After departing the Navimag in Puerto Natales in the eraly afternoon, we stopped in for a quick lunch with Chuck and Malcolm, 2 of the other motorcyclists we had met on the boat, then it was straight on to Punta Arenas. We had decided to head to Ushuaia for Xmas, which meant that we would return to Puerto Natales later to do some hiking at Torres del Paine. This meant we had a few days spare so we decided to visit some of the sights around Punta Arenas on our way down South.
The wind was bitter on the way down and made riding interesting despite the good roads. After asking at a few of the cheaper hotels in town and finding them all full, we settled on a slightly more expensive place and got comfortable.
The next day we both jumped on Dot and went for a spin down to Fuerte Bulnes and Puerto Humbre. The scenery was beautiful down along the coast and we were relishing being in the cooler weather. We saw a few sea lions on a rock on the way down as well. The fort itself was interesting. It has been partly restored to show what it would have been like. Puerto Humbre is a small settlement that was created in the 1500´s, but the settlers starved because the land was no god for growing crops hence the name, Port Hunger. Now there is very little left except a few stones from the ruins and a monument... with looks strangely like a stone picnic table... interesting.
The next day we packed our gear again, but headed first to Seno Otway where there is a small Magallenic Penguin colony. You had to stay on a boarwalk, but could still get incredibly close to the penguins who were very used to the tourists by now. It seemed stange to me to see the penguins waddling around on the grassy peninsular with theirnests in burrows down in the dirt. There were even some rabbits in amongst them. There were quite a few ¨babies¨that were almost the size of their parents by now, but with a brown and white, fluffy coat as opposed to the sleek black and white of the parents.
Once we´d had enough of the penguins it was back on the bikes and to the ferry from Punta Delgarda to Bahia Azul (on Tierra del Fuego). We arrived to the ferry cold and tired from the relentless wind and the occassional rain shower and were treated to the roughest boat ride I´ve ever been on, made worse by the fact that we had to try to ride our bike around to the other side of the boat while it was moving. We stood there for the rest of the ride clinging to the bikes for fear of them falling over while the ferry soared then crashed down the waves and got sprayed with water as the sea came almost over the top of the front of the ferry. Once we arrived on the other side we headed for the nearest town (Cerro Sombrero), which was little more than a mining community and booked into the only hostel for the night.
The following day saw a long ride on gravel road with high winds and our first border crossing in the Argentinian section of Tierra del Fuego. All went smoothly and we rode most of the day and finally set up camp at an incredibly scenic campsite on Lago Fagnano near Tolhuin.
We woke the next day to relatively calm conditions and set of for the final 100km to Ushuaia... and what a ride it was!! The most scenic I have ever experienced... the beautiful lakes, mountains with patches of snow on the peaks, then a line where the thick forest started and ran right down to the road... stunning! We arrived in Ushuaia on the 22nd and decided, since we were going to be camping for Xmas, we´d splash out and stay in a nice hostel for our first night.
Ushuaia itself was larger than we expected and quite touristy. I guess this should be expected since it is the departure point for all the high priced cruise ships to Antartica. It sits on the beagle channel and is surrounded by beautiful mountains. The weather, however was something else! You could literally have 4 seasons in 1 hour, not 1 day. When it wasn´t windy or raining or hailing or snowing and the sun was out it was nice and warm, but that could all changed in minutes.
After our night of luxury we headed down to Camping Rio Pipo, just a few km´s from the center of town and the meetup spot for motorcycle travellers from around the world. We arrived to find that this was luxury camping... a huge fully equipped kitchen, heated common room, bar, computers with internet... the only reason to go outside was to go to bed (or go check out someone´s motorbike).
We met many other motorcyclers. Surprisingly most were German or Swiss, but there were Americans, Singaporeans, and Italians thrown into the mix. Chuck, our Texan motorcyclist friend from the Navimag also joined us for a German feast with gluwine and all on Xmas eve (that is when the Europeans tend to celbrate Xmas)!! Thanks to all those who were there for a fantastic time! Sara, myself and Chuck also whipped up a BBQ on Xmas day, just for a little taste of home... yummo!
After 3 or so days of lazing around and eating far too much (as you should round Xmas) we decided that a little exercise was in order, so on boxing day, Sara and I headed up the back of Ushuaia and hiked up to the Martial Glacier. The glacier itself wasn´t much to look at as it was covered in snow and up behind some unwalkable rocks, but we greatly enjoyed the walk up allongside the river in the forest and then mucking around in the patches of Snow (including SM´s 1st EVER snowman). The view was also absolutely spectacular when the clouds cleared long enough, back down over Ushuaia and the beagle Channel. It rained most of the way up and even hailed lightly on our way down, but it could not dampen our spirits.
That evening we joined a couple of other bikers in the ride to the National Park and the end of ruta 3. It is obligatory that any motorcyclist visiting Ushuaia make this journey to take a photo at the iconic sign at the end of the road. It was also a beautiful ride and we left feeling like we´d have liked to stay and do some trekking in the park. Our ride back though was the coldest I could remember being and on the way it actually snowed! Yes... that´s right, Sara and I can actually say we have ridden through snow now.
The next day we decided to set off once again and head back to Puerto Natales so that we could do some trekking, so we began 2 days of solid riding. The first morning we were both the COLDEST we had ever been (yes, even colder than the evening before!), the wind and rain combining to make us absolutely freeze. My riding gloves, which allow my hands to get cold in winter in Brisbane, were proving to be of virtually no use against the cold and I practically had to pry my fingers off the handlebars after the first couple of hours when we stopped in Rio Grande. I had visions of us packing it in there for the night, but we pushed on and the afternoon afforded us much better conditions. It was amazing the difference when the sun is out and your riding predominantly with the wind!!!
Anyway, 2 days on and we´re in Puerto Natales and gearing up for the hike at Torres del Paine.
We hope everyone had a fantastic Xmas and gets ridiculously messy for New Years!!!
CIAO!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Feliz Navimag!
So... from Puerto Montt it was onto the Navimag ferry for a little bit o´ trip accelleration down to Puerto Natales. We arrived to find another motorcyclist, Chuck, already preparing to board and he kindly shared his knowledge of the checking in and boarding procedure etc for the bikes. Then it was a quick lunch and back to the boat to board ourselves in the afternoon.
The trip down was absolutely beautiful... the scenery, the people, the chance to sit back for 3 days and not think about where to go next, where to stay, what to eat or anything....
The scenery was AMAZING!! The boat twisted down through fjords and small channels, sometimes with only a few meters clearance on either side of the ship. There were snow capped mountains and waterfalls literally running into the sea. The vegetation incredibly thick, then thinning as we headed further South and the climax when the ship detoured to the Pio XI glacier, the biggest in South America (the face is 5km across and 90m high) and one of the few still advancing. We also saw whales (or at least the spurts from their blowholes), dolphins (the black & white ones) and plenty of seabirds.
We met a few other motorcyclists, a bunch of Aussies 4x4 ing it around Sth America and plenty of others. Notable was one English guy, Rich, that we sat with for a few rounds of Uno. It turns out he has some friends from Brisbane and has been there before. Imagine our surprise when we asked him their names and he came out with Anthony Burke, Damo Ricketts and a few others!! Small world!
The trip ended with a p..a..r..tay!! which consisted of a game of bingo and pletny of boozed dancing to all the classic 80´s tunes like ¨Summer of 69¨... some great photos from that one!
cheers all!
The trip down was absolutely beautiful... the scenery, the people, the chance to sit back for 3 days and not think about where to go next, where to stay, what to eat or anything....
The scenery was AMAZING!! The boat twisted down through fjords and small channels, sometimes with only a few meters clearance on either side of the ship. There were snow capped mountains and waterfalls literally running into the sea. The vegetation incredibly thick, then thinning as we headed further South and the climax when the ship detoured to the Pio XI glacier, the biggest in South America (the face is 5km across and 90m high) and one of the few still advancing. We also saw whales (or at least the spurts from their blowholes), dolphins (the black & white ones) and plenty of seabirds.
We met a few other motorcyclists, a bunch of Aussies 4x4 ing it around Sth America and plenty of others. Notable was one English guy, Rich, that we sat with for a few rounds of Uno. It turns out he has some friends from Brisbane and has been there before. Imagine our surprise when we asked him their names and he came out with Anthony Burke, Damo Ricketts and a few others!! Small world!
The trip ended with a p..a..r..tay!! which consisted of a game of bingo and pletny of boozed dancing to all the classic 80´s tunes like ¨Summer of 69¨... some great photos from that one!
cheers all!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
¨Now we´ve come... to the end of the road...¨
So, after a full day´s riding from Pucon, burning down some highway with the only real break being the 15min ferry ride from Pargua to Chacao (on which we saw penguins and sea lions!), we finally arrived in Castro on the Chilean island of Chiloé.
First impressions were that Chiloé is one of the nicest places we´ve visited... not the most spectacular, not the most exciting, but definitely the nicest. An island of rolling hills, fields full of yellow, white or purple wildflowers, beautiful blue lakes, fat & happy cows and sheep lying around in fields of daisies and small towns on the waters edge. We had read that on the island, if it wasn´t raining, it was drisling or spitting and we were looking forward to a few days in a misty seaside town in the cold after the heat and riding we´d been doing, but... no such luck... where we go, so does the sunshine, the dryness and the heat. Blue skies abounded with the only clouds being the clouds of smoke rising from the several bushfires on the island.
We stayed in a hostel with a deck and view of the water in Castro, the capital of Chiloé for the first 3 nights while we explored the island a little. It was the first chance we´d had to ditch the gear off the bikes and take them for a spin just for fun rather than out of the need to arrive somewhere.
Our first day we headed to the end of the longest highway in the world, the panamericana (Ruta 5) which runs from Alaska to the South of Chile and ends in a town called Quellón on Chiloé. Quellón was not much to look at, so after the obligatory photos of the plaque and monument and the more recognisable ¨Fin de Pavimento¨sign, plus a brief rendition of Boys II Men´s ¨End of the Road¨ on my behalf, we grabbed an ever reliable completo (hot dog with tomato, avocado and mayo) for lunch and headed back.
The following day we went for a spin to the National Reserve which lies on the Western side of Chiloé near Cucao. We wandered through the swampy and beachy scrub, which reminded me a little of home, all the while on high alert for the ever dangerous cow-snake or chicken-snake. (There are some mythological creatures which some people in Chiloé supposedly still believe in and there were some pictures of them at our hostel... I was well amused by the picture of the cow-snake with the head and front legs of a cow and the tail of a snake and the chicken-snake with the body of a snake and the head of a chicken.... ¨oooo don´t peck me mister chicken-snake.... lol!¨) Unfortunately all we saw on our walk was some cow-cows (half cow and, you guessed it, half cow) and some horse-horses. We did, however, enjoy some lunch on possibly the nicest beach we´d seen yet and then wander around lost for a while before making our way back home.
After resting up, we then packed up and headed North, with a brief stopover in the lovely town of Quemchi for some super tasty empanadas then on to Ancud in the North of the island where we set up camp in the most beautiful spot yet, on a bluff on the edge of the sea. That night also aforded us the most amazing view when the full (or near full) moon rose up in BRIGHT red just over the water with the reflection creating a red path on the water seemingly to the moon itslef. As it rose above the dust and smoke the colour faded from red to orange to yellow and eventually white, but still absolutely spectacular.
On our final morning we woke to the most amazing layer of mist (YAY!) over the entire area and after a slow morning we jumped on the bikes back to Puerto Montt where I sit now. In a couple of hours time we´ll be boarding the Navimag (a cargo ship come ferry) to Puerto Natales in Southern Patagonia. Our bikes are loaded, our bags are checked in, I have some seasickness tablets and we´re ready to go!!
catch you all on the other side.
Nick
PS - when I get on a better internet connection I´ll chuck up more photos, otherwise I´ve put links from this page (on the right) to our facebook albums.
First impressions were that Chiloé is one of the nicest places we´ve visited... not the most spectacular, not the most exciting, but definitely the nicest. An island of rolling hills, fields full of yellow, white or purple wildflowers, beautiful blue lakes, fat & happy cows and sheep lying around in fields of daisies and small towns on the waters edge. We had read that on the island, if it wasn´t raining, it was drisling or spitting and we were looking forward to a few days in a misty seaside town in the cold after the heat and riding we´d been doing, but... no such luck... where we go, so does the sunshine, the dryness and the heat. Blue skies abounded with the only clouds being the clouds of smoke rising from the several bushfires on the island.
We stayed in a hostel with a deck and view of the water in Castro, the capital of Chiloé for the first 3 nights while we explored the island a little. It was the first chance we´d had to ditch the gear off the bikes and take them for a spin just for fun rather than out of the need to arrive somewhere.
Our first day we headed to the end of the longest highway in the world, the panamericana (Ruta 5) which runs from Alaska to the South of Chile and ends in a town called Quellón on Chiloé. Quellón was not much to look at, so after the obligatory photos of the plaque and monument and the more recognisable ¨Fin de Pavimento¨sign, plus a brief rendition of Boys II Men´s ¨End of the Road¨ on my behalf, we grabbed an ever reliable completo (hot dog with tomato, avocado and mayo) for lunch and headed back.
The following day we went for a spin to the National Reserve which lies on the Western side of Chiloé near Cucao. We wandered through the swampy and beachy scrub, which reminded me a little of home, all the while on high alert for the ever dangerous cow-snake or chicken-snake. (There are some mythological creatures which some people in Chiloé supposedly still believe in and there were some pictures of them at our hostel... I was well amused by the picture of the cow-snake with the head and front legs of a cow and the tail of a snake and the chicken-snake with the body of a snake and the head of a chicken.... ¨oooo don´t peck me mister chicken-snake.... lol!¨) Unfortunately all we saw on our walk was some cow-cows (half cow and, you guessed it, half cow) and some horse-horses. We did, however, enjoy some lunch on possibly the nicest beach we´d seen yet and then wander around lost for a while before making our way back home.
After resting up, we then packed up and headed North, with a brief stopover in the lovely town of Quemchi for some super tasty empanadas then on to Ancud in the North of the island where we set up camp in the most beautiful spot yet, on a bluff on the edge of the sea. That night also aforded us the most amazing view when the full (or near full) moon rose up in BRIGHT red just over the water with the reflection creating a red path on the water seemingly to the moon itslef. As it rose above the dust and smoke the colour faded from red to orange to yellow and eventually white, but still absolutely spectacular.
On our final morning we woke to the most amazing layer of mist (YAY!) over the entire area and after a slow morning we jumped on the bikes back to Puerto Montt where I sit now. In a couple of hours time we´ll be boarding the Navimag (a cargo ship come ferry) to Puerto Natales in Southern Patagonia. Our bikes are loaded, our bags are checked in, I have some seasickness tablets and we´re ready to go!!
catch you all on the other side.
Nick
PS - when I get on a better internet connection I´ll chuck up more photos, otherwise I´ve put links from this page (on the right) to our facebook albums.
Pucon
After Concepcion we headed inland to Pucon! A very touristy little town it happened to be! Why!??!?! Why all the tourists?!?!??! Cause we all go to Pucon to climb climb climb the volcano! And its not just any volcano...its Volcan Villarrica...and its an ACTIVE volcano!!!! Oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh :-D
The volcano dominates the landscape for miles around with its perfectly connical form, snowcapped top, and billowing clouds of gas emanating from the crater. And our excitement about the climb grew with each trip outside - because each time you stepped foot outside you were met with a perfect backdrop of smoking volcano against blue skies.
We were up and out early the morning of our climb! And headed striaght to the tourst office to get our kitted up for the climb! The gear we got was so AWESOME! Big steel snow boots, gators, ice picks, crampons, anoraks, snow pants and - most importantly - a plastic butt protector (the reason for which will become apparent a lil farther down the page!)! We hadnt even left the tourist office and I was already happy snapping!
It was a overcast day, with low heavy clouds, and I was a wee bit worried that our climb be cancelled. It wasnt though, (!yay!) and not far into the drive toward the base of the volcano, we drove right on through the clouds and were met with beautiful clear skies and bright sunshine.
Volcan Villarrica is 2847m high. It took Nick and I 3.5 hours to make it to the top. And it was hard going! Snow over a foot deep in some parts, slippery ice in others and butt-burning steep the whole way. I made a mental note on the journey to send a big thankyou to the 50 or so tourists who left their snow steps for me to use. Another big thankyou should also go to the god of the ice pick which saved me from a quick unplanned descent at least a couple of times!
The top of the volcano is a narrow rim of about 300 metres diameter. We stand at the top and look down into the crater. The smell of sulphur is overpowering and you can hear the hissing of the steam released on the wind - it all makes the volcano seem very very alive. A little too alive. You cant see the lava but you can feel it. And the steep drop into the crater is more than enough to make you a little tense and I take an extra safety step back!
The wind up the top was icy. A short lunch stop, a quick walk around, some more happy snaps, and it was time to head back down. YAY! YAY! YAY! And it sounds strange, but going down the volcano was definitely the highlight of the day! BECAUSE after climbing all the way up!up!up! you get to slide all the way down!down!down! to the bottom of the volcano ON YOUR BOTTOM! Haha!
And oh my word it was awesome awesome awesome! So much fun! There are ice troughs that lead all the way down the Volcano! And you put on all your gear, tie on your butt protector, hold your ice pick as keel and brake, and send yourself down the biggest best icy slide in the world! I laughed almost the whole way! Nick shot off like a rocket and got up so much speed he even did a 360 at one point! He had some serious ice slide techinque going on! And Im not sure, but I do think I could hear the faint sound of his voice on the wind "row, row, row the snow".....Haha! 3.5hours up. 30 minutes down. Best fun ever! Smiles all round! Hello happy tourists!
xS
The volcano dominates the landscape for miles around with its perfectly connical form, snowcapped top, and billowing clouds of gas emanating from the crater. And our excitement about the climb grew with each trip outside - because each time you stepped foot outside you were met with a perfect backdrop of smoking volcano against blue skies.
We were up and out early the morning of our climb! And headed striaght to the tourst office to get our kitted up for the climb! The gear we got was so AWESOME! Big steel snow boots, gators, ice picks, crampons, anoraks, snow pants and - most importantly - a plastic butt protector (the reason for which will become apparent a lil farther down the page!)! We hadnt even left the tourist office and I was already happy snapping!
It was a overcast day, with low heavy clouds, and I was a wee bit worried that our climb be cancelled. It wasnt though, (!yay!) and not far into the drive toward the base of the volcano, we drove right on through the clouds and were met with beautiful clear skies and bright sunshine.
Volcan Villarrica is 2847m high. It took Nick and I 3.5 hours to make it to the top. And it was hard going! Snow over a foot deep in some parts, slippery ice in others and butt-burning steep the whole way. I made a mental note on the journey to send a big thankyou to the 50 or so tourists who left their snow steps for me to use. Another big thankyou should also go to the god of the ice pick which saved me from a quick unplanned descent at least a couple of times!
The top of the volcano is a narrow rim of about 300 metres diameter. We stand at the top and look down into the crater. The smell of sulphur is overpowering and you can hear the hissing of the steam released on the wind - it all makes the volcano seem very very alive. A little too alive. You cant see the lava but you can feel it. And the steep drop into the crater is more than enough to make you a little tense and I take an extra safety step back!
The wind up the top was icy. A short lunch stop, a quick walk around, some more happy snaps, and it was time to head back down. YAY! YAY! YAY! And it sounds strange, but going down the volcano was definitely the highlight of the day! BECAUSE after climbing all the way up!up!up! you get to slide all the way down!down!down! to the bottom of the volcano ON YOUR BOTTOM! Haha!
And oh my word it was awesome awesome awesome! So much fun! There are ice troughs that lead all the way down the Volcano! And you put on all your gear, tie on your butt protector, hold your ice pick as keel and brake, and send yourself down the biggest best icy slide in the world! I laughed almost the whole way! Nick shot off like a rocket and got up so much speed he even did a 360 at one point! He had some serious ice slide techinque going on! And Im not sure, but I do think I could hear the faint sound of his voice on the wind "row, row, row the snow".....Haha! 3.5hours up. 30 minutes down. Best fun ever! Smiles all round! Hello happy tourists!
xS
Thursday, December 11, 2008
The Way We Ride
The Set Up
Once we have decided on the route, its all Nick! Nick checks out the map, memorises our route, I nod and smile and say ta, and off we go...destination ahoy! Nick rides lead, I follow. Generally, its leader a bit to the left, follower a bit to the right - but not always. When we have a riding day, we have been riding for the entire day - starting around 10am and continuing until 6-7pm. And yes, its a long and tiring day! Our longest day so far was the 505km fwe rode in one day, from Pucon to Castro!
After a high five or a smooch or a ´vamos´(Spanish for ´lets go!´) when we first set out, we often dont talk during the day unless we stop at a service station or the occassional set of lights or if we pull over to discuss a decision we need to make. We stop for lunch around 2pm - a hotdog or something quick and easy - and off we go again! We always wear gloves, jacket, helmet - even if its only 100m we are riding, we always kit up! I also wear my riding pants - a hot!hot!hot! (but extremely safe! yay!) look :-D
The Highway and Roads
Chilean roads have been of a good quality....so far...so good! Ruta 5 - the main highway gets you far, and gets you far, fast! The speed limit is 120km-hr. We always ride at 100km/hr. Both our bikes (and me!) do indeed like this speed! Tis quite umbelievable though, the speed and the frequency with which we are overtaken - one lane, two lanes, oncoming traffic, it doesnt matter, the Chileans love to drive and drive fast!!
Whilst the roads have been of a consistently good quality, the road signs have definitely left quite a deal to be desired. It has been a constant source of amusement, bemusement and frustration.....when your destination suddenly disappears off of road signs, or when the road signs that you are following just suddenly...stop! We have followed road signs to the letter many a time, only to end up heading exactly the opposite direction required or to end up at a t-junction and just had to pick which way to turn! Oh the frustration of it all!
The Best Bits
Off Ruta 5, the roads have been BEAUTIFUL! We have ridden through wine country, over rolling hills of green grass, beside patchwork pastures, along cliffsides and through tall conifer tunnels and between rows of wild flowers! We have ridden next to rushing rivers, still lakes and beaches! Ahhh the countryside and the way it changes is always so impressive. The further south we head - the more green and colourful it gets! Under bright blue skies and under grey skies it is just delifhtful! Riding into Pucon, Volcan Villarrica perfectly positioned at the end of the road was certainly a highlight! So too, the big hairy spiders we passed on the road to Constitution! And we cant forget the big fat happy cows in the fields of bright yellow daisies we have passed!
The Suprises
For me, the most suprising thing thus far, has been the smells encountered on a ride. The smell of the flowers and the forests and the beach and the towns as you pass - the smells are always so unexpected and always so unique! The most best and most suprising (it gives me a bit of a homesick pang everytime!) is the smell of the Eucalypt forests that we ride alongside reasonably frequently over here!
The other thing I do love is the birds that have come to race alongside and in between us. They weave and duck occassionally in between Nick´s bike and my bike - just for 10 seconds or so - just a quick hello! - and then off they fly again! Ahhh its so fun to be a part of!
Chileans
Outside of the big towns, our bikes definitely attract attention! Heads turn, eyes stare, waves are offered, and even the odd person comes to talk to us! We are pretty damn cool over here it seems! Hehe! Concerned hostel owners have organised for us the part our bikes inside of stationary stores and police officers have helped us find accomodation and new friends have given us tours of their cities!
...And this is just week two!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
xSarax
Once we have decided on the route, its all Nick! Nick checks out the map, memorises our route, I nod and smile and say ta, and off we go...destination ahoy! Nick rides lead, I follow. Generally, its leader a bit to the left, follower a bit to the right - but not always. When we have a riding day, we have been riding for the entire day - starting around 10am and continuing until 6-7pm. And yes, its a long and tiring day! Our longest day so far was the 505km fwe rode in one day, from Pucon to Castro!
After a high five or a smooch or a ´vamos´(Spanish for ´lets go!´) when we first set out, we often dont talk during the day unless we stop at a service station or the occassional set of lights or if we pull over to discuss a decision we need to make. We stop for lunch around 2pm - a hotdog or something quick and easy - and off we go again! We always wear gloves, jacket, helmet - even if its only 100m we are riding, we always kit up! I also wear my riding pants - a hot!hot!hot! (but extremely safe! yay!) look :-D
The Highway and Roads
Chilean roads have been of a good quality....so far...so good! Ruta 5 - the main highway gets you far, and gets you far, fast! The speed limit is 120km-hr. We always ride at 100km/hr. Both our bikes (and me!) do indeed like this speed! Tis quite umbelievable though, the speed and the frequency with which we are overtaken - one lane, two lanes, oncoming traffic, it doesnt matter, the Chileans love to drive and drive fast!!
Whilst the roads have been of a consistently good quality, the road signs have definitely left quite a deal to be desired. It has been a constant source of amusement, bemusement and frustration.....when your destination suddenly disappears off of road signs, or when the road signs that you are following just suddenly...stop! We have followed road signs to the letter many a time, only to end up heading exactly the opposite direction required or to end up at a t-junction and just had to pick which way to turn! Oh the frustration of it all!
The Best Bits
Off Ruta 5, the roads have been BEAUTIFUL! We have ridden through wine country, over rolling hills of green grass, beside patchwork pastures, along cliffsides and through tall conifer tunnels and between rows of wild flowers! We have ridden next to rushing rivers, still lakes and beaches! Ahhh the countryside and the way it changes is always so impressive. The further south we head - the more green and colourful it gets! Under bright blue skies and under grey skies it is just delifhtful! Riding into Pucon, Volcan Villarrica perfectly positioned at the end of the road was certainly a highlight! So too, the big hairy spiders we passed on the road to Constitution! And we cant forget the big fat happy cows in the fields of bright yellow daisies we have passed!
The Suprises
For me, the most suprising thing thus far, has been the smells encountered on a ride. The smell of the flowers and the forests and the beach and the towns as you pass - the smells are always so unexpected and always so unique! The most best and most suprising (it gives me a bit of a homesick pang everytime!) is the smell of the Eucalypt forests that we ride alongside reasonably frequently over here!
The other thing I do love is the birds that have come to race alongside and in between us. They weave and duck occassionally in between Nick´s bike and my bike - just for 10 seconds or so - just a quick hello! - and then off they fly again! Ahhh its so fun to be a part of!
Chileans
Outside of the big towns, our bikes definitely attract attention! Heads turn, eyes stare, waves are offered, and even the odd person comes to talk to us! We are pretty damn cool over here it seems! Hehe! Concerned hostel owners have organised for us the part our bikes inside of stationary stores and police officers have helped us find accomodation and new friends have given us tours of their cities!
...And this is just week two!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
xSarax
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Valpo: Take Two
Bike biKes BIKES biKes Bikes! Valpo: Take Two was all about the bikes people! A ship arrived, a container ready for opening....adventure codename: Kawasaki! Haha! :-D Wahoo! And we hit the road - both Doug and Dot starting first go after a wee bit o Dawson-style mechanical & electrical good lovin´! Hahhaaaaa! Oh yeah baby!!!!!! Broom brooooooooooooooooooooooooooom broom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (BeePBeeP BeePBeeP YEAH) :-D
Santiago and onward!
Ok, so getting a while behind on the blogging so I´ll give you a run down of the last couple of weeks fairly quickly to catch up.
We arrived back in Santiago on the 18th Nov and spent until the 30th between there and Valparaiso (my favourite city so far by a long stretch... beautiful), recuperating, exploring Valpo with Vanessa and Oliver, preparing for the bikes arrival, waiting for the bikes arrival, collecting the bikes and preparing them for the journey ahead.
The highlight was definitely the weekend spent with Vanessa and Oliver in Valparaiso. A friend of theirs showed a group of us around the city on the Saturday which was fantastic. Sars is gonna add a bit more detail about the city... and we owe another MASSIVE thank you to V & O for their hospitality!! It was great to see you guys again! And a big thanks to Paula for showing us around Valpo too.
We also need to thank Enzo and Martina from Villa Kunterbunt who helped us with clearing the bikes through customs and everything. They made it so easy and were so hospitable! We loved the BBQ too!!
...so... we set off from Santiago on Sun 30th and not a day too soon. It was fantastic to get out of the big city and after a short stint down the highway we were straight off it and onto some interesting gravel roads up into Reserva Nacional Radal Siete Tazas (7 cups). We camped the night in the most beautiful spot on the edge of the very aptly named Rio Claro (Clear river) in the Conifer forests... so stunningly beautiful. The following day we headed straight for the 7 cups. These are 7 waterfalls between cup like pools of rock... it was amazing! I´ve never seen anything like it (will post the photos soon). After looking from the lookout we decided to follow the walking path until it eventually hit the river. We then scrambled back along the rocks to the base of a magnificent waterfall where the green pool of water sat underneath begging to be swum in... how could we resist... so in we went... for about 0.2 of a second... and out we went from the COLDEST DAMN WATER EVER!!! I swear it´s a miracle there wasn´t a layer of ice on top. Despite the temp we managed a few more dips in... very invigorating! :-)
Once we´d had our fill of the beauty it was on our bikes and into Talca for the night, following an amazing dirt road through the foothills of the Andes and the Pine forests and farming land. We had been recommended a place just outside Talca, so the next day we headed there and had a day of relaxing beside the pool in hammocks and a fantastic bbq dinner with a bottle of Camenére (a local Chilean wine) (check out the hostel here: http://www.trekkingchile.com/Casachueca/indexEN.html)... we felt we needed a break after the rush to get everything ready and to leave Santiago.
Next day was back on the bikes and on to Concepcion... well that was the plan, except I may have been a little confused and followed the signs to Constitución... oops!! But the ride was absolutely stunning and Constitución was a good place for lunch. Then just as we were about to head on our way in the afternoon we met Gabriel and his father James and mother Norma (?!? I think that´s right, have to check). They kindly invited us to their house to check out their motos and then Gabriel and James took us on a tour of their city!! It was fantastic riding along the rocky coastline with the beaches and fishing port and then up to the hills with an amazing view of the mouth of the Rio Maule and Constitución. A MASSIVE thanks to Gabriel and his family for taking the time out to show us gringos around their town!!! We really appreciated it and hope we can return the favour some day.
We managed to make it to Cauquenes for a sleep that night, then it was on to Concepcion the next day where we finally managed to sort out international 3rd party insurance for the bikes for the Mercorsur countries. In the afternoon we rode down the coast to Lota. It was an old mining town and they run tours of one of the old coal mines there. We were both interested to see it... a very different type of coal mining from my experience, however we asked in the morning and they only ran tours in Spanish. We decided that it would be a bit of a waste of time and money for us to attempt the Spanish tour, so back on the bikes and a long haul to Pucon which is where I sit right now.
We arrived last night and are relaxing today and enjoying the tiny town wedged between a beautiful lake and a spectacular snow covered (and smoking) volcano. It is understandable that this is such a tourist spot for Chileans as well as the Gringos. Tomorrow we climb the volcano which we can´t wait to do! There´s also much rafting, horse riding, trekking, canopy tours etc etc to do around here, but we´re on a mission to see Chiloé before next Monday (15th) when we catch the Navimag ferry (i.e. container ship) from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales so we might have to head on soon.
that´s us up to date. Will add more pics soon, otherwise you can check out all the albums so far on Facebook.
ciao for now.
We arrived back in Santiago on the 18th Nov and spent until the 30th between there and Valparaiso (my favourite city so far by a long stretch... beautiful), recuperating, exploring Valpo with Vanessa and Oliver, preparing for the bikes arrival, waiting for the bikes arrival, collecting the bikes and preparing them for the journey ahead.
The highlight was definitely the weekend spent with Vanessa and Oliver in Valparaiso. A friend of theirs showed a group of us around the city on the Saturday which was fantastic. Sars is gonna add a bit more detail about the city... and we owe another MASSIVE thank you to V & O for their hospitality!! It was great to see you guys again! And a big thanks to Paula for showing us around Valpo too.
We also need to thank Enzo and Martina from Villa Kunterbunt who helped us with clearing the bikes through customs and everything. They made it so easy and were so hospitable! We loved the BBQ too!!
...so... we set off from Santiago on Sun 30th and not a day too soon. It was fantastic to get out of the big city and after a short stint down the highway we were straight off it and onto some interesting gravel roads up into Reserva Nacional Radal Siete Tazas (7 cups). We camped the night in the most beautiful spot on the edge of the very aptly named Rio Claro (Clear river) in the Conifer forests... so stunningly beautiful. The following day we headed straight for the 7 cups. These are 7 waterfalls between cup like pools of rock... it was amazing! I´ve never seen anything like it (will post the photos soon). After looking from the lookout we decided to follow the walking path until it eventually hit the river. We then scrambled back along the rocks to the base of a magnificent waterfall where the green pool of water sat underneath begging to be swum in... how could we resist... so in we went... for about 0.2 of a second... and out we went from the COLDEST DAMN WATER EVER!!! I swear it´s a miracle there wasn´t a layer of ice on top. Despite the temp we managed a few more dips in... very invigorating! :-)
Once we´d had our fill of the beauty it was on our bikes and into Talca for the night, following an amazing dirt road through the foothills of the Andes and the Pine forests and farming land. We had been recommended a place just outside Talca, so the next day we headed there and had a day of relaxing beside the pool in hammocks and a fantastic bbq dinner with a bottle of Camenére (a local Chilean wine) (check out the hostel here: http://www.trekkingchile.com/Casachueca/indexEN.html)... we felt we needed a break after the rush to get everything ready and to leave Santiago.
Next day was back on the bikes and on to Concepcion... well that was the plan, except I may have been a little confused and followed the signs to Constitución... oops!! But the ride was absolutely stunning and Constitución was a good place for lunch. Then just as we were about to head on our way in the afternoon we met Gabriel and his father James and mother Norma (?!? I think that´s right, have to check). They kindly invited us to their house to check out their motos and then Gabriel and James took us on a tour of their city!! It was fantastic riding along the rocky coastline with the beaches and fishing port and then up to the hills with an amazing view of the mouth of the Rio Maule and Constitución. A MASSIVE thanks to Gabriel and his family for taking the time out to show us gringos around their town!!! We really appreciated it and hope we can return the favour some day.
We managed to make it to Cauquenes for a sleep that night, then it was on to Concepcion the next day where we finally managed to sort out international 3rd party insurance for the bikes for the Mercorsur countries. In the afternoon we rode down the coast to Lota. It was an old mining town and they run tours of one of the old coal mines there. We were both interested to see it... a very different type of coal mining from my experience, however we asked in the morning and they only ran tours in Spanish. We decided that it would be a bit of a waste of time and money for us to attempt the Spanish tour, so back on the bikes and a long haul to Pucon which is where I sit right now.
We arrived last night and are relaxing today and enjoying the tiny town wedged between a beautiful lake and a spectacular snow covered (and smoking) volcano. It is understandable that this is such a tourist spot for Chileans as well as the Gringos. Tomorrow we climb the volcano which we can´t wait to do! There´s also much rafting, horse riding, trekking, canopy tours etc etc to do around here, but we´re on a mission to see Chiloé before next Monday (15th) when we catch the Navimag ferry (i.e. container ship) from Puerto Montt to Puerto Natales so we might have to head on soon.
that´s us up to date. Will add more pics soon, otherwise you can check out all the albums so far on Facebook.
ciao for now.
Valpo: Take One
Ahhhh it was a while ago now....almost two weeks, perhaps more....but the weekend we spent discovering the port of Valparaiso was just beautiful. Vanessa, Oliver, Nick and I arrived late one Friday afternoon, booked into our french hostal, La Bicyclette, and let the weekend begin. Immediately, I was enchanted! Valparaiso is bohemian and vibrant and eclectic! It is a brightly coloured patchwork quilt of messy buildings sewn together on steep hillsides by gorgeous cobblestone streets! Murals dot the walls of every street and exploring the labyrinth of hillside alleyways, under a perfect blue sky, was a delight for the eyes, colourful and energetic!
The first night and the first Valpo bar...A small table, a small bar. The walls displaying local paintings and yellowed sheets of poetry. The lightshades were sheet music. Two students playing guitar and violin. The flavoursome garlic bread. Aaaahhh it was pure entertainment for the senses!
The first night and the first Valpo restaurant....An old table, an old seafood restaurant. And as you sit at the table, and look about, a distinct impression floods over you....the wrinkly waiters, the faded menus, the dusty bottles behind the bar, the suited band members, have all been there, each and every night, since the place opened over 30 years ago.
Ahhhhhh it is so glorious visiting places that feel like they have a heartbeat!
The first night and the first Valpo bar...A small table, a small bar. The walls displaying local paintings and yellowed sheets of poetry. The lightshades were sheet music. Two students playing guitar and violin. The flavoursome garlic bread. Aaaahhh it was pure entertainment for the senses!
The first night and the first Valpo restaurant....An old table, an old seafood restaurant. And as you sit at the table, and look about, a distinct impression floods over you....the wrinkly waiters, the faded menus, the dusty bottles behind the bar, the suited band members, have all been there, each and every night, since the place opened over 30 years ago.
Ahhhhhh it is so glorious visiting places that feel like they have a heartbeat!
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