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22nd January
2009
Only two weeks have passed since we last wrote, but we feel like we
have had one adventure after another.
Having seen the devastating after effects of the Chaiten volcano and
having been hypnotised by the volcanoes of Villarica (2840m) and Lanin
(3717m), we decided that we wanted to learn a little more about volcanoes
and devised “Kelly and Dave´s volcano tour.” A detour that would allow us
to gaze in awe at a few more volcanoes, in doing so it would also enable us
to visit a few more national parks, although we are beginning to think that
Chile is one big national reserve.
Looking at our map (which is devoid of contour information, and
dates back to 2003) we thought that our tour should also get off the beaten
track a little more, and thus we excitedly chose a few minor roads to cycle
on, and that is where things began to get a little tough...
We left Villarica thinking that our route would be fairly flat, but
instead we were greeted with hills that undulated ever upwards and
consisted of large “get off and push” gravel stones. Up ahead I could hear
Dave´s constant muttering that we should have treated ourselves to a bit of
smooth tarmac instead of the volcano route. However, we enjoyed the scenery
which reminded us in some respects of the UK with rolling hills and
farmers harvesting the wheat.
After a little bit of unexpected tarmaced roads and a nice swim in the
campsite pool that evening, Dave shared his problems of the gravel roads
with our neighbours, six beautiful llamas, and after a good night´s sleep
he was ready to discover National Park Conguillio, home to the Volcano
Llaima (3125m).
What we didn´t know (our guidebooks were disposed of in the first
week of our journey due to their additional weight!) was that the volcano
is quite an active one, having erupted on the 1st Jan 2008 and again in
2003, so we were amazed at the extent of the solidified lava flows that
cascaded down into the farmer´s fields. We thoroughly enjoyed cycling
through the national park, which soon turned into a lunar landscape with
the volcano ever present as a backdrop.
Towards the end of the first day in the park, our legs had become
quite tired after cycling through gravel and sand and we wondered whether
the sight of a German wandering around in the middle of nowhere, wearing a
Mexican sombrero, pink tropical shirt, flip flops and carrying a guitar was
actually a mirage or whether he was part of a tourist group that a Chilean
guide had lost, to whom we had been chatting to earlier in the day as he
was looking for his group members who had disappeared.
We wild camped in an incredible spot, beside a hidden lagoon, aptly
named Laguna Verde (Green Lagoon). Not only were we able to cool down and
wash the sand away, but we were treated to the sun setting behind the
volcano, and kept company through the night by a Patagonian hare, which was
the size of a small dog! I did hear rumblings through the night and
couldn´t work out whether they were from Dave or the volcano.
The following day the lunar landscape changed to a dense forest of
giant monkey puzzle trees and secret lakes.
Apparently this area was the setting for the series “Walking with
Dinosaurs.” It wasn´t hard to imagine dinosaurs crashing around and
thundering through the enormous undergrowth.
Spurred on by our tour we decided that we would follow a little road
that was marked on our map which followed the Bio Bio river. Dave had a
particular interest in seeing the effects of the dam, both on the river and
how it had affected tourism in the area. The Bio Bio river was once a very
famous white water rafting and kayaking river which was dammed in 1998 and
was a big source of controversy within the news in 1997.
Our map reading logic dictated that as the road followed the river
down, the road should effectively be mainly downhill. How wrong were we? We
had tried to find out about the route in the nearby town of Longquimay, but they
must only expect tourists to arrive on Mondays and Thursdays, the only days
when the tourist office is open. As it was Wednesday, we had to resort to
asking the police, who then called in a few residents to help us with
information about the route. It seemed no-one knew what lay outside their
own town as we had conflicting advice. As it turned out, the first part of
our journey from Longquimay to Troyo was quite scenic following a lush
valley, however, we were a little taken aback by the numerous steep uphill gravel
climbs.
We arrived into Troyo shattered but were invited to camp on a
retired policeman´s land. Once we had set up our camp he then proceeded to
take us on a tour of his land and tried to hard-sell us his 150 hectare
property for 300,000
pounds. We tried to explain that it was out of our
price range (as well as being overpriced for the area) and tried to let him
down as gently as we could, but he carried on his pitching to us through
the following morning, desperate to sell up and live it up in Santiago.
We bid the policeman farewell and he assured us that we would be in
Ralco by the end of the day as it was only 40kms and all of it downhill. He
had obviously NEVER, ever, ever travelled the route in his life, was this
pay back for not buying his land?
Our road to Ralco quickly turned into a farm track and kept veering
upwards away from the river. For an hour we followed the track which had
turn into sand and then mud and then mud with rocks and lots of water. At
this point we were pushing our bikes and covered mud. Thankfully, we stumbled upon a farmer
working in his field. He delivered the good and bad news in one swift blow.
Yes we were on the right “road” but the “road” was going to get worse and
we would have to cycle (push) our bikes up and over the mountain that he
had indicated to in the distance. We had two options, to turn back and
retrace our past 3 day route or take on the challenge.
We had absolutely no idea why this “road” was even on the map, at
the most it was an animal track, suitable for horses and goats. It
certainly couldn´t have accommodated a car or even 4x4, although with our
honed tracking skills we believe that an adventurous quad biker with a
death wish had attempted the route in the past and couldn´t decided whehter
he had succeeded or not.
We spent the rest of the day pushing our 35kg bikes up the mountain
in the sweltering mid-day heat, to 1200m, higher than Snowdonia. I had to use my whole body as a lever to
inch the bike up the moutain cm by cm. I secretly wondered whether this was
a test set by Dave to push me to my limits and harden me up a bit. However,
up ahead, I could see that he was shaking his head and melting in his own
pool of sweat too.
After what seemed like hours we arrived to the top of the pass
(still dubious as to whether we were on the right road) and were stunned by
the view in both directions, with volcanoes and the Andes
stretching out before us.
The downhill cycling proved just as tough as the uphill struggle and
after falling off a few times, we decided to walk the bikes down and try to
work out which track would take us to the village that we could see in the
distance. Just when we thought we had made it to the village of no
name, we realised that a river stood
between us and a cool drink. Dave, aka, Indiana Jones scrambled around
numerous paths and eventually found the most treacherous track that lead
down to a bridge, to the unknown village and Mapuche reserve.
We must have looked quite a sight as we limped into the little
village shop, gasping for a drink, for the both of us were filthy; covered
head to toe in dirt, sand, bruised and scratched. Rather than throwing us
out of the shop, the shop owner took pity on us and let us camp behind his
shop and use his outdoor shower. By the time he had closed his shop, we
were somewhat revived and he bundled us into his truck and took us to a
nearby lake, he quickly installed us into his inflatable rowing boat and
set the evening challege which was to catch salmon for our dinner. Sadly,
the fish didn´t bite which could have been because Dave and I were
unco-ordinated in our rowing ability and kept going around in circles. We
had to settle for coffee, bread and jam, but we were graced by an
incredible sunset and had made a new friend, a fitting end to a challenging
day, which soothed the fact we had only made 30km of progress that day.
The following day we ached! Again we only managed a small distance
of about 30km of undulating gravel roads, so when we stumbled upon Thermal
baths with a campsite for the price of three pounds, we didn´t need much
persuading to stop there the night. Sitting in the thermals we debated
whether that was the best part of the day, or whether it was being invited
into a local farmer´s house to eat freshly made torilla (flat bread) and drink
mote (cracked wheat, cooked over a fire and served in peach juice) and
water with toasted flour. We enjoyed chatting to them and finding out what
life was like living beneath a smoking volcano and the effect of the
decline in tourist in the area due to the damming of the river.
We have been a little reflective of late and have both commented
that by doing this trip we have really enjoyed the luxury of time,
something we felt like we didn´t have too much of in the UK. Here we
have really relished taking the time to chat and get to know people,
whether it is sitting in the plazas chatting about our journey or listening
to the Chileans talk about the politics and history of their country. Not
only that, but we are constantly amazed at the hospitality of the people we
have met, from supermarket owners giving us ice creams, drinks and
biscuits, to strangers inviting us into their homes to share their lives
for a few hours or a day.
The great thing about the cycling is that we never know what is
around the next corner, Dave kissed the tarmac as soon as we touched it and
after three days of hard cycling and standing a bit dazed in Santa Barbara, we met
Juan and Paulina. After about a two minute chat they had invited us to stay
with them for the night. The one night turned into two as we enjoyed their
company and they made us feel so welcome. We enjoyed a bbq, playing with
Vincente, their three year old (who referred to Dave and I as “the
children”) and cooking together. It was great to meet likeminded people. I wonder
how many people in UK
would take in two strangers for the night?
Chile is experiencing a heat wave at the moment and the area we have been
travelling through has experienced numerous fires, causing a haze of smoke
to cling to the horizon and it has devestated forests and plantations. Due
to the heat, Dave and I decided to head to the coast for the cool Pacific Ocean breeze. To get to the ocean we had
a 500m pass to climb in 35 degree
heat, and as we cycled over the
brow, we were hit by the decidly chilly ocean breeze, which cut the
temperature in half. Walking down to the beach suddenly transported us back
to the UK as the coast was engulfed in a grey mist, it wasn´t quite what we
had expected but as we have worked our way up part of the coast we have
enjoyed the cooler temperatures, and indulged in eating ripe blackberries
and strawberries and seen lots of seals-life is good!
10th January 2009
It was difficult to leave Bariloche, we tried at least three or four
times. Dave lacked a bit of motivation on the first day that we had set
ourselves to leave. Having had marker points and time scales to work
towards previously, with meeting Tim and Magda in Coyhaique, the farmers in
Futa and Dave´s family in Bariloche, Dave needed a day or two to try and refocus
and remember that life is the journey and not the destination!
The second time, we were offered a lift to Villa Angostora by
speedboat, an offer we could not refuse! Half way across the lake, the wind
and waves picked up and we had to return back to our cabins. Perhaps the
two ducks that flew into one of the cabanas glass windows earlier in the
morning which resulted in one dead duck and other other dazed, should have
been taken as an omen not to leave.
We decided to try again the following day, but despite seeing a
rainbow (a good omen?), we had to turn around once again. Although it was a
great idea, we went back to our old tried and tested method of just getting
on our bikes and peddaling! That seemed to work fine and we eventually put
a few miles between us and Bariloche.
The headwind that we battled against did not blow our melancholy
away and the unexpected cold, grey day reflected our depressed mood. We had
spent a relaxing 17 days with Dave´s family, and both agreed that it had
been a spectacular holiday. Not only did we have the chance to unwind to
the point of being horizontal and fattened up, but we especially enjoyed
spending a decent amount of time with all the family, cooking, chatting and
playing with Dave´s niece and nephew.
It took us a couple of days to get into the routine of the road, but
our mood soon lifted with the weather and the chance once again to meet
other cyclists. So we are now back on form, on top of the world and our
muscles have thankfully remembered what to do.
As our motto is “our plan is not to have too much of a plan,” we
found ourselves transversing the Andes once again, being seduced by tales
of incredible views of volcanos in the area of Pucon in Chile. The
volcanos are indeed magnificent and we viewed one yesterday which was
gently smoking.
As we crossed the Argentinan-Chilean border we had forgotten that we
harboured vegetables that are illegal to take over the border, so had to
dispose of them and eat what we could. Dave was still grumbling a little
about the food wastage when we arrived at our deserted Conaf campsite. As
we began to set up camp, we discovered a mysterious chorizo hanging from a
branch of a tree and decided that that what God takes with one hand, he
gives with another. Dave decided that the chorizo had his name on it and
that he was going to eat it that night. I was somewhat dubious about eating
an unknown sausauge! Speaking to the Conaf (National Park guard keepers)
people we discovered that the French cyclists that we had met the day
before must have left it there. Dave ate it and thankfully didn´t suffer
any adverse effects!
At the moment, Dave and I are enjoying the adventure hotspot of
Pucon and amazed at how many different activities that travellers can do
here, from fishing, trekking, horse riding, kayaking to canopy trips and
visiting thermal pools, however we are just about to walk down to the lake
and laze on the beach for a bit and debate which route north we are going
to take. We are now thinking that we might cycle up the Chilean coast for a
bit.
Thank you all for the Christmas and New Year messages, we really
appreciate you keeping in touch with us.
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