To the Bottom of the World

January 13, 2020 Villa O’Higgins to El Chaltén, Argentina 62.8 km Ride Time: 13:15 Pedal Time: 6:27 Tour Total Pedaled 1226.47 km I slept reasonably well in my tent last night at Mosco hostel and campground. The four beers I had before bed meant that I had to get up twice during the night. It was cold out and the moon was almost full. My alarm went off at 6am. Our aim was to be on the road by 7am. My tent was wet, so I hung the fly on the laundry line. My breakfast consisted of Frosted Flakes with bananas and a hard boiled egg. It was partly cloudy with nice light. Yesterday’s sunset had produced amazing colors.  We left the hostel at 7:30am and rode out of town. We crossed the Rio Mayer on the Puente Augusto Grossei, another kit construction suspension bridge similar to the one we crossed on our entrance to Villa O’ Higgins. The road was 7km of ripio and we arrived at the ferry at 8am. We had been told to be there by 8:15am and that the boat would be leaving at 8:30...

January 14, 2020 El Chaltén to El Calfate by bus I slept reasonably well in the tent city in El Chaltén. It had rained for much of the night. I was stinky, covered in dirt, and felt disgusting. I woke up at 6am and had to go the bathroom. The showers were still locked for the night. I returned back to my tent and was able to go back to sleep. I woke again at 8am. It was a slow pack, and I had the best most amazing hot shower since Coyhaique. Scott was ready before me and we left the campground at 9am. We didn’t pay, making it our first campground sneak of the tour. We pedaled over to Rancho Grande hostel for breakfast. My body was sore and aching from yesterday. I had looked forward to yesterday’s epic adventure for months and had been on full adrenaline. Today my body was paying the price. The hostel had slow WiFi, but I was able to share that I had made it to Argentina. I had eggs, bread, marmalade, orange juice, and coffee. We then rode over to the bus station to purc...

January 15, 2020 Glacier walk at Perito Moreno I slept well in the ghetto campground with dogs barking throughout the night. It had been cold, so I had to pull my sleeping bag up and around my head. I got up several times during the night and noticed the bright stars. I was in a valley with trees and light pollution from next door. My alarm went off at 7am. I switched around my luggage so that I could travel with a pannier packed with snacks, extra clothing, and my valuables. We rode around town looking for something open. The first bakery didn’t serve coffee. We found croissants and cappuccino at Panaderia Don Luis, which reminded me of an Italian bakery in Brooklyn. Our ride to the bus station was much more direct than yesterday. We double locked our bikes to a column in front of the station, and queued up for the 9am bus. It was an hour ride to the park, and the bus was filled with visitors from numerous countries. A local pink-haired photographer, who was drinking ma...

January 16, 2020 El Calfate to Puerto Natales, Chile by bus I slept reasonably well in the ghetto Estadía A.M.S.A. campground in El Calafate. I had to get up a few times during the night and one of my shoes had dog poop stuck to the tread. The stars were brilliant, but there was a bright light in the next lot. Scott woke up at 7am, before me. My tent was wet with condensation, and I moved everything to a patch of sun to dry. There was human poop and toilet paper in the grass and I was careful not to step in it or soil my gear. The shower was a bare trickle of hot water and I was able to clean myself. I also scrubbed the dog poop off the bottom of my shoe. I talked with two cyclists whom had camped near us. A guy from Santiago had flown here two days ago and was beginning his northbound Carretera Austral ride to Coyhaique. I gave him a tube of patch cement. A British woman had ridden here from Baraloche. We talked about the epic crossing and she said that her tires were t...