a self-supported bicycle tour through South America

Well anyway, first off, our apologies for the very belated blog. Yes, we’ve finished the cycling, all 5574km of it on the 2nd January! We’re now in Buenos Aires the capital of Argentina catching up with the journal having rested here (deservedly so) for almost two weeks now ,and my how time flies!

Our last entry saw us make Rio Gallegos having cycled  320km in two days from El Calafate in time for Christmas eve and a descent couple of nights sleep. Although the stop was short and sweet we were back on the road and heading south again towards the border with Chile. It’s a strange feeling we have when we think about Chile,  it’s just so archaic compared to Argentina, and we get really frustrated with how backward everything seems to be. So with a little cloud over us we made our way all on paved roads to a little café where we camped near Punta Delgada not far from the ferry to Tierra del Fuego.

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So, idea was to rest for a couple of days in El Chalten and then push on south to El Calafate where we would spend Christmas and see the Perito Moreno Glacier. Unfortunately, the stress and physical exertion getting to El Chalten from Chile seemed to take its toll on me and triggered all the symptoms of Guardia, a nasty bacteria I contracted, we guess back in Peru/Bolivia. This made it very difficult and unpleasant to cycle, but forced us to take our few days off early in Calafate and get there fast!

With the scenery changing from mountainous terrain to open flat pampas grass and then desert again (like north Peru), the road proved to be paved pretty much all the way to Calafate apart from a small section midway. With a strong wind behind us for the first day we managed to clock up 111km in half a day, which was just amazing seeing as we hadn’t managed to do much more than 60km on the Careterra in a whole day for a good few weeks.

The ride to Calafate was pretty uneventful apart from a couple of spokes breaking, although Lago Argentina was just stunning, so blue, and looked like someone had just painted the water with a turquoise colour of a kids painting set.

Once in Calafate, I did some Internet research and found the name of the antibiotic I needed for the Guardia, popped down the pharmacy and got the drugs. These soon started to work and I began to feel a little better and we decided to hire a car and drive to the Perito Moreno Glacier which was about 80km to the west. This was just an awesome site and something we’ve never seem before in our lives.

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After our extra rest day with Tomoko and Fred we knew that we wouldn’t make Villa O’Higgins in time for the Saturday ferry that would take us through to Argentina, but didn’t really mind as we were looking forward to a few days of sleep-ins, Internet and good eating. Ha! What dream world WERE we living in?

Villa O’Higgins is certainly at the end of the line. We knew this, but didn’t really appreciate just how remote and isolated it really was. The Carretera Austral ends here, and the only way out is to return in the same direction (this was never an option) or cross a lake, then walk for 22km to Argentina to cross another lake before reaching the road and 37km that takes you into El Chalten (located at the base of Mount Fitzroy) in the Los Glaciares National Park.

Sounds incredibly adventurous don’t you think? Adventurous is putting it mildly. We think (and seriously so) that we have been on one of those stupid survival reality shows where the participants don’t know that they are being filmed and scrutinized by psychologists as they endure a series of tests that calculate levels of patience, mental and physical strength, and for the length of their short fuse! You guys have probably been watching it for the last 5 months and no doubt it is on par for the final Friends episode in ratings? We are probably page three reality television stars and don’t even know it! Perhaps now the coffers of the SIJEN Adventure Fund will start to fill up.

As we have mentioned before, southern Chile is ridiculously expensive, and banks are (as the Mountain Goat would put it) “rare as rocking horse shit”. If you are lucky enough to find an ATM, it usually only takes Mastercard, and not Visa. Guess what card we are traveling with? Yep, Visa. Test number one. In Cochrane, the last major town on the Carretera, the ATM only accepted Mastercard, so we pushed on hopeful that our cash would see the distance. We managed, just.

After two nights in a cabana, funds were depleting so we opted for the cheaper option of a hostel. Test number two. Most hostels these days offer rooms for couples, but the options in Villa O’Higgins are very limiting. We found a nice looking place that was warm, small but comfortable and with a toasted sandwich make. What more could we ask for really? We were set. We were showed a room with 4 bunk beds thinking that we would have the room to ourselves but to our dismay at 2200hrs, with us already tucked into our sleeping bags, two more people were showed in, and that was where the fun began! Read the rest of this entry »

So we’re nearly ending our amazing journey down the Carretera Austral a 1000km road that leads to nowhere but a place called Villa O’Higgins. Villa O’Higgins was only recently connected to Chile back in 2000 when engineers completed the final 100km section from Puerto Yungay. I can only describe this place as the arse end of nowhere, which is far more accurate than the travel guides we have; there is absolutely nothing here apart from a weird sleepy town comprising of government built social housing, random shanty town style dwellings, the odd store with limited groceries and a mish mash of inbred dogs and chickens.

The journey to O’Higgins started when we left Coyhaique the only major town on the Carretera. We had stocked up with supplies and left with little trepidation of what the road may bring, being so very remote. Luckily we had one of the few paved sections to cycle on for about 100km which was very welcome to the incessant pounding of the infamous Carretera we have been subjected to over the past few weeks. The views were again tremendous, although the going was tough as we had some big height gains over the first few days. On the first day out we found ourselves winding up a valley climbing all the time and it wasn’t before long that all our steam ran out! Perfectly positioned was a national park camping site in “ Reserva National Cerro Castillo”. It turned out to be the best campsite of the trip so far and a welcome surprise with a wood fired hot water shower for DIY enthusiasts!

The following day saw us make the decision following lots of unclear advice, to go south via Puerto Ibanez and the ferry crossing to Chile Chico rather than the Carretera option round Lago General Carrera. It would hopefully mean 40km less distance but more importantly hopefully better roads; this was not to be! The road outside of Chile Chico turned out to be hell, up-hill, into wind and rough. By the time it had abated we had found a perfect spot on the side of the road that was sheltered and somewhat warmer than everywhere else. We were by this stage completely knackered and ready to drop and pretty down hearted about the decision, feeling that those who had advised us had never in their lives ever cycled a bike on these roads. Read the rest of this entry »

Since leaving Trevelin the roads have turned Bolivian and the weather decidedly Chilean (readers, that means wet, wet and wetter).  There has been blood, sweat and tears; blood from the wrist (no I haven’t slashed them yet) caused by a fall on gravel roads, twice; sweat - think Gortex and boil in the bag rice; tears caused partly by the blood and partly by the Hound Dog [formerly known as the Mountain Goat and affectionately known as Simonsky, his Polish name, but no affection deserved in the Hound Dog instance] due to him riding on my tail and hounding me to cycle faster up the hill in the rain on gravel.  Needless to say "words" were exchanged, lunch was thrown, and "discussions" were had.  Oh the joy of the journey!

So, you now find us in Chile.  Crossing the border was interesting to say the least.  The Argentine border guards, filling in time and attempting to curtail their boredom (pun intended) took great interest in Simonsky’s black bag full of kit.  I think they suspected we were more than just your average cycle tourist and have put our names on some red alert list - I mean who in their right mind carries a sat phone, laptop, GPS and hypodermic needles and isn’t on an undercover mission?  We had three guards pull bits and pieces out of the bags, inspect them, ask what they were used for and leave on the table for us to pack back into the bags.  We have no idea what they were looking for, but they didn’t find it, and thankfully we didn’t have to empty all the bags.  I am so over packing!

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So leaving Bariloche was good, and about time too. We had spent too much time there and money, as you do when you’re bored and just waiting for the bikes to be ready. The trailer we bought over the phone from Buenos Aires turned out to be pretty crap, as it failed to connect to the bike in a satisfactory way; so now we’re stuck with having to carry all the weight as before on the bike without off-loading any to a trailer. We had however, managed on the last day in Bariloche to sell the trailer to one of the local bike shop owners and recoup some of the money at least.

With very little to occupy our minds sometimes except to admire the stunning scenery and count the clicks, I remembered a couple of things that just come into my mind when I’m on the road or milling around the tent. Firstly, we had a blossom tree above our tent on the first night out from Bariloche with some bumble bees drifting around and this got me thinking; do bees sleep, and if so, where? And on that matter where do all the flies and midgies go as well?

Secondly, why is it that when we’re on the road cycling, is it that we can go for hours without any traffic and then when we do, just like buses two come along in opposite directions and they cross at exactly the point where we are; where there is the least space - chuffing annoying.

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  Well, here we are in Bariloche biding our time waiting for new rims and a bike trailer to come from Buenos Aires and the wheels to be rebuilt.  We are hopeful that new rims and a trailer (to redistribute weight) will ensure no more problems with punctures and spokes.  Fingers crossed and stay tuned for updates on that one!  Needless to say, we have stocked up on inner tubes and puncture repair kits in preparation for the rocky roads of the Carretera Austral.

When we arrived we consulted the Lonely Planet for a good place to stay and came across the 7 de Febrero Hotel smack bang in the middle of town.  A dated place but immaculate rooms and an incredible view across the Lake welcomed us.  The owner, Gabriel has been worth his weight in gold as he has acted as translator for us for the trailer distributor and has no idea how grateful we are.  Note to self:  must choose Spanish for next degree or cycle through Indonesia to utilise 3 years of study and exams.

Bariloche is a gorgeous mountain town located on the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi.  It is the center for the Argentine Lake District and some of the most powerful looking snow capped mountain ranges that we have seen to date.  It is also the prime destination for skiing and, during the summer, for teenagers to party their way to post exam celebrations.  V glad that we aren’t visiting at that time of the year (am I really sounding like an old person?)  Although all the hotels are booked solid for 5 days as their is a religious youth conference going on.  As a result I have not allowed the Revolutionary Mountain Goat out on his own - for obvious reasons.

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 October 24th - 31st: Confluencia - Villa Traful (34km) - Villa Angostura (68km) - Bariloche (86km)

Argentina would have to be one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited.  The scenery in the last few days has been almost Tolken-like and the grandness is breathtaking.  I don’t think our readers at home could possibly comprehend the beauty of what we are seeing, and our photos don’t really do it justice.  But goodness gracious me, Mother Nature sure has tested our patience…..

We set off from Neuquen a little down at having to bus another section to make up for lost time (due to having to deal with bike repairs), but we were heading into the Argentine Lake District and were very much looking forward to getting back on the road confident in our rims keeping up with the pace.

After arriving in Confluencia late in the evening we checked into the local Hostel for a warm, dry wonderful nights’ sleep with the wind howling through the valley.  The view in the morning was gorgeous and promising of what was to come, but the drizzle relentless.  This was the first day that we donned the WWG (wet, weather gear) from the get go and we didn’t get to take it off until the hot chocolate break at 1700!

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October 17th - 23rd: Malargue  - Bardas Blancas (67km) - El Zampal (98km) - Ranquil de Norte (32km) - Buta Ranquil (64km) - Newquen (4km) - Roca (46km)

We left Malargue with high spirits and rejuvenated legs after a day of rest, but with extra fleeces to keep us warm for what we expected to be the cold road south.  The hail storm and torrential downpour days still etched vividly in our minds….

The blue sky and crisp air made for a gorgeous start as we once again admired the snow capped ranges that make up the border with Chile.  Yay, we were back on the road and loving the idea of cycle touring.

With our first climb came our old friend the wind.  Oh what joy!  With our friend came the Bolivian roads as well.  Woohoo!  As we descended off the mountain the wind got stronger and stronger and stronger until the sand storms forced us off our bikes as tiny rocks were blown into our bare legs.  Our only salvation was that we were going downhill and we only had a few more kilometers until our lunch stop.  These few kilometers took an eternity, and we could not believe that the wind could be THAT strong.  The whole situation was so disheartening.  Mum, I thought you were supposed to have some words with the Big Fella at church last week?  Tell him that the wind is not obliging,  and even seems to be getting stronger!

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10^th - 16^th October: Mendoza - Maipu (42km) - Tunuyan (76km) - La Tosca (98km) - San Rafael (76km) - El Sosneado (116km) - Malargue (55km)

Can you believe that we cycled passed the Moet and Chandon winery (a subsidiary of the one in France) and didn’t go in for a bubbles tasting?  Neither can I, but if you let me explain the reason why, you might be able to forgive us.

We left Mendoza after a not so planned sleep in.  Why is it that whenever the alarm is set and you HAVE to get up, you can sleep for England? My excuse is that we ARE on holidays, and luckily for me The Mountain Goat has also started to play “lets ignore the alarm when it goes off” game.  You will all be pleased to know that he has come round to my way of thinking!

With only a short days’ cycling coupled with some winery tours along the way, we were looking forward to experiencing the famed Mendoza wine region; especially after tasting a lovely bottle of O2 Soft Sparkling (Chandon) the night before and perhaps one of the reasons for oversleeping the alarm!  Note to self:  must remember not to enjoy lovely bottles of sparkling before day of cycling.

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