Tag: bike touring
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Day 42 & 43: Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas
Monday 14th & Tuesday 15th, Nov. I woke up early but didn’t get out of bed for at least another hour, my motivation still doused in gin from a distillery visit the night before. When I finally did get up it was to an empty guesthouse and a breakfast spread laid out on the downstairs…
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Day 34 & 35: Tortel to Puerto Natales on the Crux Australis
Sunday 6th & Monday 7th, Nov. I woke up early in the ship-length seating saloon. The long cabin was full of reclining seats and big windows, just comfortable enough to get some light sleep through the night. Up on the viewing deck the skies were overcast and they made the scenery a palette of greys,…
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Day 28-33: Parque Patagonia & Tortel Again
Monday 31st, Oct – Saturday 5th, Nov. A book I was reading gave me the burst of energy to hitchhike back towards Cochrane to hike in the Parque National Patagonia. Jack Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums and the conversations I’d had with people who’d been to the park was enough to inspire me to take my…
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Day 25-27: Tortel
Thursday 27th – Sunday 30th, Oct I had a good feeling about Tortel, it was a uniquely beautiful and quiet place to slow down after a month of movement. It was a shame to miss the border crossing at Villa O’Higgins and the national park at El Chaltén beyond but thinking ahead I could always…
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Day 21: Puerto Río Tranquilo to Puerto Bertrand
Monday, 23rd Oct I left late out of Puerto Río Tranquilo, the rest day had done me good but some dark beers in the pub had not. I packed up slowly, enjoying the morning sun, aware that rain that was meant to be coming in from the south-west. By the time I got going the…
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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…
Austral Spring 