Day 19 - Villarrica to Pucon- 36km 31/12/09

Villarrica

Had a delicious breakfast and set off at 10.00. Found the newly built bypass which has totally spoilt the beach environment unfortunately. Lots of concrete with little thought about local character and the preservation of waterside habitats. Had a pleasant cycle along a gently undulating road which was quite narrow with only an occasional verge which meant we had to use our mirrors a lot. The lake was hidden from view most of the way which was a shame for us...but good for the local fauna and flora. Arrived at Pucon in a fine drizzle and had a coffee on the main street (which always seem to be called Bernard O'Higgins) between shops flogging local adventure activities....rafting, hiking, biking etc. The low cloud and rain meant we could not see the volcano so we consoled ourselves with some fabulous cake (Kuchen) which consisted of layers of flaky pastry with dulce de leche, cream, a kind of custard and fruit in each layer with chocolate on the top! Stopped in a hostel called 'Pucon Sur' which was very clean and modern and was run by a German lady who looked in amazement at all our panniers and helped us up the stairs. Spent the day adding photos to the blog whilst it hammered down with rain outside.

Day 18 - Cunco to Villarrica - 85km, 2 punctures,1 dog chase

Leaving Cunco

Woke at 8.00 to a cool damp morning and left at 9.30. Stopped in Cunco to visit the Tourist Information and picked up a couple of leaflets with some decent maps of the area. John put these at the top of his bar bag to navigate with. The faces of the local people had changed completely since Valpairaso and we saw a lot of very impressive traditional Mapuche dress and women wearing silver platework on their chests. There is a local campaign to recover land belonging to Mapuche people which has been occupied by neighbouring landowners. On the way out of town we followed a steep unpaved road to the lake (past a vicious dog that gave chase) to a lake where we hoped to take a road marked on it's northern shore. Unfortunately, this road did not exist...... which meant retracing our steps uphill past the mad dog. We filled our pockets with stones and got the 'dog dazer' ready to try and scare it off. We watched it chase a car up the hill ahead and braced ourselves. When we approached at low speed with the smell of fear flowing freely in his direction he hid behind his boundary fence and watched us pass without a murmur! It looks like some dogs just like the thrill of a chase. After 12 bumpy km we were back to the junction which, on the tourist map showed a dead end, but was actually the road we needed. When cross checking, with our recently purchased COPEC map, we discovered the tourist map was totally inaccurate. Lesson learnt! The road was now a dirt track all the way to Villarrica and it would be the first test of proper off road  riding for our bike racks and panniers. The views and landscape were absolutely beautiful...it now reminded us of New Zealand with green meadows, lots of floweres and steep wooded hills.  There was a lot of washboard corrugations which were difficult to escape and often involved cycling on the wrong side of the road but, as there was only a couple of cars every hour, this was not a problem. The hills were a lot steeper now and the descents bone shaking. We knew we had aonother 58km to get used to it. and fix 2 punctures.  After 52km we stopped for a picnic on a fallen Eucalyptus and spent an hour eating! Our appetites are now huge and I'm craving fat and carbohydrates like never before. It was a very hard days cycling so it was a welcome bonus to encounter a new paved road 12km from the end. Our speed doubled and the landscape opened up with broad views for the first time in about 30km. At 85km we arrived in town and stopped at the first place we saw to book a room. Later that evening we had an interesting meal in a restaurant where we were the only customers and the chef enthusiastically waved us in! Always a bad sign! The service was excellent but the entertainement was not. There was a TV above our heads which played music videos from the mid 80's the whole evening! The Bangles, Duran Duran, Flashdance...etc. There were a few power cuts during which we relished the peace and quiet and could hear each others conversation without shouting or lip reading. The food however was excellent...so it was worth enduring the incessant noise. We felt sorry for the Chef as he was obviously very good but had no one to impress. We made sure we thanked him personally.

Our first dirt road. The wrong road!!

Views from the wrong road!

First puncture.

Final section of dirt.

Feeling the strain!

Day 17 – Temuco to Concon 70km

5.45am Temuco

After assembling the bikes and re-packing the panniers we set of in cold wet weather!! (this might have been expected as we are now 800km further south) Took a while to realize we had arrived at a bus station not marked on any map. Temuco was a working town and we were joined by hundreds of workman cycling into work on various types of bikes including a couple with 2 stroke engines. It took quite a while to escape the industrial perimeter but, when we did, we encountered a landscape which was reminiscent of Perthshire or Shropshire. It felt so English after the dry north even the heavy showers. Even the central road markings were white instead of yellow. The fields were green with barley and corn and the hedgerows were filled with familiar plants such as foxglove, cow parsley and geranium, and the not so familiar, bamboo and nothofagus. The rain started to get heavier and we were forced to shelter in a wooden bus shelter. We had tried to find shops open in Temuco when we left but we were much too early so had relied on passing the usual roadside shops selling coke and empanadas. We passed one shop the whole way and that was shut. We were exhausted through lack of food and water and so called at the first place we came across (just before Concon) to book a cabana. It was only 11.00am! I instantly fell asleep sat on a chair (which is a first) while John cycled into town to get some supplies. As soon as John got back it was his turn to take a nap! It rained heavily the whole day but thankfully we had a wood burning stove in the cabana to keep us warm. I’m now wearing thermals and fleeces for the first time. Spent the afternoon eating and drinking and catching up on 4 days of the blog.

Cloud!

Wet!

A roaring stove.

Day 16 – Valpairaso – Lots of hill walking

View from deck before breakfast

Had a beautiful fresh fruit salad breakfast and asked the owner if we could leave our bags in the hostel until we left for the night bus at 6.00pm. She said most backpackers did this and let us use her cellar space. It was yet another sunny day and we spent the morning touring the streets admiring the buildings and drinking coffee in some art and book Cafes. Called at the hostel, packed our bikes and rode into town….then decided to push along the footpaths as the buses and taxis were so aggressive. Got to the bus station and packed all our panniers and rolls into our lightweight plane holdall and waited. At 7.50 the bus arrived and at 8.00 it pulled away! We just had to remove the wheels and pay the driver $5,000.00 pesos….a lot easier than we expected. We paid extra for a sleeping berth in a little cabin at the bottom of the bus which accommodated just 9 seats. We had a very comfortable journey to Temuco via Santiago arriving at 5.40pm. I think I may have been the only snorer!

View inside hostel

Valparaiso

Day 15 – Maintencillo to Valparaiso – 70km

The cabana owners house.

Left at 8.55 after ringing the bell and thanking the owners for their hospitality. Cycled out into the sunshine again and waved goodbye to the Pacific which looked even more inviting as the beaches were totally empty. The roads were busier today with lots of lorries and very little room to cycle safely. A road cyclist pulled over to chat as we paused to drink. Steve was an English guy who was teaching English in Santiago for a few years. We quizzed him about maps and he advised we pop into a COPEC garage and buy their own range of regional maps as the road layouts were the most accurate. We said our goodbyes and passed a huge copper smelting works and an oil refinery with various shades of smoke belching from their chimneys. Just before we reached the coastal resort town of Concon we passed an area of dunes, lagoons and what looked like wet slacks….it looked quite a significant bird/nature reserve. However, the peace and tranquility ended there as we hit seaside shops, cafes and music. We did manage to buy a Chile Tur COPEC map though, with twice as many roads shown and villages marked in the correct locations. Now we had a slightly better chance of finding our way. Had an interesting stop for Empanadas which turned out to be the deep fried cheese and lobster variety…for coffee the owner brought out 2 mugs, a tin of instant coffee and a small glass of milk to make our own.  As we cycled further around the coast there was a relatively unspoilt rugged rocky section where we saw fur seals basking on two big rocks. Then we hit Vina del Mar (a kind of Blackpool meets Las Vegas) which thankfully had a newly designed seafront boulevard which included a cycle lane. We had noticed that there were no other cyclists on the road at all from here to Valparaiso, largely due to the amount of buses that drove along the road which now had three lanes with no verge. We tried a couple of times when the cycle lane ran out but the buses hooted and overtook very close. When we saw that even road cyclist were using the footpath we knew it was time to give up and join them. After nearly 70km we arrived in a hot, noisy and very busy Valparaiso. Got lost a few times trying to cross from the port to the town centre but eventually found the steep cobbled road in the Concepcion district that would lead to a B&B mentioned in the Rough Guide. The cobbled climb up was steeper than anything we had encountered in the Andes and we were exhausted when we eventually found it. Unfortunately all rooms were taken but there was a relatively new hostel called ‘Acuarela’ diagonally opposite (at the top of Templeman Street). The owners were a young couple (with a 10 month old baby) who were in the process of decorating rooms in the attic and creating an amazing viewing deck . The woman spoke excellent English and could not have been more helpful. We spent the evening exploring the amazing bohemian and arty neighbourhoods of Alegre and Concepcion and walking into town to book a night bus to Temuco. Everywhere you looked there was sculpture, wall art, paintings, brightly coloured buildings, streets dug up and turned into gardens and arty cafes. The architecture is an eclectic mix of Classical, Victorian, Edwardian and a local style where anything goes. Had a meal at the Brighton Hotel which was perched overlooking a plaza below where a clown was performing to a big crowd. Unlike in England where people might pause for 5 minutes or so, here families sat down and stayed for the whole show, which was a couple of hours. After the show black taxis arrived to take people home and we watched in amazement as the local stray dogs grouped together in a big pack and tried to prevent each taxi from leaving. Two in front and about 4 either side. The passengers would get in without being bothered, but as soon as the car set off they chased it all the way up the street barking and trying to jump at it. Ordinary cars and buses were not targeted….just the black and yellow taxis! The view from the balcony was incredible as dusk fell and thousands of lights shimmered and twinkled on the steep hillsides surrounding the bay. Despite the pollution from the nearby oil refinery, which left a yellow cloud hanging to the north and the apparent threat from pick pockets (which everyone had warned us to beware of) we didn’t really feel unsafe and thought the city was a lot more impressive than some descriptions we had read.

The coast road from Concon.

Deep fried lobster empanadas.

Approaching Vina del Mar.

The cycle lane!

Valparaiso.

Plaza Bernard O'Higgins.

The Brighton Hotel

View down to the performing clown.

Day 14 – Maitencillo - 14km walk

Maintencillo

Had a lie in today. Used blankets for the first time last night…the sea breeze seems to keep the temperatures down, blowing off the Humboldt current so they say. We went to visit the Cabana owner’s large New England style house this morning. We opened their front gate and wandered through the garden to their rather grand front door. We were half way down the path when the owner lady shouted for us to halt and go back. ‘The dogs will have you!’ she shouted ‘Go, Go!' We scuttled back to the gate and closed it behind us. She then opened the door and 3 large Weimeranas bounded out and leapt at the gate barking and wagging their tails! The only danger was being licked to death by the looks of them. It was then we saw the large sign next to the gate forbidding entrance and advising people to ring the large bell located just above. She had a strong German accent and I asked how long she had lived here. ‘All my life', she said ‘but my parents are from Liverpool!?' We spent the morning walking along the beach looking at pelicans, vultures, eagles, cormorants and various versions of our own wading birds but with different markings and accents. Collected shells and watched the huge surf…nobody swims here unfortunately as the currents are dangerous. We stopped at a very relaxed and friendly beach side Café for coffee and paninis. The owner was extremely friendly and used to ski competitively in Europe and America so his english was excellent. We went back to the Café in the evening and recorded a webcam message with views of the ocean behind….we didn't mean to gloat! Ate lots of vegetables today to make up for all the meals served without a hint of green. The cabana owner has just come round with a bottle of local red wine for John’s birthday on Monday! We will just have to drink it all now as it will be too heavy to carry tomorrow. Shame! Chilean people have been so hospitable and friendly so far.


A pelican!

John collecting!

Sending a Boxing Day message.

Enjoying the views

Last sunset.

Day 13 – Los Andes to Maitencillo -126km ( I puncture & 1 dog chase)

Leaving Los Andes

Left the Hotel Plaza at 9.00 and cycled down a beautiful valley past fields of vines, maize, orchards and ditches full of Canna, Lilies and Fennel. The only traffic was cars with the whole family inside and half the contents their house on the roof! We saw mattresses, fridges and even a wardrobe! They were all heading to the coast! The wind was light and the gradient flat or slightly downhill so we managed 70km in the first 3 hours. Decided that we would try and make the coast in one day instead of two, and so after Christmas Dinner (peanuts and a sandwich) under a palm tree in a village square, we pushed on. The weather was sunny again and we stopped whenever we saw roadside shops to buy an ice cream. Amazingly all the shops were open everywhere. As we approached the final road to the coast, the vehicles changed to open backed pickup trucks with families sat in the back waving and shouting 'Hello' as they passed.  John had his first puncture which unfortunately happened next to a garden with 2 guard dogs, one on a chain which managed to squeeze through a gap under the fence and stretch his way to within 5m of our bikes. He barked, pawed the ground vigorously and tugged at his chain for the whole 20 minutes it took to fix. Stopped at a roadside Café which was owned by a family in the process of slow cooking their Christmas meat in the, now familiar, outdoor ovens. Neighbours came and went with presents and collected various portions of meat from the father who was fastidiously tending to the ovens. We enjoyed 2 giant Empanadas which were filled with a delicious combination of minced beef, onions, chopped egg and olives. Sounds disgusting but they tasted really good! At 88km we had a long uphill into another strong headwind but the view from the brow, to a sparkling Pacific Ocean 15 km away, suddenly gave us extra strength. During the last few km we tried every phone we came across to say happy Christmas to family but they either didn’t work or a message said the line was busy. At 5.15pm we arrived at the Pacific Ocean in the resort of Maintecillo…it was heaving with people enjoying Christmas picnics on the beach. The waves were huge which disappointed John as it was the thought of a swim that had kept him going.  We cycled up the long beach front looking for some decent looking Cabanas and eventually found some set back 20m from the beach road. It’s now 11.00pm and we can hear the sound of waves crashing on the shore….they are huge! After dinner we dashed out and just managed to catch the sun setting. The water was very cold which meant the temperature was pleasantly cool. Saw lots of Pelicans and another Eagle flying overhead on the way back.

Ice cream stop in Catemu

The back road from Catemu to Nogales.

Christmas Dinner stop!

The best empanada stop.

Puncture stop.

Descending into Maintencillo.

The Pacific Ocean!

Sunset.

Beach cabanas

Day 12 – Los Andes 0km

Los Andes

We woke late and went for breakfast at 9.00. It was American Style again (like the previous morning) which meant a small bowl of fruit salad, a bread roll with butter and the delicious Dulce de Leche, a slice of sponge cake and a slice of ham and cheese. Quite a combination! Walked into town to get some pesos out of the bank ($770.00 to the pound) and visit a tourist information room. No maps but a leaflet with a drawing estimating the main roads. We went onto Google Earth in desperation and discovered they probably have some of most inaccurate maps in the world. Roads were 10km out of place, no road numbers, no place names (many of those that were marked were in the wrong location) and minor roads (our B roads) did not appear at all! Walked through the crowds of last minute Christmas shoppers and visited the shops. The system here is quite convoluted! When we bought a pen the lady behind the counter gave us a ticket. We then took this ticket and queued at the cash till, where we paid and received another ticket which we returned to the original lady behind the counter who gave us the pen! This was the same when we bought bread! Made a note to find out the reason for this. Decided not to push on today as we didn’t really have a plan for the next stage, and as it was Christmas Eve, we didn’t want to arrive in a village with no accommodation! So we sat in the town square under the shade of palm trees and watched the world go by. Today it was mostly people eating huge ice creams and stray dogs lolling under seats. It was so hot we had to retreat to the hotel and the breeze of the overhead fan. Spent all afternoon working out a route to the coast (thanks to the internet) and eating giant empanandas!

The main plaza in Los Andes

Christmas Eve toys in the plaza

Day 11 – Los Penitentes to Los Andes 92km

Punta del Inca

Set off from the hotel, which was a bit like Fawlty Towers, at 8.50am on another beautiful day. Considering the elevation it was warm….but, despite the time of day, still very windy !!  Stopped at Punta del Inca to have a look at the amazing rocks coloured by sulphur next to the thermal springs. It took 3 ½ hours to travel a steep 26km (into an incredibly strong headwind) to the top and the start of the Cristo Redentor tunnel. We got a lift from a man in a white van (after waiting for just 2 minutes) who helped us load our bikes and panniers. We sat on a bench in the back next to them and had a bumpy ride through the tunnel in to Chile. They were rebuilding the road and we had to cycle along a stony track to the customs post about 4 km further on. It took nearly 1 hour to fill out our 4 forms and pass them to 4 separate people in 4 different coloured uniforms positioned about 20m apart! We told our story 4 times with differing reactions from each set of officials and had our bags searched for perishable goods. Our dried prunes were confiscated! The road down was constructed from concrete (many years ago) and had started to disintegrate at the expansion joints every 10m. The ride was bumpy and the wind so strong that, at times, we had to pedal in granny gear! Not the freewheeling ride we had been looking forward to. The scenery was spectacular and the famous 29 hairpins was an experience not to be forgotten. We met a couple from Costa Rica who had been travelling down through South America for 8 months and had another year and a half to go! Their panniers were enormous and their skin dark and weather beaten. The man (whose name I have now forgotten unfortunately) was a photographer and removed an enormous SLR from his handlebar bag and took our photos…worse still he had a Dictaphone and wanted to know why we were travelling through South America on our bikes? Our answers were cringingly clichéd and stilted…I sounded like a 1970’s Miss World contestant rambling on about meeting people and experiencing different cultures!! Groan! The road thankfully turned to tarmac and we had a wonderful descent with the headwind meaning we hardly needed to use our brakes. We did use them when we spotted a huge Condor landing on a pylon just next to us on the roadside! Had a great view of it through the binoculars. After 20km of descending we stopped at a beautiful roadside café where the local accent was totally different and I could barely understand or be understood. We eventually received 6 empanadas, which were twice the size of those in Argentina, and some delicious chilled  nectarine juice. On a visit to the toilet I discovered that my face was black with dust and my lips had a dried black crust around them…no wonder she looked alarmed when I staggered in!  We sat outside under a canopy listening to local folk music and recovering from our efforts. The road (many sections in stone due to construction works) continued down a green valley with tall trees and giant cactus (much greener than the Argentinean side) and after 95km we arrived at Los Andes. It was very hot and heaving with Christmas shoppers. We wheeled our dusty bikes through the streets, past Father Christmas and the usual Christmas decorations, looking for a place to stay. After ½ hour asking policemen and shoppers we arrived at Hotel Plaza and eventually checked in at 7.00pm. They allowed a bikes in the room as if it was completely normal. Had dinner (mostly meat with no vegetables as usual) and collapsed into bed at midnight. We have cycled across the Andes!!

First view of Aconcagua

Las Cuevas currently undergoing redevelopment.

Our man in a van. The yellow vests were vital in the tunnels and generally got us seen from a distance.

Chile! The other side of the tunnel after being dropped off by the white van you can see.

Our second set of officials at customs.

The cycle adventurers from Costa Rica.

The 29 hairpins!

Looking for accommodation on a busy Christmas Shopping evening.