In this entry we ride the famous seven lakes (“Siete Lagos”) route through Argentina, rest in the fly-fishing destination of Junín de los Andes, and ride past the mighty Volcano Lanín to re-enter Chile.  This section of riding felt like a greatest hits of the western USA.  The first two days reminded us of the high Sierras in California, then we were reminded of Eastern Washington, and back in Chile it was similar again to Western Washington or Oregon.

Day 85: Villa La Angostura to Camping Pichi Traful (52km)

After weeks of rain in Chile it was such an odd feeling to climb on the bikes under a cloudless blue sky.  Of course, it wasn’t *warm* exactly, and it was downright cold in the shade, but the sun was shining!  This day was just a series of beautiful lakes and mountain views.  Pictures below:

There are lots of options for camping in this region, including designated free camping areas, but for whatever reason the girls had their hearts set on a campsite by a lovely lake that had real bathrooms and picnic tables.  It was absurdly expensive for a campsite in Argentina (about $50 USD) but they insisted and we went with it.

In the end it was a beautiful camping area.  The girls ran around for a long time chasing butterflies.  The grownups enjoyed the lake and river views.  Anticipating another cold night, we got to bed early and bundled up.

Day 86: Camping Pichi Traful to San Martin de los Andes (60km)

Shockingly, we awoke to a rather warm morning… with clouds and drizzle.  It wasn’t what we were expecting but as usual we knew how to handle it. Rain coats on and ride!

The rain didn’t last long and the clouds moved away by afternoon.  We passed a beautiful river and then spent the morning climbing.  The traffic here has been very nice – zero trucks and polite tourist cars.  Jason and A continued their quest to read all the info signs at the lake overlooks. 

There was a lot of climbing to get up and over the hills between the lakes – over 2,500 feet over the course of the day.  Near the end of the biggest climb we saw our most amazing info sign yet: a description of the divided stream.  The nearby stream (that we filtered water from and were drinking as we read the sign) is near the continental divide.  As it flows down it hits a large boulder that splits the stream in two directions.  One side eventually drains to the Pacific and the other to the Atlantic.  We thought this was just incredible.

After the divided stream we started a long descent towards San Martin de los Andes – a tourist town that reminded us of Big Bear Lake in California.  The descent was spectacular, and even more remarkable was how warm the wind was as we got close to town.  No one needed to bundle up.  Suddenly we emerged onto the shores of Lake Lácar with the brilliant sun shining.  On the far side of the lake we could see deep into the Andes.  On the other was the hopping tourist town.  The road along the lake shore was packed with people out walking and enjoying the view.  Honestly, it was pretty spectacular and we were a bit shocked.

We made our way across the bustling and fancy town to our cabin.  The food in the grocery stores was expensive in this town, and we thought it was simply because of the tourism density.  In later towns in Argentina we would simply find that grocery stores are very expensive, at least compared to Chile.  My understanding of this region was that Chile is the more expensive country, but apparently in the last year there has been a huge surge in food prices here in Argentina. 

Day 87: San Martin de Los Andes to Junín de los Andes (43km)

San Martin was a great place to resupply, but it was a bit too hopping for our tastes.  We prefer the smaller, slower towns.  Even knowing that San Martin was busy didn’t prepare us for just *how* busy the road would be on the way out.  It was PACKED.  There were tons of passenger vehicles, big buses, little buses, pickup trucks, delivery trucks, and semi-trailers.  Of course, there was no paved shoulder to speak of.  When a bike path magically appeared we got right on it.

The lovely, paved bicycle path eventually became a not-quite-paved path and finally disappeared.  Then it was back to the road.  Luckily by this time there were enough huge speed bumps in the road that we were able to ride about as fast as traffic.  By the time the bumps disappeared we were able to duck off on a side road.  We wandered through a little Argentine town that truly didn’t have a whisper of tourism.  It was mostly gravel roads and dirt sidewalks, but there was also a tidy plaza and kids walking around. 

The side road took us up a very steep hill to the next small city.  We were slow enough that a pedestrian overtook us, but we were able to ride! When we emerged at the top of the hill the scenery had changed dramatically.  Instead of the green hillsides we’d been seeing for days it was dry and dusty and tan.  It was like suddenly riding across the Sierra Cascades in Washington State.  Hello, Eastern Washington!

We enjoyed a gentle downhill with a tailwind for about an hour.  It was an utter thrill to literally not have high enough gears to even bother pedaling.  We stopped for lunch and gave some cheese to a black lab that waited patiently for our scraps.  After lunch the road turned… and the tailwind became a headwind.  It felt like we slowly approached the flat riverside town of Junín for half a day, but it was only an hour. 

Junín was a really fun town.  It has about 20,000 inhabitants and is laid out in a perfect grid along a river.  Most of the tourism focus in the area is on fly fishing.  The main road is pavement, but the side roads through town, even downtown, are gravel.  The sidewalks are just dirt paths.  We saw the locals riding bikes to get around. We decided it was the perfect place for a rest day.

Day 88: Rest day in Junín (0 km)

In addition to our typical rest day activities (laundry, resting, eating, planning) we walked downtown to visit the tourist info and a small museum.  The museum seemed to be mainly random items people had donated, but it was good fun all the same. 

We also walked down to the river to enjoy the fall colors of the trees lining the banks.  After a South American summer that was honestly pretty darn cold, we are enjoying this beautiful moment of fall.

Day 89: Junín to wild camp by a yellow bridge (45km)

Today was another one of those rare cycle touring days when the beauty is everywhere and the conditions are perfect.  It felt like a dream come true.

We left Junín with the blue sky above us and the fall colors blazing around us.  We turned off the main route and onto an almost traffic-free road that led back towards the Andes.  For lunch we ate leftover pizza and gazed across the big open landscape.  The volcano Lanín peaked over the hills, waiting for us.

The ride from Junín to the Chilean border climbs up only about a thousand feet over 40 miles, so the ascent is gradual through a huge open landscape in the shadow of the looming volcano.  For visa reasons, we needed to dilly dally in this section for two nights.  The campground we had planned for was inexplicably closed, so we carried on through the beautiful valley looking for a free place to camp. 

We decided to camp near a small bridge about 2km off route.  It was down a gravel road past a quarry that was busy with dump trucks making trips up the pass to redo the road near the border.  Our intended campsite was in a stand of glowing yellow trees next to a river, and when we rolled up we found a group of fly fishermen drinking mate.  We asked if they were planning to spend the night, but they were just there to stage their fishing gear.  They were very friendly, on a ten-day family fly fishing trip.  We set up our tent and used their camping table for dinner while they went out to fish.  It was an incredibly picturesque spot to spend a (cold!) night.

Day 90: Wild camp to Camping Tromen (25km)

It was a perfectly peaceful night and a chilly morning.  When we walked away from the river to do our business we found ice curls in the volcanic sand.  I also found a yellow jacket nest about one foot away from where I had decided to pee. Yikes!

As we passed the quarry that morning on our way back to the main route we made a decision to try and befriend the dump truck drivers.  There were so many of them making trips up and down the next section of highway, it seemed like a good idea to wave and smile at them.  Sure enough, they gave us lots of space and honks and waves.  I think most of them passed us four or six times as we slowly made our way up the pass.  Our progress slowed quite a bit as the road turned to gravel. 

We entered a forest of Araucaria (monkey puzzle) trees.  These are the national trees of Chile and extremely distinctive.  It is a magical feeling to ride through them in the Andes.  As we slowly made our way through the forest a dump truck driver stopped and waved us over.  He gave us lunch!  It was incredibly generous and honestly we were extremely excited to eat some fresh food.  We immediately stopped and ate the entire thing, waving wildly in thanks as he drove off. 

When we finally reached the construction area all the workers and drivers stopped to take our picture.  This route is extremely popular with cyclists (for obvious reasons) but it sure seems like very few cycling families make it through! 

We stopped for the night at a campground right at the base of the volcano and extremely near the top of the pass.  It was unbelievably picturesque.  The clouds blew in overnight and were gorgeous in the light of the full moon, and in the early morning I saw a pink cloud resting atop the volcano.  The pictures just don’t do it justice.

Day 91: Camping Tromen to Pucón (78km)

The morning dawned a bit cloudy, but there wasn’t any rain (yet) so we happily rode away from the campground to cross the border back into Chile.  Unlike our last border crossing, the two border stations were less than a kilometer apart.  Leaving Argentina was easy – they hand you a piece of paper when you enter the area, stamp it twice to prove you stopped and answered their questions, then they collect the stamped paper when you leave.  They don’t even stamp our passports!  Entering Chile is always a more complicated process.

Just like last time there were three steps.  1: Passport control.  We got our stamps and permission to be in the country for 90 more days. 2. Bicycle import.  We have to describe the bikes and get documentation to import them temporarily.  The process was different here than in Tierra del Fuego, but since we are leaving with the bikes in boxes on an airplane in 88 days time we didn’t worry about the details. 3. Food inspection.  No fresh products are allowed to enter Chile.  Many cyclists end up getting a thorough bag inspection, but we have been lucky.  We had a pile of food that clearly couldn’t enter (lentils and raw eggs), a pile of food that we weren’t sure about (powdered milk, cheese) and the clearly ok food was packed away.  The official took our sacrificial eggs and lentils, waved through the cheese, and made sure to take our photo with us on the bikes before we rode away.

The fall colors up high at the pass level were truly lovely.  The clouds had really rolled in though, and it even started to sprinkle.  There was also a headwind.  We made a quick joke about how it rains on us in Chile, but we didn’t linger and pedaled to leave the high country behind.

With over 3,000’ to descend we zipped down past the clouds and around a lot of tight curves.  We emerged from the clouds and mountains to find ourselves in a flat river valley.  We would spend the rest of the (long) day riding along the flat road towards the big fancy city of Pucón.  Happily, when we got close and traffic got busy a separated bicycle path appeared and whisked us all the way downtown to our lodging.  It was quite a shock for the whole family to pedal into a bustling town resembling Boulder, CO. 

We took a rest day here before getting back on our bikes. The girls have grown, and we found replacement fleece jackets with longer sleeves.

… 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.