This post covers a week and a half of time spent crossing back and forth through Chile’s central valley near Los Ángeles and Chillán.

The riding was relatively flat and the scenery less spectacular than typical. We passed literally millions of trees on tree farms (they call them ‘plantaciones’ here). We also gained a deeply felt love-hate relationship with bicycle paths in Chile – it is incredible that they exist but they also start and stop suddenly and often end in a curb or a wall. It became a running joke that our favorite game is ‘find the ciclovia.’ At one particularly challenging intersection we asked for help from a local worker who laughed and said… ‘estan en Chile,’ which translates as ‘y’all are in Chile.’ I think he was laughing because yes, the magic exists, and then sometimes it changes to the other side of a four lane highway with no warning and no signs. You just gotta roll with it.

It became hard to find and plan for lodging in the central valley in this region since it has truly no tourism. After one town with literally only one hostal that was terrible, we decided to head to the coast. This post ends with our arrival in Cobquecura, a tourist beach town. We took 3 rest days to recharge and reset. It was very quiet since it is no longer the tourist season!

Instead of a longer narrative, we’ll include the girls’ writings (when available) and just throw in the pictures with captions for this post. Most of the days were pretty uneventful, but we did truly enjoy meeting the people in this tourist-free section of the country and seeing Chilean life. As you’ll see from A’s entries, much of what stood out in this section was the food we ate. The girls are becoming true fans of Chilean food. They request restaurant meals nearly every day and it’s easy to say yes. The food is affordable, and filling. A nice rest at lunch is often exactly what we need on the bikes too!

These journal entries make it seem like all the kids do is eat and play video games, but I promise we also do writing and reading and Spanish and hours chatting on the bicycles!

Day 100: Curacautín to Victoria (59 km / 37 mi)

Side note: CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, 100 DAYS????

A: Today we played lots of Zelda in the morning. The riding in the morning was extremely misty (scary level) and uphill. It was pavement though! For lunch on the side of the road we had leftover pizza from yesterday’s lunch. It was really cold.

The riding in the afternoon was cold and fast, mostly downhill. We stopped at the Unimarc <a grocery store chain> on the way to our hotel. We are staying in Victoria. The city feels old. The room is really nice and has breakfast. The same people who run the hotel own the in-complex restaurant. We had a dinner of ham, cheese, barbecue sauce sandwiches (though I do love fries a lot) after some Zelda and I think Mama had a podcast. That’s all for today! See you later!

H: I played Zelda immediately. We couldn’t see anything and it was uphill. We ate pizza. It was misty and cloudy and downhilly. We went to the store and played video games.

Day 101: Victoria to Traiguén (29 km / 18 mi)

A: Today we got cake with the breakfast they gave us in the restaurant. The riding in the morning was in flat farming and hazelnut tree farms. There were really loud trucks on the mini-highway. We took a nice paved shortcut to the beginning of town and got lunch at a sushi place. We ordered sushi bowls, sushi rolls, and fried cheese empanadas. It was good.

We also took a picture with the big Traiguen sign. We found our room in the hostel and I haven’t yet seen the rabbits though. There are two cute tiny dogs, a cat, and huge fluffy white dog. We then played Zelda and Mama played on the Stardew account she had gotten on her computer. Playing on a computer is weird. For dinner I had half a sandwich and some avocado and yogurt. I wasn’t very hungry because I ate a lot for lunch, though. And that’s all for today! Bye! See you later!

H: We had cake for breakfast. It was flat and downhill and misty and boring. We made it and went to the plaza and ate sushi. We got to our place and played video games.

Day 102: Rest day in Traiguén

Parent note: The girls don’t typically write in their journals for rest days, because we treat them like weekends with time off from their ‘school’ duties. On this day we walked around the little city of Traiguen, which was honestly delightful. It is a historical town with some cobblestone streets and a lovely plaza.

Our host at the hostel was particularly lovely. She introduced us to her giant rabbits that she breeds as pets and told us about growing up as the youngest of five siblings in the house her father built. He was an immigrant from Germany and built the cast iron wood stove that not only served to cook food and heat the kitchen, but also heat all the water for the bathrooms and showers. We were treated to boiled chestnuts and Chilean pine nuts as well. She had a huge wood-burning furnace in the basement that ran the boilers for the whole place, and it was a big place! It backed right up to open space next to a lovely river.

In short, despite the fact that it was raining and we were pretty lazy, it was still a magical day.

Day 103: Traiguén to Angol (60 km / 37 mi)

A: Today we had the same breakfast and played a lot of Zelda. The riding in the morning was up and down, and the road had giant cracks in it. Boo. For a filling lunch we stopped to eat menu and sandwiches with fries in Los Sauces. It was delicious.

The riding in the afternoon was also hilly and had logging trucks. The scenery was tree farms. At the cabin after a slight bit of gravel we played Zelda more. For dinner we had carrot, apple, rice, and tuna. It was fine. Bye! See you later!

H: I had an extra hour of videogames. The road was super bumpy. Lunch was super good. The scenery was grasslands. We made it and I played Zelda.

Day 104: Angol to Los Ángeles (65 km / 40 mi)

A: Today we had eggs and toast for breakfast. We rode toward Coihue on a noisy highway. For lunch we stopped in a little restaurant for completos and sandwiches. It was good. The riding in the afternoon was bad on the highway. The bike path hopped back and forth with no clue, so it was a tricky puzzle. Then the road went from four lanes to two lanes to (in the city) four lanes once again.

The hostal we were staying in felt like a maze because it was really long. We were in room 17! It was nice, though. We played some video games and went out in an Uber to get dinner out. The Uber ride took 15 minutes instead of the supposed 5! The pizza and brownies we got were really, really good! I like salmon pizza! We took a fast Uber home – 5 minutes – and are now writing in our journals. Bye! I’ll see you later!

H: Our cabin was full of spiders. We had to go back forth a lot of times for the bike path. We stopped at a restaurant for sandwiches. We went on the highway and it rained. We made it and played Zelda.

Day 105: Los Ángeles to Huépil (52 km / 32 mi)

A: This morning we had a really good breakfast at the hostal. I had chocolate milk. In the morning we rode through a quiet countryside after a bit of busy city. The the road turned to bad gravel and the scenery became tree farms. We got back to pavement and found our cabaña in the town Huepil. Our cabaña is nice. We then played Zelda til dinner. H has gotten 3 divine beasts! Dinner was salmon nuggets, chicken, and rice. The salmon nuggets were really good! Bye! That’s all for today!

H: Good breakfast. We went through the city. There were not many cars and it was quiet. There were millions of trees. We made it and played Zelda.

Day 106: Rest (rain) day in Huépil

Huepil had lots of places to shop and buy supplies, but not much to offer for tourism. Jason left the cabin multiple times for food while all the girls stayed inside and rested as much as possible. I know this sounds so boring, but after days of being outside on the bikes for hours and hours… sometimes we just need to lay low and read, play games, and update blogs.

Day 107: Huépil to Chillán Viejo (82 km / 51 mi)

A: Today for breakfast I had delicious chocolate chip pancakes. H stubbed her toe. Poor H. The riding in the morning was fast downhill through the countryside. We are going 82 kilometers today. For lunch we stopped in Pemunco at a little restaurant. I mostly ate french fries and drank my strawberry juice. It was also good. The ride in the afternoon was the same as in the morning with a bit more up.

We got our cabin after visiting a fruteria and me and H played video games until dinner. Dinner was tuna and rice and carrot. It was fun, but I had a heavy lunch so I ate light. Bye! That’s all for today!

H: Mama hurt my toe. There was a buncha downhill and going fast. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch. There were more tree farms. We made it and played Zelda.

Day 108: Chillán Viejo to San Nicolás (25 km / 16 mi)

A: Today for breakfast I had ham and cheese eggs. The riding in the morning was ‘chase-the-bike-path’ and it began to slight rain on us. For lunch we stopped in a food truck for fries and burritos in Saint Nicolas, then we got our hostal. It wasn’t very nice. Boo.

We played video games until dinner. Dinner was salmon burger. It was fine. And bye! See you later!

H: I skipped Spanish this morning <the girls do a Spanish lesson most mornings before riding>. We played a lot of ‘find the bike path.’ We went to the plaza for lunch. We made it and played Zelda.

Day 109: San Nicolás to Quirihue (44 km / 27 mi)

A: We went to get breakfast in the restaurant on the corner. We had bread and eggs. On the way out me and papa couldn’t find ham in four different stores.

There was a headwind on the way out of town. We stopped for a snack of potato chips at a intersection. For lunch we stopped in a driveway and ate nutella bread. We finally made it to our hostal in the town of Quirihue. The town was nice as well as our hostel. We also went out and ate some delicious stuff at a cafe. I got a chocolate milkshake. We also didn’t really have dinner. Bye! That’s all for today! See you later!

H: We woke up in a crappy hostal. We didn’t sleep well. We didn’t find ham. We stopped in a driveway for lunch. It was really hot. I needed to go pee. We made it and played Zelda.

Day 110: Quirihue to Cobquecura (37 km / 23 mi)

Parental note: Today the girls skipped their journals in the excitement of reaching the coast. We had good sleep in our hostel then rode up and over the coastal mountains through never-ending tree farms. The screaming descent into the beach town of Cobquecura was exciting for everyone – the ocean!!!

We rented a house near the beach for four nights to take a ‘deep rest.’ With the ocean waves as a soundtrack we settled in to eat and sleep and take leisurely walks. After ten days of criss-crossing the agricultural heart of Chile we were ready for a new region: the central coast.

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!

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!

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!

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.