1st November 2008
I can't believe that we are finally here. It was certainly a challenge just getting to Ushuaia, with Kelly on the phone to her mum as she was going through customs at Gatwick trying to get the website up and running again as it had crashed the night before.
After a 40 odd hour journey we finally began our desent down through the clouds and crossed the wind swept Beagle channel with a double rainbow underneath us, which we took for a good omen. Unfortunately, one of our bags didn't make it with us on the plane to Ushuaia, and so we decided to wait for the next plane to land from Buenos Aires, Dave was particularly worried as it was the bag that had all our spare parts and tools in that he had collected over the past year.
In the meantime, we unpacked the bikes at the airport and put them together, much to the amusement of people waiting to check in. Thankfully a few hours later our bag did arrive in one piece and we were able to cycle out of the airport and promptly booked into a hostel to try and get some sleep - at that point, neither of us knew who we were or where we were!
The next day was spent getting everything ready for our departure the following day, getting gas and fuel, checking the bikes over and generally finding our feet and walking around Ushuaia.
It was hard to say whether we were excited or just plain afraid about what we were about to embark upon, and on the 1st November, in light snow we said goodbye to the people in La Posta hostel. With unbelievable bad luck and only a 1km out of the hostel, Dave's front pannier fell off. It turned out that his right pannier rack had completely been sheared off and was utterly broken. (check out the photo gallery). Dave tried to fix it with spares, but it was no use and we felt utterly helpless, we could have understood it if it was six months down the line, but after 1km? We didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Instead, we set off in search for a welder open on a Saturday.
As luck would have it, we eventually found one who did a very good job on it and even took the time to paint it for us. And so it was, with trepidation, we again set off from Ushuaia. The scenery was absolutely spectacular. Snow capped mountains soared above us and we took the hills slowing feeling the weight of our bikes and panniers (we are going to reassess again what we are carrying!) we cycled up through our first mountain pass as thick snow began to fall on the ground.
They say that in Patagonia there are four seasons in one day and we have certainly found that to be true, having experienced, sun, rain, wind, snow and hail in the space of a few hours.
Finally we camped next to a river on a naval outpost, pleased with completing over 70km on our first day, especially having left in the afternoon.
Day 2 was a dream, cycling upon smooth tarmac roads and through pristine forests with crystal clear streams meandering through land where glaciers had once forged their way through. Towards the afternoon we met the wind and eventually had to seek refuge. Again with about 70km under the tyres we were pleased with the progress we had made and so set up camp next to a stream, where Dave was able to try out our water pump for the first time. It was a stunning spot and in the evening the wind died down creating a pleasent view over the plains.
9th November
We are now in Puerto Natales after having cycled all through the Island of Tierra Del Fuego. What an experience the last week has been.
Through Tierra Del Fuego the going was pretty tough work, cycling against vicious head winds and on gravel, it was certainly the baptism of fire that we were expecting. However the experience has been amazing, we have been amazed at people's hospitality, staying in an estancia one night, and being treated to the most amazing lamb I have ever eaten in my life and learning about how people live so remotely down here! We have seen condors, guanacos, nandus (rhea?), flamingos, ostriches and even a pampa fox.
The scenery has been spectacular, pampas as far as the eye can see. We have been lucky with camping, staying in the Argentinean border crossing waiting room one night - with stove, heater and sink (luxury!), and making use of the refugios (huts with a fire, table and steel bunk bed frames) that we have found along the way to protect us from the wind. We are also getting to know ditches pretty well, which serve as cycling break spots out of the wind.
Unfortunately we had a pretty horrendous night in the tent on our way towards Punta Arenas, we had to set up our tent in over 100km per hour winds and hoped that the wind and rain would die down over night. It turned into the worst ever camping experience that either of us have ever experience, with our camp spot turning into a wind funnel. Needless to say that both of us were very scared and were making contingency plans if our tent didn't stand up to the wind. Thankfully we made it through the night, but with extreme cold and little food left we decided to take up an offer of a lift to Puerto Natales where we have treated ourselves to a hostel (Hostel Chorrillos, great place!) taking stock, fixing the bikes and restocking up on food and water for the next six days and sampling a little of the wine!
We are heading off tomorrow towards Torres del Paine via Esperanza and then onto Perito Moreno Glacier, both of which I have dreamed of visiting.
Not looking forward to the outlook, rain, high winds and cold temperatures-yikes! The locals here are confused about the weather as we are, although the wind is expected, the rain, snow, hail and cold temperatures are not for this time of the year! Oh well, it all adds to the adventure. Will keep you posted!
Latest News 28th November 2008
Check out our latest photos http://gallery.cyclingnomads.com/#4.0
Check out our video blogs in right hand column
I can't believe that Dave and I have finally made it to Coyhaique! A date had been set months ago and we didn't know whether we would be able to cycle fast enough to arrive for the 27th November, in time to see a few of Dave's old friends from his Chile Raleigh International Expedition days.
We are currently enjoying spending time with Tim, Magda, Tom and Nicole, resting in their house with the most spectacular views. I am looking out onto rolling hills covered in forest with snow capped mountains behind and appreciating how green the countryside is around this part of Chile as it is in stark contrast to the past week or so of cycling.
Although not even a month, it feels like we have now been a long time on the road and we are now beginning to get into the rhythm of camp life, each with our own chores. We both put up the tent, I sort the inside of the tent out and all the pannier bags whilst Dave cooks up a delicious dinner!
Neither of us can believe how much has happened in the past few weeks, it has certainly been an incredible adventure of highs, lows and meeting fascinating people.
Due to the road systems, travelling through this part of Patagonia means that travellers are constantly criss-crossing from Chile to Argentina, and so it was that we left Puerto Natales in Chile to cross back into Argentina where we saw our first Explore group at the border crossing. We were treated to a day of rain and muddy gravel roads, so after about 70kms the bikes had clogged up with mud and refused to go any further. We were damp and somewhat cold so we decided to stop to ask whether we could pitch our tent in a barn of an enormous working Estancia (sheep farm) called Cancha Carrerra. Never in our lives have we been treated to such incredible hospitality, nor felt like we had stepped back in time.
We stepped into the old kitchen building to be greeted by the smell of bread cooking and vast quantities of dough being rolled out onto a long aged wooden table, a hundred year old arga (a number 6) stood as the heart of the kitchen, I have never seen one so big before. We were introduced to Luis, the full time chef for over 40 workers and the "tecer jefe" (third boss). He sat us down in a further workers dinning room, and we felt like we had stepped back in time to the pioneering days! Luis gave us copious amounts of bread, coffee, soup and lamb pasta urging us to eat as much as we wanted and then proudly showed us all the bread that he makes for the workers. Eventually, the administrator of the Estancia said that all the barns were full as it was sheep sheering season and the seasonal workers were using them all, but we could have access to an old caravan. It was perfect as it was dry!
After being shown our sleeping accommodation for the night we were asked to come back to the kitchen for afternoon tea with the workers and then to return in the evening for dinner. Neither of us could believe the hospitality we were shown. That afternoon and evening we were fortunate enough to be shown how to make "torta fritas" fried bread rolls, we chatted to many of the workers, became friends with two carpenters and found out all about life on a 50,000 hectare Estancia with over 35,000 sheep and the various roles that each man carried out. We were even lucky enough to meet the owner of the Estancia, Juan Carlos Morrison, a JR (Dallas) look-a-like. Refusing any money for the food/shelter, the only thing that we could offer was our washing up services and have promised to send photos and keep in touch with Luis and the carpenters. It was a unique and special experience that Dave and I will treasure.
From Tapi Aike we took a short cut over gravel roads to get to El Calafate, the weather improved dramatically and again we were in awe of our surroundings and pleased that we were on our bikes, soaking up the dramatic snow-capped mountain scenery and watching the lambs frolicking. Naturally, this is Patagonia and nearing the end of our day, the wind picked up out of nowhere, we were cycling at 5km per hour, then 4km, then 3km, eventually neither of us could stay upright on our bikes and pedal forward. We sought shelter for quite a while and eventually decided to push on, again the wind didn't relent and, without exaggerating, it was impossible to even push the bikes as they kept being ripped out of our hands and ending up on the floor. We later learned that the wind got up to 120km per hour. Thankfully our saviours came in the form of Raul and Jorge who helped to organise for us to stay in an half built building and allowed us a night out of the wind.
The following day, we could only cover about 60km due to the wind but enjoyed an 8km downhill stretch with majestic views of turquoise lakes nestled in the valley below. By lunchtime, we sought shelter in the entrance of an abandoned restaurant and made a delicious noodle soup, whilst chatting to the road workers. Again they urged us to pitch the tent by their mobile unit for the night and stay to have afternoon tea and a chat with them. At 8pm Dave and I had just settled down to sleep for the night when they again knocked on the tent and invited us to dinner! Not only have we enjoyed meeting the local people, but they have relished meeting us too and learning all about us and our country. I think that that is the beauty in travelling by bike, as it seems to be a great ice-breaker and talking point!
Eventually we made it to El Calafate where we enjoyed a rest afternoon and attended a local "horse taming" fiesta. The following day we visited Perito Moreo Glacier with Lisa and Stephen, an English couple we enjoyed spending time with. The glacier was something that I had been looking forward to seeing and it certainly didn't disappoint. At roughly 2.5 miles wide, 60 metres tall and about 30km long it was certainly a spectacular sight, in which photographs cannot capture either its beauty or vastness. The varying hues of blue and semi-transparent colours changed with the light. We were lucky enough to see parts of the glacier crashing into the water, creating enormous waves and the resonating sound was incredibly loud. We sat and marvelled at it for a long time in awe that it moves up to 2 meters a day and how it stopped abruptly into the lake. On our return journey back to town, we realised that what we had thought were boats in the lake were in fact ice bergs travelling down from the glacier!
From El Calafate we managed to cycle our furthest so far, 127km, and for me it was one of the most amazing cycling days I have experienced. The weather changed from wearing duffle coats the previous day to 37 degrees! T-shirts and shorts came out and we both had grins on our faces as we cycled past turquoise lakes, desert type scenery and milky blue rivers. We also met some other cyclists (teamturkey.wordpress.com). Both of us, with smiles on our faces really connected with the nature around us and didn't want to stop that day! Eventually we found a perfect camp spot overlooking the prominent and sharp granite summit of the Fitz Roy mountain and Viedma Glacier, one of 300 in the area. We speculated what the planet would have looked like covered in glaciers over 18,000 years ago.
We had intended to cycle the whole of the Carreterra Austral, however with only one boat a week crossing Villa O'Higgins (which we had just missed), and a deadline to get to Coyhaique to meet with friends we decided to miss Chalten and Fitz Roy and cycle up Ruta 40 - notorious for being quite hard going, needless to say that it didn't disappoint!
We had stocked up with 6 days worth of food and rivers were shown on the map with a few Estancias along the way and both of us were a little apprehensive as to what the route would hold for us. It was certainly tough and unyielding with rough gravel roads, pampas all around with little protection from the wind, but our main concern was with the water. The rivers that had been shown had already dried up and so we had to take to flagging down camper vans to ask for top ups of water when we ran out. The experience made us wonder how the indigenous people lived off these lands for thousands of years - something we will now look up!
The vastness and openness of the pampas was incredible and at times we felt very small in the hot, dusty and windy landscape. We really appreciated the times when tourist vehicles stopped for a chat. On a day when we felt a little demoralised, we were overjoyed when Giel and Mieka, a couple from Holland stopped by the road and asked us in for coffee, a chat and some biscuits. Such simple things raised our spirits immensely for the rest of the day and we are eternally grateful!
Surprisingly, we made great progress, covering between 70-90 odd kms a day and were thrilled to see many armadillos, nandus and even a rare white guanaco up close. Again we were treated to the most amazing hospitality by local road workers who put us up, let us use their hot showers, and fed us tea, dinner, breakfast and even gave us packed lunches to take with us the following day!
Ruta 40 certainly toughened us up, but unfortunately just before Baja Caracoles I suffered with the beginnings of a kidney infection, with sickness and a bad stomach, and ended up in a hospital outpost for the night on a drip, antibiotics and various injections.
After 6 days on Ruta 40, Baja Caracoles had planned to be our rest day town with a visit out to the 9,350 year old hand cave paintings, but with me sick, Dave unimpressed with town, being unable to buy any food (after knocking on all the doors of the houses, and coming back with an overpriced half loaf of bread and a packet of hot dogs) and the nurse insisting that I have a few days rest in the town of Perito Moreno (where there was a hospital in case I got a little worse), we again succumb to a lift, but had the pleasant return of making a new friend, Alejandro, whom we look forward to keeping in touch with.
After a day or two of rest, we decided to cycle ever northwards and Dave and I have thoroughly enjoyed being back in Chile via Chile Chico and Puerto Ibanez. The micro climates here are incredibly diverse - we are now appreciative of seeing trees, rivers, lakes and waterfalls. The whole area is lush, green and mountainous. Reminiscent of the Swiss Alps with purple and pink lupins lining the roads and cows happily munching the grass. Now we will take hills any day over wind and at each turn we keep stopping to take photos of scenery. For now though we are enjoying a few days rest in Coyhaique and looking forward to a Friday night celebration!
Overall we are still really enjoying the start of our adventure, we are upbeat, getting along very well and getting stronger each day. We are learning to take the rough with the smooth and each day we are thankful for something that we have seen or experienced. We are enjoying getting back to basics, finding a place to shelter, looking at water supplies and taking pleasure in the chats and hospitality of the people we have met along the way, realising how important human contact is in these two vast countries.
On Sunday we will leave our friends here and head maybe a four day cycle to Futaleufu to stay with some farmer friends of Dave�s and find out how they and the town has faired since the Chaiten volcano erupted.
Thank you all for all the forum, email and guestbook messages, we have really enjoyed reading them! To answer a few questions:
What are we eating?
Breakfast is usually porridge or bread and dulce de leche (condensed milk).
Lunch is either soup and bread, noodles or a ham and cheese sandwiches.
Dinner - various forms of pasta and bean stews, the more carbs the better and with chorizo for extra taste.
Eating lots of snacks in between.
Kelly is now eating just as much as Dave, if not more and has now turned into a full meat eater, much to Dave's amazement. We now fight over the bits of chorizo in the food! Steaks have been enjoyed when we have treated ourselves!
Are you saddle sore?
Dave - no! He has a little more padding!
Kelly - Yes!
The fastest we have clocked:
Dave 75km per hour, although his speedo registered 73km per hour - I am much more sensible!
Most cycled in one day:
127km
Least:
15km when Kelly was sick
What type of places have you stayed in?
A caravan, an old deserted building, a - built house.
In our tent on pampas, beside a lake, beside the road, in hospital, on farms, on road worker camps, anywhere that is protected from the wind!
In Argentina/Chile it is legal to wild camp as long as you are well away from the road and hidden from view, only problem is in the pampas you can see for miles and miles in all directions!
