Broken brakes, dirt roads, hills, dirty cyclists & lovely scenery

Day 34 – January 24th 2016
Another day of rest. Clare went hiking again and I watched fast & furious 7 whilst eating chocolate and biscuits in bed – heaven. Had a lovely evening out with Vincent and Mylene, just eating (vegetarian food unfortunately – James!), drinking and planning for the next part of the journey.

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Jenga in the restaurant

Day 35 – January 25th 2016 – part 1 happy, part 2 pissed off pushing and worried descending
We had a nice relaxing start and made our requisite purchase of pepas (Argentinian biscuits of shortbread and jam – mmm!). We pedaled off on the LOVELY 40km gravel road from El Chalten to Lago Desierto, passing by rivers, lakes, mountains and peaceful surroundings. As we arrived at the lake early we got the earlier boat with 3 fellow cyclists (Laura and Reza – the doctors and Bruno from Switzerland). It was a lovely short boat trip and it dropped us off at the Argentinian border. AND THEN EVERYTHING TURNED BAD! as a man from the boat ‘helped’ James to take the tandem off the boat he managed to break our rear brake, so we only had one usable brake! James was furious as we were in the middle of nowhere and starting our most remote part of the trip. Instead of camping with the others we decided to push, literally push, on to the Chilean border which was a 22km route with a really challenging 6km uphill single track not designed for bikes. I carried some of the bags and James pushed the bike and panniers up a steep track, fording a few rivers and wading through bogs for a good 3 hours. It was a miserable section and when we did reach a rideable part it was pretty scary doing it with only one brake. We finally reached the Chilean passport control at 11pm and then found a camping spot in the dark and passed out.

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Day 36 – January 26th 2016
A day to rest our sore muscles and limbs and just chill on the edge of a glacial like. We found a little hut to call home (after James did some tidying and floor mopping) and relaxed by the water, listened to a book and welcomed Kai, Johanna, Luara, Reza and Bruno when they arrived. A boat arrived but we decided not to take it as we wanted to see the glacier – so were going to get the boat the next day which went via the glaciar – Kai and Johanna took the boat.  James built up a fire and we sat and chatted in our warm and toasty Hut.

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Day 37 – January 27th 2016 – Route
5 cyclist stranded waiting for a boat that never arrived. We eventually got a different boat at 2:30 p.m. and relaxed on the three and a half hour journey to Villa Higgins (without seeing the glacier). The famous 5 cycled a whole 8km to reach our campsite in this town which is a mecca for cyclists as it is the gateway to the Caretera Austral. Bruno even gave a small guitar concert as he is traveling with a guitar on his bike!

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Day 38 – January 28th 2016 – Route
James manage to find brake fluid and a special type of tape he needed for operation fix brake. Success he did it! The 5 rolled off in the afternoon for the first day on the infamous Caretera Austral, 1000+ km dirt road from Puerto Mont to Villa O’Higgins, by Pinochet in the 60’s as a vanity project. The landscape here is completely different with lots of rivers, waterfalls, lakes, glaciers, mountains and it is so very green. A welcome change from the desert and pampas. The plan is to cycle short days here and really enjoy the scenery and just relax. The two of us found a perfect camp spot next to a glacial waterfall and stream and a view of the glacier source, perfect spot for a lovely long night of rest. The only downside of this paradise is the horse fliesand other blood thirsty bugs. As soon as you cycle up a hill or stop for a photo you are immediately attacked so we have started cycling one handed waiving the other arm around our heads to bat at flies 🙂

Saw 8 cyclists coming the other, more popular, way today so this is where we are no longer unique.

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Day 39 – January 29th 2016 – Route
Short cycle from a  glacier to Rio del Arco. Lots of climbing but very pretty as we followed a river. We set off late as we were hiding in our tent from the rain. James played in the river for 6 hours and created some  impressive rock sculptures. Clare hid in the tent  to escape  biting flies.

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Day 40 – January 30th 2016 – Route
Perfect azul sky day. Bathed in our river and ate breakfast on the banks. James put the finishing touches to the river sculpture.  Easy 22km to the free ferry crossing where we had 3 hours to wait along with Gustavo and lizete, 2 Chilean cyclists. Cafe in the other side – yay! A bit of hassle finding a clean camp spot on the beach (people using the beach as a toilet made for unpleasant tent pegging out) so we changed plans and  opted for putting the fly net up in an abandoned shack. We met a lovely America couple, Andrew and lily, who have been driving south for a year. They kindly started a bonfire and made us (well Clare) painkiller cocktails with rum, pineapple and orange juice.  Beautiful stars in the sky and good company.

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Day 41 – January 31st 2016 – Route
Tough day of climbing, tricky dirt road and strong sunshine. Finally arrived at charming pueblo of tortel. Tortel is a national heritage fishing village built into hill sides where the only connection between the buildings is the long wooden walkways. We found a lovely restaurant and chatted to the owner about life in that part of Patagonia, and James fixed his glasses with some superglue. Met a dutch couple, Anouk and Eric, who were a bit fed up with their 3 week cycling trip and had hitch hiked the previous day with their bikes. We commiserated and all enjoyed laughing about how tough it was. we stocked up on supplies and found a little camp spot out of town which came with a friendly guard dog. 

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Day 42 and 43 – February 1st and 2nd 2016 – Route
Cycled on from Tortel (and bumped into our guard dog friend 20km down the road – he must have followed the dutch cyclists – and rewarded him for his guarding with some biscuits) to a lovely Riverside camp spot where we took a mini break. Spent two days swimming in the river, reading, sleeping and just relaxing with nature (ie horseflies and mosquitoes). Became very good and killing horseflies – Clare attracts them with her loveliness and I then squash them against her.

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Day 44 – February 3rd 2016 – Route
With clean clothes and fresh legs we pedaled on for another 20km before bumping into our German friends, Kai and johana. The road was flat and temperature perfect for cycling. We were motivated by a  campsite the dutch couple had told us about that made their own bread, cheese and vegetables.  The campsite was on a small farm in the mountain and next to the river and we shared the space with 2 lovely horses – a mum and its foal.  James lost all his will power and ate all the snacks that night (with Clares help) . Slept in our cabin and woke to cows mooing 🙂

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Day 45 – February 4th 2016 – Route
Left the little campsite earlyish and set off. Almost immediately we started climbing. It was OK for a while but after 2 hours James had had enough of crawling uphill at 6kmph and was plotting his 4×4 purchase to complete the trip. Unfortunately we still had to keep climbing – and no snacks 🙁

Funniest point was probably Clare puling an unintentional moonie at an unsuspecting cyclist having his lunch in a hidden spot! This was only realised when James almost exposed himself as well while using the same supposedly private wee spot – poor guy!

After 880m of climbing we finally had mostly downhill all the way to Cochrane.  After dreaming of food for hours we went straight to the shop and bought and ate ice cream and cake. We also bumped into most of our cycling chums at the shop.  We also met a lovely Swiss couple Toni, Barbara and their little son Curdin. They were pulling him in a trailer which sounds like hard work. We found a place to stay, showered, had dinner with the Swiss and then retired for a good sleep. James stayed up late eating cake, chocolate and biscuits in bed!

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Day 46 – February 5th 2016
Ate more ice cream and cake. Relaxed in the park and caught up on the blog. Nothing else achieved (apart from the obligatory washing) – bliss.

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2 thoughts on “Broken brakes, dirt roads, hills, dirty cyclists & lovely scenery”

  1. Hello lovely Clare and James, just to let you know how much I am enjoying travelling with you – every painful leg of the way! I am loving the news and pics – the ups and downs, blown away by the scenery, the lupins, the fun and the sheer adventure. So if the bike drags a bit now and then it’s only me perched on the back!! I spent the whole morning in dark grey cold wet Blighty with you today, in the mountains and hills and glaciers, stopping for cake and ice cream, but the horseflies are getting to me. Keep it coming. All love from Aunt Jan. x

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