Southern Exposure

Thursday, March 26

We made another one of our famous early starts and enjoyed the standard south South American breakfast we so love, fortified with yogurts and fruits we bought at the store. Once we were packed, we rode around town to a few locations that had been recommended to us where we might find a welder. Since it was before 11, all of the shops we tried were still closed. To kill a little time we did some tourist shopping, buying some stickers, a Ruta 40 t-shirt for me and a little stone carved penguin for Inna.

We tried the shops again but they were still closed. Nice hours. We decided we’d try our luck in Puerto Natales and started south on 40. The road turned to ripio fairly quickly and we were riding on high golden hills overlooking the valley below. A lone guanaco stood sentinel on the hill below, perhaps wondering where all of his friends were.

The road turned west towards the border with Chile, and the wind became fierce. It was the strongest winds we had felt in Patagonia, and it frequently pushed the bike from one wheel track to the next. We leaned into it and would be rewarded with sore necks later. It wasn’t too hard to ride in, it just required concentration. Under those circumstances I had to consciously force myself to look up from the road and admire the scenery from time to time as it was easy to become fixated on staying on the road.

To the north, we could see the backside of the snow capped peaks we had seen to the south of El Calafate. We arrived at the Argentinean border outpost. I took great care in parking the bike in the heavy winds, but poor Inna was blown over as she parked, and fell again on the right side . Checking out was easy enough, and we rode in a leaned over fashion a few kilometers down to the Chilean border checkpoint. After more careful parking, we were checked in and on our way.

We rode north into the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, which had been recommended to us by nearly everyone we had met in the north. We entered a country of jagged, snow capped peaks. Unlike some of the gentler looking, more rounded peaks we had seen far to the north, these peaks had a very raw and rugged look. The air was brisk and incredibly fresh. The mountains and their surroundings felt very wild.

We rode past the eastern edge of Lago Sarmiento and continued on the ripio road into the park. As we rode we startled some ñandú, an ostrich like bird. As we drew closer, they continued eating as long as they could stand the tension, and then burst into a run away from us. They’re so goofy looking when they run, like an armless person.

Guanaco herds were more and more frequent, and unlike their relatives the vicuñas, the ones in the park at least weren’t very shy. They would lazily cross the road in groups and graze along the side. They would walk away from the road as we drew closer, but they didn’t seem terribly troubled by our presence. This provided opportunity for some great photos.

We approached Laguna Amarga, an incredibly beautiful turquoise lake perfectly placed in front of the craggy spires of the Torres. We took some pictures, and as Inna tried to ride slowly downhill for the photo, she applied too much front brake and the bike slipped onto its right side again. Inna was unhurt except for the bruised ego, but her right pannier was in sad shape. We didn’t discover how sad until she continued riding and it fell off the bike. Since the seam had already been split, the interior panel of the pannier had caved in and the mounting tabs were all out of place. We secured it the best we could, using the straps holding the gas can in place to help hold it up.

With that on our minds, we continued into the park. We rode northeast to visit the Cascada Rio Paine (waterfalls). The scenery was just marvelous and almost too beautiful. The falls were a staircase of water against the snow capped peaks.

We enjoyed the marvel and continued northeast to Laguna Azul, which promised spectacular views of the Torres, passing more herds of guanacos along the way.

For a lake named after its color, it was a relatively unspectacular navy blue. We took some photos, and then doubled back to the center of the park. We chose a route that would take us through the center of the park and then head south to Puerto Natales. We thought about staying in the park, but the hotels were expensive and it was colder than we cared to camp in. We were also concerned about our ailing panniers.

We road along the park road between Lago Nordenskjol and Lago Sarmiento, taking in the sunset light on the Torres spires. We turned south along Lago Pehoé. The park was achingly beautiful and we were sad not to be here earlier in the year when it was warmer and we were less tired. Stopping at Lago del Toro, we looked back at the golden light on the Cuernos del Paine. Just beautiful.

As we left the park, it grew dark. It would be another night road on a dirt road for us and despite all of our riding gear, it was a little chilly. The miles sped away beneath us and we eventually made it back to the paved road just outside of Puerto Natales. After asking just for fun at a hostel that looked too nice to be affordable (it wasn’t), we went around the corner to our first real choice, Casa Cecilia. They had a covered portico for the bikes and we had a nice room. We were happy to be warm.

We went into town for a big dinner, as it had been another day without any lunch or even snacks. The restaurant recommended to us by the hostel owner turned out to be a fancy African influenced restaurant. Inna was in heaven and had a salmon in apricot in ginger sauce, while I had an African or Indian style curried chicken. It was a nice change from local food albeit expensive. After dinner we hurried home in the biting winds and crashed out.