Author Archives: Jason

Dodging the rain in the Lakes Region

The amount of rain we’ve dealt with recently is not typical! Instead of our desired rhythm of three riding days then one rest day we have been forced to ride only every other day. The reason? An atmospheric river pelting the region.

The historical average for monthly rainfall in March here is around 3”. On only the three rain days described here we saw a total of 4.5”, and it has rained literally every day we have spent riding too. It’s been a wild amount of water – that goes beyond unpleasant to unsafe to ride in. Daisy and I have been frustrated by the rain, whereas the girls have been elated to have the extra video game time waiting out the storms. Is anyone surprised by that? No? Didn’t think so.

In this post, A’s journal entries are included again.

Day 72: Pargua to Los Muermos (60 km / 37 mi)

A: For breakfast today I had pancakes. It was good. The riding in the morning was fine. My knee was hurting from sitting on it yesterday. Before lunch we crossed a giant river, on a teensy little boat/ferry with 4 or 5 other cars. For lunch we stopped at a gravel road turn-off. Lunch was avocado mackerel sandwiches. There were way too many bugs. Soon we made it to the town we were sleeping in. It started to drizzle, but stopped soon. We had a bit of trouble finding our place, but we found it. For most of the rest of the afternoon me and H played video games. We got to level 110 I the mines in Stardew Valley. Dinner was rice and teriyaki chicken with sauteed vegetables. Bye! That’s all for today.

Today we made a run away from the coast and towards the huge agricultural areas that produce much of the country’s food. Most of the riding today was flat and fast. We took a dirt road shortcut that had us all groaning and chanting “vote no to ripio!”, but we emerged near a highlight: a ferry ride across a large river delta.

The ferry crossing was cute. The boat was small, as A mentioned. Also, each adult is only 490 pesos (about 50 cents US) and kids and bikes are free. So overall it cost $1. This definitely had me wondering why they bother charging at all.

After the ferry we stopped for lunch on the side of the road, which ended in quite a fiasco. A small bug flew close to H’s hand and she reacted in surprise (and fear) by throwing her half-eaten sandwich to the ground. She immediately felt bad about it. Then, A decided a bug had also flown near her half-eaten sandwich and therefore she couldn’t eat any more. How frustrating! Our solution was to get back on the bikes and pump out our annoyance into the pedals. It’s not always fun times on a bike tour, but there are lessons to be learned from it all. This time the lesson was: if you’re hungry don’t throw your sandwich on the ground.

Of course the rain caught us as we finished out the rolling hills towards the agricultural hub of Los Muermos. This is not a tourist town, so it was a bit of a challenge to find an indoor place to stay. We rented an apartment that is typically used by Chileans traveling for work. The owner said he had a tandem bicycle too! I was shocked, since we haven’t seen any tandems yet here in Chile. He suggested that they are more common further north, but we’ll believe it when we see it.

Day 73: Rain day in Los Muermos

We were hoping to ride today, but when we woke up the forecast had gotten substantially worse. It was calling for well over an inch of rain so we decided to stay put. When making breakfast I opened the fridge to get a few items – and realized the fridge was broken. Everything was warm. We are becoming quite used to random mishaps like this as we are forced to rent cabins and apartments to hide from the rain. In our last rental the ‘skylight’ in the kitchen leaked during the deluge. In another the stairs were more or less a death trap. In this one the fridge didn’t work. We always figure out a way to work around whatever the issue is.

Lucky for me there was a minimarket across the street to get a few items so I didn’t get very wet in the pouring rain as I ran out for breakfast supplies.

Something interesting (and convenient) about Chile is that in these towns there are a lot of minimarkets. So many, in fact, that there is usually a minimarket next to or across the street from the large supermarket. We appreciate the convenience when it’s literally raining buckets. Since we were staying another night, our host brought us a mini-fridge to use – from another apartment, after his other guests checked out, of course, ha! We huddled around the wood stove for warmth most of the day, but ventured out to run a few errands. Daisy needed to replace her safety vest and we sought out an HDMI cable so we can hook our laptop up to the TV. It was a pretty boring day, but the kids enjoyed the rest.

Day 74: Los Muermos to Futillar Bajo (73 km / 45 mi)

A: Breakfast: nutella, eggs, yogurt. Delicious. Morning: we left and rode for a long time with the clouds. Lunch: In restaurant, completos, chicken potato soup, and fries. Afternoon: we rode more, making it to town and then hung at our place. Dinner: salmon burger, carrot, bad other fish burger, pasta, ketchup, and the desert cake no one liked. Snack: (before lunch) salt and vinegar potato chips, cheesy chips, chocolate snack bag, water. Distance: 75 kilometers, 4 and a half hours.

This day ended up being (and feeling) longer than we had hoped. As you can see, A was tired enough by the riding that she resorted to a list format for her journal entry. We woke up to the sound of pouring rain, at this point it’s our typical morning soundtrack. The forecast promised us that the rain would stop by the time we were ready to ride (by 11) – and that was true today. We left town on wet roads and suited up for rain anyway.

Los Muermos is situtated on a hill, so for the first part of the day we descended through undulating farmland. In the far distance were wind turbines. This usually implies we are headed for headwind.

We stopped for lunch in a very small town that had a minimarket, a small restaurant, and a big yellow church. It was early for lunch by Chilean standards, but the owner quickly set up a table and welcomed us. The girls got hot dogs with tomato and avocado (AKA ‘completo’), I got a huge sandwich, and Daisy got a big bowl of chicken soup. Eating a big meal out and taking a bit longer to rest really helps us get further later in the day.

Of course, by the time we finished out lunch it was raining! With no choice but to carry on, we suited up again and rode back into the countryside. We reached the wind turbines (37!), but the wind wasn’t strong, in comparison to Tierra de Fuego.

Somewhere along in the day our planned 67 km route became 73 km. Those last 10km felt really hard and we were all tired, but luckily by then it was flat.

Our destination was a touristy German-heritage town. It was settled in the 1850s and many of the buildings retain touches of German-inspired architecture. We settled into a lovely cabin in the middle of the touristy part of town. There are many cafes selling kuchen, a German dessert that is a mix between cake and pie. We set out to buy a few slices to eat with dinner, but they weren’t our favorite dessert. We’ll have to try again elsewhere! Maybe on a future trip to Germany.

One of the reasons I wanted to come here is because across the lake are two amazing volcanoes: Osorno and Calbuco. I thought the girls would be wowed by seeing them. However, all you can see is clouds. I still enjoyed taking my “volcano picture” anyway!

Picture of Volcan Osorno, or in the direction of it anyway!

Day 75: Rain day in Frutillar Bajo

As usual, we woke up to the sound of rain. The forecast wast for 1.9″. Again, we had no choice but to wait it out. For the entire day it was so rainy and cloudy that I couldn’t even see across the lake to the base of the volcano. Luckily we had brought enough food to make it through the day without even leaving the cabin before dinner time.

We did, however, decide to treat ourselves to pizza for dinner. I was dispatched to order the pizza and bring it back. When I returned to the cabin in the pouring rain, pizza in hand, I found the flaw of this cabin! The cabin area is set back from the road and secured with an electric gate. The rain was so fierce that the gate opener was flooded and it stopped working. It wouldn’t open to let me in! I handed over the pizza boxes to Daisy to take inside, then I stood there in the rain. I was trying to decide if I should feel dejected and sad, or just continue laughing at the hilarity of the situation. Daisy took pity on me and found the host who yanked apart the electric gate opener and managed to open the gate manually. I got to eat some pizza after all!

Wet, locked-out Jason. But at least the pizza is dry!

Day 76: Frutillar Bajo to Puerto Octay (29 km / 18 mi)

A: Today we rode to Puerto Octay. It was pretty easy with a couple medium hills. There was a block in the road because a cow pond overflowed and caused a small landslide. For breakfast I had three pancakes. It was delicious. I hope we have it again tomorrow. For lunch we had deep fried mashed potato and carne, and meat empanadas from a mini market along the road. I also got extra dark hot chocolate. The ride in the afternoon was mostly flat and had a lot of loud mooing cows. “MOOOOOO!” At our cabin we played video games, read, and took a short walk along the shallow lakefront. There were 3 different water birds and a big white bird. Dinner was meatballs in red sauce and pasta and broccoli. It was pretty good, mmm. That’s all for today! Bye! See you later!

We woke up to the sound of rain again today. Are you recognizing a pattern?! By the time we got on the road it was just barely raining, but it was enough for us to wear our rain coats. The kids wore rain pants, too. We make sure they stay dry and warm!

The ride was relatively short. We passed more rich agricultural land and wind turbines. The sun even came out in the afternoon. The big event was the road closure A mentioned where workers were scooping up mud to clear the road. Daisy talked to a motorist as we waited. He told us that the landslide blocking the road had been caused by a retaining pond on a dairy farm up the hill. Apparently he used to work there and had warned the owner about the danger of landslides. The owner later leased the land to another person and… well the pond overflowed and this was the second time! The guy telling the story was musing about how big the fine was going to be.

Once the road was cleared we descended to the small town of Puerto Octay. As we arrived it was a glorious moment of sunshine and lakeside beauty. We were in such high spirits – it’s amazing what a little bit of sunshine can do for morale. We even discussed riding further, but in the end we stopped at a lovely little cabin with a pellet stove and a washing machine. Both appliances represent true luxury!

Shortly after we settled into the cabin – MORE RAIN. This time with hail too! We were very happy with our decision to stop. After the hailstorm finished we took a wonderful family walk on the boardwalk bordering the edge of the lake. It was fun to see the birds chase fish and each other.

Day 77: Puerto Octay to Entre Lagos (58 km / 36 mi)

A: Today we went to the next town. For breakfast today I had 4 chocolate chip pancakes. Mmm… really good. In the morning we rode for a long boring time. There were a lot of cows. We stopped for an early lunch of empanadas at a nice little roadside mini market. In the afternoon we biked for a while (there were a couple hills) and played video games in a really nice cabana. For dinner we had vegetables and pasta with meatballs and sauce. In the evening we played Stardew Valley and I caught the 2^nd hardest Legendary Fish, the Crimson Fish! Bye! That’s all for today!

Overlooking Puerto Octay on our way out of town

We woke up and it wasn’t raining! It felt amazing to get on the bikes and ride two days in a row, woohoo! We have to celebrate the little victories, right? Staying in lakeside towns is so charming and lovely, but it does mean that every single morning we have to ride up a steep hill to get out of the lake’s basin. Today at least we had a beautiful overlook at the top.

It was more rich agricultural land today. After 16 km of riding we stopped at the minimarket A mentioned for an early lunch. It was really a special place. First, we were greeted by a pack of five rat terriers. Then the owner came out wearing an apron with her own picture on it! She directed us to park the bikes alongside her shop and welcomed us inside. She bustled around taking care of everyone that came through. We ate delicious empanadas and Daisy even got to drink an espresso.

By the end of the day we felt the scenery change. There were long (5-10 km) stretches of perfectly straight road bordered by eucalyptus trees and some bamboo. I learned that the eucalyptus farms grew out of government-subsidized forestry plantations and that the trees can grow up to four times faster than in their native habitat in Australia. I’m guessing one of the reasons for the fast growth is due to the abundance of water.

After a days-long ride with no rain we rolled into Entre Lagos. The rain started when we were just a couple blocks from our apartment. That was also when we started to see a bunch of other cyclists! They even cheered us as we passed by, which was a bit surreal. In total, we counted 30 bicycles and have determined that a tour group is staying here in the other buildings.

My favorite moment of the day happened as we were roaring down a big hill. Daisy and H were ahead of A and I, and H sat up straight in her seat. Then she started flexing her biceps like a weight lifter, and then flap her arms like a bird. It was a joy to see! I’m sorry that I couldn’t take a picture because I had to hold on to my own handlebars. Daisy later looked back in her rearview mirror and saw H grinning from ear to ear on the descents.

Another thing that has been happening recently is that A will lift a piece of my safety vest and then poke me in the back. She always says she is smashing bugs… I believe her.

Day 78: Rain day in Entre Lagos

It seems almost comical at this point, but another 1.5” of rain was forecast for today. Since our next few days of riding will take us up and over the Andes, we had no choice but to wait.

We didn’t let that stop us from getting a few chores done though! At a Mall Chino (“Chinese Mall”) we found some fuzzy/warm pants for H, which we will put to good use in a few days when it gets cold. That store was amazing because it was full of anything and everything, from hardware store items, to boba tea, to dishware, to clothes, to arts and crafts. And, as you can guess, all of it has come directly from China. We had an interesting selection of small notebooks to choose from for Daisy to use as her new journal. We also bought a 1000-piece puzzle to pass the time in our cabin as the rain continues.

We also mailed a small package back to the US. 2.5 pounds of stuff we no longer will carry, including 3 complete (full) journals. The lady in the shop had never sent anything internationally before, so it took about 20 minutes to get it all done, but we all persevered to make it happen. The lady called someone else to get special instructions. Daisy answered all the questions about the information needed. My job was to keep the kids from breaking anything in the store while we waited. Success all around. This was stuff we’ve been trying to send home, but in every town for the last few weeks there either hasn’t been a post office or the courier/post offices we have found don’t send things internationally.

Bahía Murta to Coyhaique

This 5-day stretch ended in the largest town (a city!) in the Aysén region, Coyhaique. We started out with a pleasant night camping followed by a very wet climbing day. A long dry day was followed by a rest day in Villa Cerro Castillo. Then we went over the largest pass on the Carretera Austral, climbing 3000′ of elevation gain in a single day. Let’s just say that kind of gain was only possible since we were on pavement! In this entry we feature the kids’ writing and supplement it with a few adult comments.

Day 47: Bahía Murta to Camping Doña Dora (20 km / 12 mi)

Ut oh, A forgot to write something today!

H: I helped pack up a bag. It was easy riding. We’re staying on a farm again.

Departure from Bahia Murta on the paved side road

We loved being in our warm, dry cabin for a couple days of pouring rain. But, once the rain stopped we were ready to keep moving. Our first day back on the bikes was short and quick. The gravel road was soaked from the weather and there was little dust today. We arrived at the campground around 1 pm (after a very late start) and had our pick of campsites. Throughout the afternoon different cyclists rolled in: a couple different solo cyclists from Europe, a pair from Europe, a group of supported cyclists, and a couple from Indiana. It was a great, fun group to spend the evening (and morning the next day) chatting with – of course everyone was in the shelter cooking and eating out of the evening rain!

Day 48: Camping Doña Dora to Camping Rio Cajón (45 km / 28 mi)

A: Today for breakfast I had cookies and eggs. Eventually we got on the road and zoomed to the base of the hill we were climbing today. It was raining. 😢. For a lunch halfway up the hill we had smoked mackerel sandwiches. Delicious. On the downhill I got frustrated because we weren’t here yet. The campground had goats, horses, turkeys, duck, chicken, and possibly cows. We decided to stay indoors. Me and H played video games while Mama and Papa cooked dinner (I think). Dinner was lentils and pasta. I didn’t eat much. I’m getting bored of this meal. Bye! That’s all for today! See you later! 😊. Oh, and for a bit a puppy/dog chased us down the road. It was surprisingly fast.

Low clouds and rain meant we didn’t stop to enjoy the scenery

H: It was raining all day. There was a giant steep uphill. I saw a mouse shivering while we were riding. While the mouse was shivering, it had both of its paws like knuckles on its chest while shaking like crazy!!! (If you didn’t know that, give me double thanks for letting you know that information. It was really hard to figure out what the mouse was doing and what it looked like.) So this mouse looked like it had just fallen down a steep cliff right next to the road and then a car hit it and the mouse was in between its wheels cause the mouse was crying. Ha ha! Just joking! Because since it was raining, there were raindrops coming down the mouses face! So anyway we made it in the rain and we were supposed to camp, but got a room instead. I played video games and on Stardew Valley I made it to level 55 on the mines. I ate dinner but I couldn’t because I wasn’t hungry and I’m bored of having pasta and lentils for dinner and breakfast every single day.

This is what “tired of the rain” looks like

A has a very consistent descriptive narrative of each day. In contrast, H will often just give a few sentences so we were tickled by her long narrative today. The girls had it right though that the climb was brutal and wet. It was a hard day of riding, but it had to be done: the only way out is through. The hill was so steep. There was one point where I tried to switch to a lower gear, but it wasn’t working. I thought it was because A was still pedaling (you have to not pedal when switching gears with a Pinion). We ended up stopping suddenly on a steep, muddy section. I looked down to see what gear we were in, and realized we were already in gear 1. There wasn’t a lower gear, ahhh! This was the first time I’ve wanted a lower gear, which is really saying something because the gearing on this tandem is great for carrying heavy stuff up steep hills.

Walking up a steep section, one of several!

After serving dinner tonight Daisy and I really got the message that we need to switch up the menu! The farm where we spent the night offers camping, or beds in a house. I was considering camping but luckily Daisy was thinking fast and quickly signed us up to sleep inside. We had a quiet night and no other cyclists joined us. We really enjoyed seeing the sheep herding dogs do their job to bring the sheep into the pen at night. Also a herd of 100(+) goats walked by. What a menagerie. One strange thing was that there were no sheets on the bed. It was wonderful to be inside and dry, especially as it continued to rain in the afternoon and evening.

Day 49: Camping Rio Cajón to Villa Cerro Castillo (38 km / 24 mi)

A: Today for breakfast I had eggs and cookies. I had a lot of fuzzes on my socks from the bed. Soon we left and started biking. The road condition wasn’t good, but then again it wasn’t bad either. We biked through the valley and climbed up a huge hill in the middle of an island in the river! (Wow!) We almost ran out of water but stopped at a construction site for lunch and more water. By the time we left the construction workers had arrived. There was a different cyclist. Finally we rode down a huge downhill into town. It was hot. Once we found our place we all rested and took a little break and eventually ordered pizza (vegetarian and ham/tomato) from a restaurant. I think I’m going to take a shower next. Bye! See you later!

H: Horrible gravel, pavement, nice cabin, and video games.

Our morning descent into the Río Ibáñez valley

Today we reached pavement!!! But we had one more stretch of nasty gravel to get through first. The entirety of the 25km before pavement was through an active construction zone. The scenery was stunning – the mountains shot up the valley sides dramatically, up 1000 m (3300 ft). One had a high valley with a cloud trailing out of it like dragon breath. Yet the gravel was rough and somehow dry enough to be dusty already, despite the overnight rain. It was like riding on misshapen marbles, so in the afternoon when we reached pavement we really appreciated it.

It was dry enough that the little gulleys we passed all had no water and as we continued climbing we started worrying about running out. Instead of eating lunch, which would have also involved drinking, we pushed on hoping to find water. We were happy to find some at a viewpoint closed for construction. After the viewpoint the valley really opened up. The ‘Castle Mountain’ is very distinctive, a series of very sharp and pointy peaks.

We reached high speeds on our descent into the valley on a smooth road. As we rounded the final corner and saw town, we stopped to take a picture. Daisy and I took the same picture 11 years ago – you can see the town has grown! The left side of the road used to be fields and now it is has a gas station, houses, and a couple stores. All throughout the Carretera Austral we’ve noticed that the roads have more pavement and the towns are bigger and busier.

Our cabin is right off the main road. I took the time to bring our bags into the shower and wash them off. The bikes also got a (limited) bath. I’m sure we removed a couple of pounds of mud in total! For dinner we treated the kids to takeout pizza. It was very, very well received – and there were no complaints about it being a boring meal.

Day 50: Rest day in Villa Cerro Castillo

A: Today was a rest day. I practically just played video games and read all day. The meals were good. For breakfast I had egg avocado burritos, lunch – chicken avocado burger, dinner – potatoes (fried) and fish cakes. Mmmm…

H didn’t write anything today. Something unusual about today was that I went to the grocery store 4 times. We eat a lot, but that did seem a little excessive! Then again, Daisy told me she thought she ate 7000 calories today. A and I took a walk through town and played on both playgrounds. The clouds were very unusual today, looking like giant, smoothly-stretched fluffs. I think they might have been lenticular clouds.

Day 51: Villa Cerro Castillo to Camping at Laguna Chiguay (37 km / 23 mi)

A: Today for breakfast I had an egg and avocado burrito. It was delicious. Soon we started biking up the biggest hill of the Carretera Austral. At least it was on pavement, but wow it was still hard! For a snack on the hill we had gummies and oreos just before a set of switchbacks. We coasted down a bit on the other side and stopped for lunch at a trailhead. Lunch was avocado and tuna and mayo sandwiches. It was awesome. (I can’t believe we carried an avocado!) We walked a little on the trail and crossed a rickety wooden suspension bridge. It was fun. We then got back on the bikes and climbed the last 600 ft of climbing. The camping area was really nice. It was nestled in a valley beside a nasty lagoon with algae growing on its surface. Supposedly a special frog species lived there. I don’t see why they should have any reason to like it. There was also a special endangered deer species that lived in and around the valley. Me and H played with a koosh ball while Mama and Papa set up the tent (he, he, he!) and cooked dinner. Dinner was pasta, soy chunks, carrots and broth. I didn’t really like it. Me, Papa, and Mama took a walk down to the lagoon. The bathrooms here were really nice, they even had toilet paper! Yay! Bye! That’s all for this long day! Oh, we also climbed 3,000 feet today! See you later!

H: We ate breakfast, did a climb, and ate lunch. We went uphill, and got there. We played and we played video games. We climbed a total of 3100 ft.

We knew this day would be a big one, and it didn’t disappoint! The uphill started right away, as we climbed steadily along the valley. At the base of 7 switchbacks we stopped for our snack: a lot of chips, cookies, and gummies. (One of my bike-tour joys is eating junk food. With our elevated metabolisms we burn right through it all.) We entered the park and then reached the top of the pass. The mountain peaks here look different – dry, rocky, and barren. The contrast with the green valley was great. There is an endangered deer, the huemul, that lives in the area but we weren’t lucky enough to spot one. The descent through this high valley was something that stuck in my memory from 11 years ago and I was happy to repeat the experience.

It was like we were being followed by the paparazzi today. Cars kept stopping to take pictures of us.

A car pulls over, and just after this photo they get out to film us. I beat them to the punch this time!

After some more climbing at the end of the day, we ended at a campground in the national park. The girls and I played a ball game for awhile, and then they played more with their koosh. There’s nothing like the threat of throwing out toys, as extra weight that we don’t use or need, to get them played with! Daisy and I recognize this campground from being here 11 years ago, especially the old water heater and dish washing area.

Day 52: Laguna Chiguay to Coyhaique (62 km / 39 mi)

A: Today for breakfast I had coconut cereal and a spoonful of peanut butter. We soon left the campground and sailed down 4 or 5 kilometers of long downhill. Eventually I sadly realized we had left my water bottle (which I really quite liked, it had insulation,) at the campground. I was sad. There were a lot more up and downs before we made it to the teensy town of Blanco, where we stopped for lunch. For lunch we stopped at a restaurant and got delicious empanadas and we also refilled our water bottles. Then we finally started on the biggest hill of the day, a gradual 150 meter climb. It started raining and, apparently, the water we had gotten tasted weird. I didn’t try it myself, by the way. The wind was also like the winds of Tierra del Fuego. BOOOO!!! We stopped at a second small restaurant but decided to just push on to Coyhaique. Eventually we did after all make it to the city where we slowly made our way up the hill to our place. The house we were staying was really nice except it DIDN’T HAVE TOILET PAPER! We all couldn’t believe our ears!!?!? Me and H played video games while the parents made dinner. Dinner was teriyaki chicken (for me, beef for H) and rice. Also vegetables. It was good. Then Mama, H, and me (“us girls”) played Bubble Shooter on a phone. Me and Papa also took a short fun walk. Bye! See you later! That’s all for today!

H: Horrible wind and rain. Staying at place with no toilet paper. Mama mad at me for some reason.

This day was definitely harder than we planned! We came down into some rolling hills to see farmland with sheep, cows, and horses. Daisy spotted a puma (from quite a distance!) that we felt lucky to see. After lunch the weather really turned against us. The headwind and rain came and went as the traffic steadily increased. We arrived in town to realize we had ‘extra’ climbing to our AirBnB since the whole town spreads across a slanted valley. We finally arrived, soaked from rain, yet sweating in the sunlight, and definitely tired. The next day the clouds cleared and we could see the massive rock cliffs surrounding town.

Day 53: Rest day in Coyhaique

We spent our rest day exploring the plaza, finding a great playground, and getting some bicycle maintenance and chores done (including washing ALL our clothes). At El Escarabajo bike shop we had a great time meeting Nestor and his family – including giving them test rides on our tandems. And we are very thankful to the team at Co-Motion Cycles for responding immediately with help on our maintenance question. Our noises were ultimately coming from a sprocket with a loose lockring, and once we removed the caked-on mud we could easily see the pins to tighten it down. We also replaced some brake pads.

Torres del Paine side trip

Last week we attempted to ride the ferry north to Caleta Tortel on standby and we did not make it on. In the end, this was not too disappointing, since we instead took a lovely 3-day trip up and through Torres del Paine National Park. It is hard to express how beautiful of a place it is. Not only were we happy to have gone, now it is on our list to come back to for a multi-day hike around the towers. Tonight we will be getting on the ferry with our original ticket reservation. It is hard to believe it will be most of another week until we are back on our bikes!

The Philtrons with the Torres del Paine in the background

When we didn’t get on the ferry last week, Daisy began to plan a multi-day trip to see the park by car (*gasp*, car, I know!). We reserved a campsite for two nights, park tickets for the Mylodon Cave and Torres del Paine, and a boat tour to Grey Glacier. It was both fun and very strange to be traveling by car instead of by bicycle. As we were bumping along the gravel park roads, speeding up the steep hills, and kicking up immense dust clouds, I was happy we weren’t cycling!

The Mylodon Cave Park was, as you might guess, a big cave where the remains of a mylodon were found. A mylodon is an extinct 2.5-m tall sloth-like creature. It was a pleasant stroll to the cave and then a brisk hike up to an overlook. We felt the view was grand, but we were just getting started.

While driving north towards the park we stopped at several overlooks to view the majestic mountains and pristine lakes. It was not lost on us that the very strong winds were not a problem in a car. Eventually we arrived at the park’s edge and saw the famous towers. It was a truly amazing sight. The rock formations rise 8,000 feet from the foreground. We soaked in the view of the towers from different angles throughout the 3-day trip.

West of the towers is Grey Lake, named for its color due to the glacier-fed silty water. Glacier Grey is at the end of the 17 km lake, and is viewed up close during a 3-hour boat tour. The water was calm and we saw all three faces of the glacier. We were told the height of the ice face is about 90 feet above water and up to 300 feet below the water. It is immense and the pictures don’t do it justice. I especially enjoyed when the boat pulled up next to an iceberg, and one of the workers got out a long harpoon to hack off a piece of ice to bring aboard the boat for photos and to cool down drinks.

The Grey Glacier is part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field

This was right before Jason was told to not touch the ice

The area is filled with lakes and rivers – water seems abundant. (Or else it is melting ice that is abundant!) We took advantage of the many, many viewpoints during our drive through the park. By the end, we were leaving A and H in the car for our quick strolls to beam in happiness at the views.

Back in Puerto Natales we had a day to repack and prepare for the ferry journey. We revisited a few of our favorite sites: a playground, a cafe, and the big grocery store.

Not spinning our wheels

Between Porvenir and Punta Arenas we’ve had a series of rest days where we have been waiting for a good weather window while getting a few chores done. We also had the pleasure of a penguin tour! After almost a week of not riding we are getting antsy. And by we I mean Daisy and Jason, not A and H. They seem perfectly happy to spend the day playing video games without a care in the world.

Examples of A + H free time over the past week

We spent four nights in Porvenir, which we found to be a charming small town. Everyone seems to pass right by on their way to points further south (or north) and at most spends a quick meal or a single night here. We enjoyed eating at a local restaurant for lunch and having sandwiches for dinner. We visited the town museum and learned about some of the local history – from the four main tribes of native folks (who were sadly all killed or died of disease), to a local gold rush in the 1880s.

On our way out of town we took a quick detour to the Laguna de Los Cisnes Natural Monument. Once there we saw fossilized stromatolites. These are mounds of crusty cyanobacteria that represent an ancient life form from early in Earth’s history, billions of years ago. They are distinct mounds made of layers of bacteria that produced oxygen. Many looked like misshapen doughnuts, and broken spots showed holes inside the ‘dough.’ It is an amazing piece of living history which is only found in a few places on Earth. However, all that amazing information and understanding came from the internet, as there was not a single informational sign or label at the lake – simply a wooden boardwalk.

Fossilized stromatolite mounds at Laguna de Los Cisnes

We felt a real sense of accomplishment on the ferry, as we left Tierra del Fuego and crossed the Strait of Magellan. We arrived in Punta Arenas almost exactly 11 years after our first visit, which was the beginning of our Philtrons Pedal North journey to Colombia. Last time we were here we took a bus ride to see penguins, but those penguins no longer visit that area. This time we took a boat tour to Isla Magdalena to see a larger colony of Magellanic Penguins. We were lucky that it was not a windy day and the water was calm. However, that didn’t stop first A and then H from vomiting during the 80 minute ride to the island. Luckily they felt better afterward and were ready to do the 1-hour walk on the island.

We walked past hundreds, or thousands, of penguins, and enjoyed seeing them walk, swim, sunbathe, and honk their heads off. I noticed that some of the chicks were quite plump by this point – and looked larger than their parents! Human visitors are required to remain 2 meters back from the penguins. The penguins had no fear or qualms about walking towards or between us visitors, resulting in us having to stop and move backwards to get out of the way and give them space. The penguin population on the island is estimated at 60,000 breeding pairs. There are also (way too) many Kelp Gulls on the island, which produced additional noise and, well, bird poop.

Walking through a town is always an adventure and Punta Arenas is no exception. Within a block from our small apartment we can walk past an abandoned lot/building, a small convenience store, a hostel, and a fancy house that looks like it could be from Boulder, CO. The Plaza de Armas has these amazing, large trees. They are the same kind that we’ve occasionally seen out in the countryside in a very wind-swept form. In this case they have grown up strong and wide with the wind protection afforded by the buildings. A bunch of the parks also have what we’ve been calling “gumdrop trees.” We got a good laugh at how some of them have bad hair-cuts.

We are excited to get back on the road heading north! I wonder how much of the route ahead will evoke memories from a decade ago.