This is a short entry that only covers a few days. We chose to split these days off from the following because the next entry will cover a gravel ‘shortcut’ that had a long list of misadventures. The days in *this* entry were pleasant and uneventful in comparison! In any case, we have reached the part of Chile that has very few North/South routes besides the major highway, route 5. We jog west/east to get around Villarrica and Collico Lakes, and then are well-positioned to ride through a national park to get farther north.

Day 93: Pucón to Villarrica (33 km / 21 mi)

Pucón is a very busy tourist town that was particularly full of Chileans celebrating the long Easter weekend with their families. Our departure was scheduled to be on Sunday, which promised extra traffic from families driving home from their long weekend. The route between Pucón and the next town is narrow, crowded, and I actually remember hating it when we came through eleven years ago. Determined to not repeat the experience, this time we found an alternative.

The alternative route was only paved a couple years ago and meanders through small communities in the foothills above the lake. It was blessedly quiet and lovely for us, even if we paid for that quiet in elevation gained. The road rose steeply away from Pucón past many luxury condominium developments until we turned off onto a very quiet sideroad. Every car we saw on the side road was full of people with their families (it was Easter Sunday after all) and they were all delighted to see us.

The road had steep up and downs, so despite the quiet road conditions we started to feel a little downtrodden and tired. Like magic, a grocery store appeared at the top of a particularly big hill. It wasn’t a typical grocery store though – it was a local co-op full of fresh vegetables, sourdough bread, lattes, and American-style oatmeal cookies and brownies. In short, it was just about fabulous.

We ate our packed lunch at the picnic tables outside (while I sipped a fresh espresso drink), then went in to load up on treats and bread. We rarely get to enjoy sourdough bread, and basically never get brownies and cookies. This was a true treat.

After that too-good-to-be-true store we started downhill. We honestly didn’t pedal for about three kilometers! It was not exactly awe-inspiring scenery but it was a lovely, quiet slice of country life.

As we entered Villarrica it started to rain. Of course, despite the 10% chance forecast, after all the Philtron family was riding. We were happy to have a nice separated bicycle path that lead us toward the center, and then many separated bicycle paths to navigate. It was actually quite remarkable to have so much bicycle infrastructure. We enjoyed it!

I had reserved us a house for the night on Booking right near downtown. For the first time, the host just told us where a spare key was hidden and then asked us to leave cash under the tablecloth when we left. It was a lot for the homeowner to entrust in complete strangers, but we were happy for the peaceful quiet night.

Day 94: Villarrica to Los Laureles (40 km / 25 mi)

Despite the shorter mileage day today we had our work cut out for us because 15 of those kilometers were on steep dirt climbs. At least it was good weather and nearly traffic free! The trees are changing colors here, and even in rough conditions it’s pretty magical to ride through the South American fall.

The first half of the day had us passing the lakeside and looking back one last time towards Volcan Villarrica. Almost immediately we turned away from the main road that leads back towards highway 5. The traffic all vanished and it was just us climbing through the countryside. For lunch we stopped at the next major road intersection. There wasn’t really a town there, but there were two minimarkets, an elementary school with kids playing soccer, and a tiny stand selling hot dogs.

We rolled up and asked for four hot dogs. The owner was happy to have us but had to leave to buy the bread for the hot dogs! He asked us to watch the stand for him while he walked back to the nearby minimarkets. We were of course happy to, and the hot dogs were yummy when they were eventually ready. We continue to enjoy the Chilean ‘completo’ which is a hot dog with tomato and avocado, usually for around $3 USD.

Immediately after lunch it was dirt road time. Challenging but pretty.

When we descended into the next river valley (and onto pavement) we were in logging country. The traffic was light, but included logging trucks carrying trees to the nearby mill. The town we reached, Los Laureles, is sustained by the tree farms and milling industries. It was a small but tidy little town built around a central square. We rented a simple cabin behind the town’s ice cream shop. It seemed like it was brand new.

Enjoy the pics below showing how chaotic our stuff can be sometimes when we reach the end of the riding day

Day 95: Los Laureles to Melipeuco (55 km / 34 mi)

The day dawned overcast and surprisingly cold. We pedaled away from Los Laureles onto a lovely smooth road heading towards the Andes. All day long it gradually climbed, so gradually that we hardly noticed.

We were climbing up a wide and fertile river valley, so every ten kilometers or so we passed through another tiny settlement. In the biggest one, Cunco, we stopped in a coffee shop to try different types and sweets and warm up with a latte. It was cold enough that we all really needed a break inside.

We only stopped twice this day: once for coffee and once for potato chips in a tiny settlement with a nice plaza. We were making excellent time, and were also just too cold to stop for long. Perhaps we should have eaten lunch, since I got very hungry when we finally arrived, but we made it all the same. I was crabby but it was nothing a sandwich with barbecue sauce couldn’t cure.

Our destination, Melipeuco, is the last tourist output before Conguillio National Park. It has everything you could need, mostly along the one main street through town. I remember this town feeling dusty and sparse when we came through eleven years ago, but my impression this time was different. I like it. It has a perfect grid for a layout, and everyone is a few blocks flat walk from a grocery store. The plaza is lovely, the neighborhoods have sidewalks and interesting houses. It was a nice place to spend a day resting.

Day 96: Resting in Melipeuco

We really took this rest day seriously and did almost nothing but play video games, update journals, and prepare for the next stretch of road. The only road north from Melipeuco goes through the national park and climbs nearly 3,000′, mostly on a gravel road with no services. There are several opportunities to camp or stay in cabins in the park, and we had to make decisions about where to stay and how far we expected to ride each day. In the end we decided to take two ‘short’ days, thinking we’d have lots of time to enjoy camp and admire the scenery.

Our decision was correct, but the days were not short! As you will read in the next update, we encountered the most challenging road conditions of the entire trip. Of course, the challenges were overcome and the scenery was spectacular. You’ll have to wait for the next update to see though!

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.