Thursday 22 January 2015

By Boat and Bike to Cochamo (Chile)

San Carlos de Bariloche on the shore of Lago Nahuel Huapi is the main town in the area and famous for its chocolate (thanks to the Swiss and German settlers who found themselves very much at home here). After two nights, I was ready to continue my journey. I rode to nearby Puerto Panuelo and took a boat to Puerto Blest, in an idyllic setting at the western end of one arm of the lake. After a quick 3 km ride, I boarded a second boat and crossed Lago Frias, where some scenes were shot in the Che Guevara film " The Motorcycle Diaries". Then came a tough 25 km ride over a pass marking the border between Agentina and Chile. Mt Tronador, at over 3400 m the largest mountain in the area, rose up to the south. I followed a river valley down to Peulla on the shore of Lago Todo los Santos in Chile and caught a third ferry across the lake to Puerto Petrohue, where I spent the night. The beautiful lake, with the two volcanic peaks, Volcan Orsono and Volcan Puntiagudo dominating the horizon, is a truly impressive sight. 

I finally reached the sea for the first time in the journey at the little village of Ralun, and spent the night in Cochamo, a fishing village further down the coast.

So far, I've ridden about 550 km, so the warm-up is over and now I'm officially in Patagonia. Gravel roads have replaced asphalt, the sunny weather has come to an end, and I still have a couple of thousand km's to go. 

The 3 peaks of Mt Tronador from Lago Frias. 

This spot at the eastern end of Lago Todo los Santos reminded me of the area around Glenorchy in NZ. 

Bike ready for the boat at Peulla.  

Volcanoes Orsono and Puntiagudo from Lago Todo los Santos. 

Volcan Orsono from my camping spot in Petrohue. 

At the seaside - the little fishing village of Cochamo. 

Sunset in Cochamo. 

From Villarica (Chile) to San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina)

After an overnight bus ride down from Santiago, I arrived early in the morning at Villarica and set about reassembling the bike. Most things were okay and a quick trip to the local bike shop sorted the other minor problems out. Finally, I was riding. I spent the night in the pretty town of Pucon, 26 km from Villarica. 

The box will soon be history.

Hmm, got a bit of work to do...

Up and running at last. 

Pucon.

I rode my first pass of the trip, Paso Mamuil Malal at about 1200 m, which marks the border between Chile and Argentina. From there I followed the "Siete Lagos" route past many beautiful lakes to Sam Carlos de Bariloche. I fueled myself on prime Argentinian beef, each steak bigger than the last. 

Hola Argentina!

Volcan Lanin

Hot and dry. 

From the paddock...

...to the pan. And from small...

...to big. 

One of the many lakes along the route. 

Remote farms with dangerous guard dogs. 

Another lake. 

I never had better fruit than from this guy. The watermelon was the best I ever had. 

Lake Huapi Nahuel, on the way to SC de Bariloche.