Southern Exposure

Sunday, March 22

We pried ourselves out of our cozy beds and had a passable breakfast downstairs. The owner, Gustavo, was very cheerful and showed us his little moto. It was his dream to travel on a similar trip. Once packed, we navigated through the town and filled up on gas.

We were looking for a gas can to strap on because there were long stretches of Ruta 40 without any towns. We had to go to another gas station to find a can, which we strapped onto Inna’s bike. Since she sat so far forward compared to me it was an easy fit.

We headed south out of town and by this time the sun was breaking through the clouds and breathing some color into the landscape. Looming over the town was a rocky peak composed of crystalline rocks, all oriented vertically. It could have been the inspiration for Superman’s ice fortress.

The road was paved and it was easy riding through the open mountain valleys. We began to weave through low mountain foothills and the series of sweeping curves was a great beginning to the day.

We climbed over the mountain and a sublime panoramic vista that greeted us on the other side. We were overlooking a huge glacier carved valley. The northern edge consisted of jagged peaks crowned with the remnants of glaciers. The more gently rounded southern hills were covered in green forest. The central valley flood plain was a marshy mix of dirt, vegetation, and standing water with a languid river meandering across the bottom.

We were positively gleeful to be sharing this view and went a little picture happy. As we descended to the bottom of the valley, we bid farewell to the paved road and were back on the hard packed dirt loosely covered in gravel.

The road hugged the south side of the valley we began to see frequent dead trunks of trees sprouting from the water. Their number increased until we came to a sign declaring us welcome to El Bosque Muerto, the Dead Forest. Amidst the silence and the stillness of the water, it was an eerily beautiful site.

The road continued along the valley bottom. The wasn’t too difficult and only had occasional very loose patches.

We finally emerged from the woods at the town of Bahia Murta. We were hungry by this point but decided to wait until Puerto Tranquilo to eat. Lago General Carrera came into view and it was another visual delight. The waters were more of the fine turquoise glacial melt we had come to love.

We continued along the shore until we reached Puerto Tranquilo. It was a one street town in front of a small lakefront beach. The ever present wind created a small surf which produced a pleasant background murmur.

After filling up the bikes, we chose one of the two adjacent cafes to fill our empty stomachs as it was already mid afternoon. We treated ourselves to big warm sandwiches and took in the view while we ate.

Shortly down the road from lunch, we came across some gauchos herding cattle down the road. The cows blocked the entire road and we stopped to let them pass. I was on the right side of the road, but not the very edge, and the cows didn’t want anything to do with us and starting piling up, afraid to get closer. The gauchos tried to get them to go along the side of the road, but the cows were panicked and one ever hysterically fell off the edge of the road into the bushes below. I moved a few feet closer to the edge and that seemed to give enough room for the cows to pass.

We continued southwest along the road until we finally reached the edge of the lake. We crossed a bridge over the river that flowed into the lake and through a ravine we could see the icy blue glacier that fed the lake.

It was late in the day and we were surprised at how little distance we had travelled. Beautiful scenery made for slow going. On the map, the road along the southern shore of the lake looked straight and easy. No such luck. The south shore of the lake was a cliff with steep drop to the water below.

We climbed and twisted our way up and down along the southern cliff. Progress was slow and the sun was setting. A gap had formed in the clouds, and a perfect cone of sunlight lit up a golden circle on the surface of the lake.

The sun finally set and we continued to bump and slip along the gravel road in the fading twilight. It was 50 km of riding in the dark and it was not much fun. For the last section, the road straightened out a bit and we were able to ride a little faster. When we arrived in Chile Chico, the town felt deserted.

There was only one principle street in town, but we couldn’t find any of the hotels listed in our guide book. We settled in at what seemed to be the only hotel in town and decided to skip dinner. After we went to the supermarket to stock up for breakfast, we relaxed in the warmth of the room, doing some writing before falling asleep.