A wet day!
Woke to wind and rain…but thankfully less intense. This was our chance. A wet tent was bundled away and, for the first time, we put our rubber overshoes on (worth bringing after all), waterproof trousers, waterproof jacket and waterproof over mitts! The road continued through some beautiful landscapes but, with the cloud almost touching the ground at times, we missed the views of the surrounding snow covered peaks. Occasionally, the cloud would thin out and we could glimpse snow down to really low levels. It would have been a spectacular ride in clear weather. Thankfully, the wind was behind us and we only got a face full of rain when the road wound its way up the hills. It was cold too, which meant that we couldn’t stop for long despite our layers. The descents were often through narrow defiles cut into the rock with rain pouring off in small waterfalls. Cars splashed past and we’d glimpse incredulous expressions through rain streaked windows and a camera suddenly thrust against the window. ‘Hey Jean, check out these nutters!’ Some would be open mouthed and theatrically raise their hands to both cheeks (ala Munch’s ‘Scream’). We stopped for some lunch under a tree and, whilst eating our crackers, admired an amazing black beetle which looked like a spider and had an amazing grip with its legs (see photo).It was a foul day and we hoped to reach our next potential camping spot within 55km. However, the thought of putting up a wet tent in such awful conditions meant we had both decided that this was not an option. So after 55km we kept going and at 3.30pm reached the famous Miladron cave, where fragments of a giant sloth were discovered many years ago and thankfully, they had built the first restaurant we had come across. After battling past the giant plastic miladron at the entrance we sat down and spent an hour and a half eating and drinking. We decided we would have to visit the cave opposite after admiring so many miladron trinkets, from snow storms to door stops and cuddly toys. The cave was a lot more impressive than we thought and well worth the stop. Amazingly, whilst we were eating and cave exploring, the rain had stopped but just as we returned to our bikes it started again. It was heavy and we had to cycle fast to keep warm…thankfully after 82km of dirt we reached the tarmac and pedaled the last 25km as fast as we could in light fading due to the dark cloud. We reached P. Natales within an hour and hunted around for a nice dry room with white fluffy towels! At each reception I would try and make myself look respectable by removing my helmet, glasses and mitts. But, there was no disguising the dirt splattered waterproofs slowly pooling onto muddy rubbers over shoes (of Goofy proportions) and then onto their shiny tiled floor. They would attempt to smile and not look aghast as they reached for the red button beneath the desk and brought up a picture of their holidays on the computer screen whilst pretending to scroll through corridors of booked rooms. Some would shake their heads before I’d reach the tiles. Eventually, one receptionist relented and we got in. She even helped carry our panniers (at arms length, which was quite impressive) to our room and point out the excellent hot shower. After an hour of bathing and lying on our backs staring at the TV with the remote control constantly switching channels, we made the effort to stand up and search out a large hot meal. We went to a quirky little restaurant café (Rincon Tata) where the waiter and waitress competed to be the first to change the record (they had an old fashioned record player) and select some music which they liked but the other did not! The food and atmosphere were great.
Our tent shelter!
Sheltering from the wind
Grey day!
Mite covered insect.
A clear moment....but still windy.
Giant cave for a giant sloth.
Ugly feet competition
