20: Puerto Río Tranquilo
Saturday, 22nd Oct. A bright sunny morning with the prevailing wind already rolling down from the mountains in the west unhindered over the surface of Lake General Carrera. By the time I was down by the waterfront shacks, pulling on a poncho and life-jacket, white-topped waves were bouncing any boats already out in the open.…
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Day 19: Icy Shack Camp to Puerto Río Tranquilo
Friday, 21st Oct I woke up surprised to find myself not aching. I’d had a great sleep and had energy to pack up and leave quickly. The bushes around the stream were white with frost and there was a thin layer of ice on the inside of the tent fly. I shook it off, got…
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Day 18: Laguna Chiguay to Icy Shack Camp
Thursday, 20th Oct. I was up once in the night and stepped outside into the forest. Straight out of a horror film the spindly trees shrank back into the darkness. It was a completely clear night and the southern stars were out in full, a shooting star sailed past as I looked up. I went…
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Day 17: Coyhaique to Laguna Chiguay
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…
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Day 15 & 16: Two days in Coyhaique
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…
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Day 14: Estero Azul Quarry to Coyhaique
Monday, 16th Oct An early start straight into a long climb that was to take up the whole morning. With a head slightly fuzzy from the red wine the evening before we took to the the dirt road that cut its way through the haze, passing farmhouses shaded by tall poplars and roaming horses that…
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Day 13: Laguna las Torres to Estero Azul Quarry
Saturday 15th, Oct. Saying that the ride this morning was much of the same belittles the immense scenery, but it was much of the same. The same silent highway through thick forest and corridors of grey cliffs so vast as to mess with my depth perception. I’m now convinced that the reason we as humans…
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Day 12: Puerto Cisnes to Laguna las Torres
Friday 14th, Oct. Completely revived and happy with my little detour I set out back towards the mountains. The guesthouse co-owner, Victor, recommended that I took the longer way out of town, a loop that added a few kilometres but would take me along the waters edge and back through the countryside to the road…
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Day 11: Río Cisnes to Puerto Cisnes
Thurs 13th, Oct. It was a relatively dry night but the river kept the valley cold and humid. I packed quickly after washing my dishes and filling my water bottles down at the river by the beach. I still wanted to continue the detour to Puerto Cisnes as I could do with resupplying and was…
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Day 10: Queulat Glacier to Río Cisnes
Wed 12th, Oct The glacier I could see from my little shed had a trail up towards it through the national park. After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bread toasted on a stick precariously balanced over the fire I packed and left my panniers in one of the buildings. I rode the 1000m to…
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Austral Spring 