… we just had to cross the Andes and enter Argentina.

In this entry we struggle through the rain, ride over the Andes, and wake up in a sun-drenched Argentina.

Day 79: Rest (rain) day in Entre Lagos

We stayed an extra day in Entre Lagos because of weather conditions coming for the high pass we planned to right next.  Spoiler: despite our wait-it-out precautions we didn’t avoid wet and cold conditions…

During our extra day we discovered the flaw in our cabin here: a nest of yellow jackets underneath the primary bedroom.  This wouldn’t be a problem except that they were somehow entering the room!  Jason and I kept being confused and killing a couple at a time, then when there were ten we gave up and just kept the door closed.  Luckily this cabin had four single beds outside the main bedroom, so we were happy.  The owners would have happily moved us to another cabin, but at that point we were settled and halfway through our 1000-piece puzzle. 

We walked about town and went down to the lake.  Of course the volcano was shrouded in clouds, but we did find slides that were so high and so sketchy even H didn’t want to ride!

Day 80: Entre Lagos to Puyehue National Park (45 km / 28 mi)

We knew it was supposed to rain on the pass today, but conditions in town were forecast to be fine.  At this point we should know better than to trust the forecast – if the Philtrons are riding, a 10% chance of rain is actually 100%. 

The first part of the day along the lake was blissfully flat and fast.  We were in quite good spirits.  Then the rain got heavier.  Then the climbs started.  By the time we rolled up to our planned rest area we were soggy and feeling down.  The food truck had a covered outdoor seating area that was crowded with chickens.  We were there early, before the owners had even arrived, so we shooed away the chickens and tried to dry out.  It wasn’t working.  Once the owners arrived they actually invited us into their home, lit a fire, and served us a delicious lunch.  Their cats took over the chairs and our laps. 

Nearly two hours later we mustered the will to suit up in rain gear again and set out. 

The scenery was clearly lovely – lush forests, some farmlands, mist rising off the lake.  We passed some hot springs, or at least some advertisements for them.  Then it was a bit of a slog through dense forest towards Puyehue National Park.  The rain got harder again, and by the time we arrived it was downright pouring. 

The lovely young people running the reception tent were so kind to welcome us.  We had reserved a cabin in the park, grateful for anything with four walls and roof.  There was a wonderful surprise waiting for us though. They had already lit a fire in just about the cutest A-frame we’d ever seen.  It had a kitchen, a wood stove, four beds in the main room, a bedroom with a double bed, and a bathroom with a hot shower.  For four sopping wet cyclists it was a dream come true.

We took off everything wet and hung it about the wood stove while we cooked dinner and relaxed.  The rain was so intense that the raging river nearby overwhelmed the cabins water system, making our shower and toilet water brown with silt and river mud.  We didn’t care – the cooking water was clear and we used our filter.  The stove dried us all out.

Day 81: Rest day in Puyehue National Park

After another close scrutiny of the weather models we decided to wait a day before attempting the pass. It was a toss-up weatherwise between today and tomorrow up high, but we can’t return to Chile until April 3 for visa reasons.  We decided that the opportunity to explore a national park and stay in a warm comfy cabin was just too special to miss. 

We spent the morning hiking all the trails on this side of the park.  We saw the raging river and three mighty waterfalls.  We even almost saw a nearby volcano.  The prevalence of invasive bamboo was disheartening, but we still really enjoyed ourselves.

For lunch we went to the park restaurant and ordered two huge pizzas and a massive plate of fries.  It was such a yummy treat! When we had eaten all we could we retreated to the cabin to read and play games until bedtime.

Day 82: Puyehue National Park to Camping Brazo Rincon (47 km / 29 mi)

Today was a day to remember! It was the biggest pass we’ve ridden with the kids, it spanned two countries, and of course we did it in the cold rain.

It didn’t start out raining, at least.  We left the campground dry, and rode the 5km to the Chilean border post in good spirits.  It was simple to get our Chilean exit stamps, and the border official really seemed impressed to see that we had entered the country in Tierra del Fuego.

Chile and Argentina share a very, very, very, long border.  It is formed by the highest part of the Andes.  Because the border itself is at those high points, the two countries often choose to put their immigration stations very far away from the pass.  Cyclists (along with everyone else) need to get exit stamps from one country and then get through immigration of the other the same day, regardless of the distance between the two immigration facilities.  In this case, there were 40km and 3,500 feet of climbing between them.

After we got our exit stamps we skipped happily back to bikes to eat snacks.  Then we noticed a few sprinkles.  Then the sprinkles were enough to put on rain jackets.  When we got back on the road there was immediately a stop for road construction!  Luckily we were waved through and just told to ride on the newly-built non-traffic lane. 

We were slow.  It was cold.  The cloud cover was so low we could see none of the beautiful mountains and volcanoes that we knew were around us.  And yet… we kept riding.  We stopped for a fast, cold lunch about 2/3 of the way up.  By 2pm we were pushing the final few meters to the top of the pass.  Of course, by then it was really raining.

After we changed into dry clothes and full rain gear over down jackets we took a rushed photo at the summit sign.  Because of the pouring rain and risk of dangerous cold we couldn’t set up our good camera on a timer and instead relied on Jason’s phone with an ‘add-me’ feature.  It leaves something to be desired, but with the cold seeping into us we carried on.

The descent was fast and obviously beautiful, even with the low cloud cover.  Even in places that hadn’t received rain (dry pavement) we brought the rain with us.  We were relieved to roll into the Argentine customs building because it meant a roof!  We quickly got our new passport stamps and received some friendly encouragement from everyone working there.

Our destination was just a few kilometers up the road.  We had hoped a cabin would be available, but the campground only had campsites free.  Oh well – we found a flat spot and set up.  By then it wasn’t raining so we spread out all our wet gear on tree branches.  It proved to be an extremely cold night. I’m surprised we didn’t wake up to find our shirts frozen solid.

Day 83: Camping Brazo Rincon to Villa La Angostura (25 km / 16 mi)

It was cold when Jason and I poked our heads out of the tent, so cold that we told the girls to stay put until the sun appeared.  A thick fog had formed over the nearby lake.  I sat outside drinking a huge mug of coffee as I watched it burn off in patches.  I even saw some kind of a fog-rainbow form.

When the sun reached us it warmed up everything and we were treated to a perfectly blue sky.  The mountains we had crossed yesterday were behind us.  The girls walked out to the lake and found something wonderful: floating rocks!!  It’s true, the little ultra-light pebbles that formed the beach were actual volcanic pumice.  When the girls kicked them into the lake they floated.  Incredible.

We didn’t leave camp early, but even when we left at 11 it was cold in the shadows.  We hit 2,000 km right around lunchtime, so we stopped to eat and also to take our photo. 

As we continued towards town we crossed several large overlooks of the famous lakes of this region.  Suddenly we were in the land of sunshine and tourism.  It felt festive. 

Town was bustling and very spread out along the highway.  A bike lane appeared just as traffic picked up, which we appreciated.  We nearly missed the turn off for our cabin because all the side roads were dirt.  Even in the clearly affluent areas, there were dirt roads with no sidewalks.  We also noticed there were no minimarkets like we had grown used to in Chile. 

Our cabin, however, felt like luxury!  We settled in to rest.