Southern Exposure

Saturday, March 21

We slept in until 8:45 as we had a breakfast appointment. When we had arrived yesterday, we had met an Argentinean couple who were coming north on a BMW 1200. They were extremely nice and offered to meet us at breakfast to go over the map and give us advice. We’d gotten over nine hours of sleep, which was good timing, as the days ahead are likely to be cold and tiring.

Breakfast itself was a buffet of cereals, meats and cheeses with a few fruits. Not the greatest, but it was good enough. As we had our coffee, Fernando and his wife talked about their favorite places and roads along the southern Patagonia roads and gave us some good recommendations. They told us there were many glaciers to see near Chalten, which made us feel better about not taking the incredibly expensive tour of the glacier of San Rafael. I’m sure that glacier is beautiful but at $500 or more per person, we can look at pictures.

Since the road was under construction until 2 pm, and we were in a nice hotel, we delayed our check out until noon and weren’t taking the boat back across the fjord until 1:30 pm. We had enough time for another visit to the thermal springs. In our nice bathrobes and hotel provided sandals we strolled down the forest path and soaked in the pool under the hanging ferns. When we’re freezing and fighting against the high winds of southern Patagonia, I’ll be thinking about these awesome thermal springs.

We reluctantly packed up, soaking up the view from our balcony. Once packed, we moved our gear to the lobby. The boat showed up at the dock, and once loaded, we were off. I think Inna wanted to stay for another day or week and was very sad as the lodge receded into the distance behind us. We waved goodbye to Fernando on his balcony. It was a nice ride across the fjord.

We reloaded the bikes at the dock, and we were back on the dirt and gravel road of the Carretera Austral. This section of road was under construction, so it was a mix of nice sections with sections of large rocks amidst a rough road. Fortunately, being narrow on bikes, we were able to bypass some of the waits at road blocks by inching past construction equipment.

Once we were clear of the construction, we entered Parque Nacional Queulat traveling on a mountain section of the road. A series of rough, dirt switchbacks climbed up the hill. We were riding through a ghostly section of a dense forest as a low mist clung to its hillsides. The trees were of an unknown species to me. Unlike the pine covered forests of the north, the pine is not native to these southern forests. The trees were gnarled and interspersed with dead trunks. The trunks must linger for decades as bleached trunks lay amidst healthy forests. The road itself was an ash gray.

We cleared the mountain switchbacks and the road became a little straighter and a little smoother. We cruised the forest. The scenery continued to make a strong impression. The landscape felt primeval. Occasionally through breaks in the clouds we could see ice capped peaks sheltering small glaciers.

We finally left the dense forests for a more open countryside. The land was more suitable for farming and we rode through many fields of golden grains. As it grew dark, we rolled into Coyhaique. The town plaza is a pentagon rather than the traditional square, so the town layout was slightly more complicated than normal. We tried a few hotels and hostels, before finally settling on the charming Hostel Bonn. The owner was a jovial man and our room was brightly colored and cozy.

After changing from warm riding gear to warm street clothes, we went out for dinner. The owner had recommended we eat at the Casino de Bomberos, which translates to Fireman’s Clubhouse. It was nearly empty when we arrived around 8 to eat. It had a rustic feel, but we had a good meal and by 9 the place was full of people. We just can’t get into eating so late as is the custom.

Back at the hotel, it was our standard evening. We wrote and posted and even got in some reading while catching up on our cable news. The next day’s ride would be our last leg of the Carretera Austral.