Carretera Austral Day #4 Chaitén to Villa Vanguardia
Carretera Austral Day #4
Chaitén to Villa Vanguardia
December 30, 2019
Chaitén to Villa Vanguardia 99.35 Km
Ride Time: 8:54
Pedal Time: 6:31
Tour Total Pedaled 276.3 Km
I didn’t sleep very well last night. My tent was lodged between two small mounds at my head and foot and not on level ground. The campground was in a residential neighborhood in someone’s yard, and I could hear dogs barking all night. Also my pillow was overinflated, which I could have adjusted but didn’t.
The sun hit my tent around 8am and it started getting warm inside. I was surrounded by other tents, and was concerned about queues for the bathroom, but there was no problem.
My phone and battery pack were fully charged and my laundry was almost dry.
My tent was soaked from the condensation so I hung up the fly and the ground cloth and placed the tent in direct line with the sun. I also put my laundry in the sun for a last minute warm-up before it was packed. While my things were drying, I organized my equipment and began to pack. There were mirrors in the sink area and I shaved for the first time since I had arrived in Chile.
Scott cooked oatmeal, and I helped him look for his little green pillow bag.
Our first errand was the bank, which we had passed the night before. There was a line at the ATM so I decided to exchange cash. About a fifth of my bills were rejected because of small tears or writing on the bills.
I was hungry and we rode through Chaitén in search of food. We were lucky to find an old bus that had been turned into a portable diner, Natour - which in addition was a tour company. We couldn’t believe our luck. It was perfect, and the people running it were very friendly. I ordered an omelette and a cappuccino.
We had an 11:30am start. The route cut away from the coast and up towards Yelcho lake. It was a cloudy morning and I started with my sweater. I couldn’t make out the impressive snow covered triangular mountain that I had seen yesterday.
The road was tarmac and I got chased by some friendly dogs and passed a man leading horses down the side of the road.
I stopped for a moment and realized why I was enjoying the ride so much. It was windy and the wind was at my tail. There was sparse motor traffic with sheep pastures on both sides of the road.
I had assumed there would be services at Puerto Cardenas. I was hungry and there was nothing.
Just outside of Puerto Cardenas was Yelcho Bridge, a long suspension bridge across the river with numerous cleverly arranged cables, that were in fact steel rods. Scott and I stopped in the middle of the bridge to admire the views and eat snacks. We could feel the deck moving. How many bridges have I spent time in the middle of?
We rode partly around the lake and noticed a fancy lodge in the middle of nowhere called Yelcho en la Patagonia. Scott had seen a pair of cyclists leaving, so it seemed like a good idea. There were essentially no other services along the route today.
Our server was extremely friendly and they let us sit out back. I noticed immediately that there was beer on tap. I had a salad with muscles, fish with muscles, four beers, and an amazing dessert. After lunch it was a long uphill on the carretera.
I stopped at a small grocery store in the town of Villa Santa Lucía. I got a bag of Lays potato chips, a banana, and large bottle of Fanta. There were many cyclists camping there but we need to make another 20 km for the night.
The goal was to pedal 100km to a place that was indicated on my map, but not on Google maps. At around 95km we started looking for stealth camping sites. There were a lot of cow and sheep pastures, but all were surrounded by barbed wire. We finally spotted a place with no fencing and set up before we lost sunlight. There were impressive mountains on the other side of the valley.
Scott cooked ramin noodles, and then we went to bed. We were both exhausted.
Chaitén to Villa Vanguardia
December 30, 2019
Chaitén to Villa Vanguardia 99.35 Km
Ride Time: 8:54
Pedal Time: 6:31
Tour Total Pedaled 276.3 Km
I didn’t sleep very well last night. My tent was lodged between two small mounds at my head and foot and not on level ground. The campground was in a residential neighborhood in someone’s yard, and I could hear dogs barking all night. Also my pillow was overinflated, which I could have adjusted but didn’t.
The sun hit my tent around 8am and it started getting warm inside. I was surrounded by other tents, and was concerned about queues for the bathroom, but there was no problem.
My phone and battery pack were fully charged and my laundry was almost dry.
My tent was soaked from the condensation so I hung up the fly and the ground cloth and placed the tent in direct line with the sun. I also put my laundry in the sun for a last minute warm-up before it was packed. While my things were drying, I organized my equipment and began to pack. There were mirrors in the sink area and I shaved for the first time since I had arrived in Chile.
Scott cooked oatmeal, and I helped him look for his little green pillow bag.
Our first errand was the bank, which we had passed the night before. There was a line at the ATM so I decided to exchange cash. About a fifth of my bills were rejected because of small tears or writing on the bills.
I was hungry and we rode through Chaitén in search of food. We were lucky to find an old bus that had been turned into a portable diner, Natour - which in addition was a tour company. We couldn’t believe our luck. It was perfect, and the people running it were very friendly. I ordered an omelette and a cappuccino.
We had an 11:30am start. The route cut away from the coast and up towards Yelcho lake. It was a cloudy morning and I started with my sweater. I couldn’t make out the impressive snow covered triangular mountain that I had seen yesterday.
The road was tarmac and I got chased by some friendly dogs and passed a man leading horses down the side of the road.
I stopped for a moment and realized why I was enjoying the ride so much. It was windy and the wind was at my tail. There was sparse motor traffic with sheep pastures on both sides of the road.
I had assumed there would be services at Puerto Cardenas. I was hungry and there was nothing.
Just outside of Puerto Cardenas was Yelcho Bridge, a long suspension bridge across the river with numerous cleverly arranged cables, that were in fact steel rods. Scott and I stopped in the middle of the bridge to admire the views and eat snacks. We could feel the deck moving. How many bridges have I spent time in the middle of?
We rode partly around the lake and noticed a fancy lodge in the middle of nowhere called Yelcho en la Patagonia. Scott had seen a pair of cyclists leaving, so it seemed like a good idea. There were essentially no other services along the route today.
Our server was extremely friendly and they let us sit out back. I noticed immediately that there was beer on tap. I had a salad with muscles, fish with muscles, four beers, and an amazing dessert. After lunch it was a long uphill on the carretera.
I stopped at a small grocery store in the town of Villa Santa Lucía. I got a bag of Lays potato chips, a banana, and large bottle of Fanta. There were many cyclists camping there but we need to make another 20 km for the night.
The goal was to pedal 100km to a place that was indicated on my map, but not on Google maps. At around 95km we started looking for stealth camping sites. There were a lot of cow and sheep pastures, but all were surrounded by barbed wire. We finally spotted a place with no fencing and set up before we lost sunlight. There were impressive mountains on the other side of the valley.
Scott cooked ramin noodles, and then we went to bed. We were both exhausted.
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