Friday 1/12/2024 Puerto Montt, Chile

Why the long faces?

“Dude! While we wait I think I’m gonna shoot for a cup of Dunkin’s overthere.”

“Go for it man! That looks great, I’ll wait for the bike boxes over here brother! Feel free to hit that up!” Says Walt. As I begin my walk over to the invincible cup of Joe in the land of Santiago Chile.

Once on my way back, stirring whipped cream to what my brain believed would be a cup of black coffee with a shot of heavy cream, I noticed Walt startled. Damn, I thought, “More startling than this coffee?”

He had lifted a bike box (both of our boxes were exactly the same box by the way) and placed it next to the rest of our luggage; with such a disappointed look! I thought, “he needs a cup of Joe and he doesn’t even know it man!”

As I continued stirring coffee onto heavy whipping cream, Walt continued to have this puzzled look. “Oh no!” I thought,

“Dude, I’m telling you! These boxes got fu$&&# with by TSA!.” He yells.

“No way! What’s the issue.” I exclaim

“Pick that up dude and tell me what you think!”

I placed my cup of pudding on the floor and proceeded to almost slap my face with the bike box. Turns out it was about 50 pounds lighter.

“Wow! This is not good! I don’t even have to open this box to know we’re missing gear dude!” I said, as I fight to not lose my cool. In that instant, I proceed to slowly rip the tape just to look inside. When suddenly I question the possibility of closing this box again once open. We may have no tape in it; since 50 pounds of gear or so are missing, and our extra tape gun could be one of them.

So I stop and just begin looking through the handle holes of the box. To my amazement I see what looks like Teravail tires, rack and a bike frame wrapped in foam. Blood raising and split seconds of “Oh f#^k! This just went from camping to cowboy camping very quickly!” (Mind you, Chile’s Patagonia goes from sunny to rainy to snowy and frigid rather unexpectedly) I turn around, again, facing the Dunkin Donuts sign (not sure why I looked that way) and noticed a taller guy approaching us rather confused carrying a set of pannier bags. Not that it mattered much, but what my brain wasn’t analyzing in that moment was the fact that perhaps this box was his.

“Why the long faces?” He calmly says; to what appeared to be two strangers fiddling with a bike box that clearly wasn’t their’s.

So relieved that this happened to not be one of our boxes, we laughed and just proceeded to chat about Chile’s amazing Patagonia routes.

Here’s the kicker; our boxes arrived to that gate about 10 minutes later torn to crap! They were heavy, thankfully! We then proceeded to open my box and reach for the tape gun since these boxes had tares 2 feet long or so from side to side. We proceeded to doctor them up and move on to connect them to our second to last destination, Puerto Montt, just 1 hour farther south from Santiago by plane.

Once at Puerto Montt, we learn that only my box makes it there, Walt’s bike gets stopped by Santiago’s aduana/customs due to “dangerous” materials. Our guess up to this date is that it had to do with the cartridges of gas for the portable kitchen/burner. We’ve yet not received it to really know what’s missing except for the fact we had to authorize Latam airlines to remove said “dangerous” materials in order to get it to our point of destination.

More on the recovery process on the next post.

Herb

Day 2

No Sé / I don’t know

Saturday 1/13/2024

Puerto Varas, Chile

Up and rolling by 6am, we meet with Adolfo outside of Don Raul’s Hospedaje, a quiet but friendly hostel where the person greeting you is 80 or 90 year old Don Raul himself.

“¿Como están muchachos! Como estaban las pulgas?”greets Adolfo as we get into his car sipping a cup of Joe while he drives. Though we have had Adolfo as our Uber driver for a second time it definitely feels like we have been around this guy for quite longer than that. Probably the fact that as I speak to him in my Salvadoran Spanish we’re all feeling a bit friendly. Why else would he greet you with “Good morning! How were the fleas last night?” Meaning he probably wouldn’t feel super comfortable at a random hostel. But hey, we’re here to camp and being super comfortable isn’t something we’re looking for out here.

As Adolfo and I laugh we make our way from Puerto Varas to Puerto Montt to pick up Walt’s bike. At this point it is already showing on his AirTag at the airport. We proceed to load Walter’s bike into Adolfo’s vehicle, who kindly waits for us while we straighten last minute customs paperwork. He brings us back to Puerto Varas and Adolfo leaves once we have arranged for tomorrow’s pick up for our departure South from PMC airport.

Finally it begins to sink in that we are going to be getting on the saddles soon. Great feeling since non of that aspect has yet really kicked in. As we walk the town of Puerto Varas one last time we come across a brewery, I point at the sign that reads “No Sé” not knowing if we should go in or not, we decide to enter. We are greeted and allowed to consume three beers before having to buy food. We only have the one beer each; as we stare at the bar, a plate with legendary Yoda is sitting in between some whisky bottles looking rather straight at us. Quite the piece! I laugh and hear his voice in my head saying all the while, “Patience you must have, my young Padawan.”

Tonight we begin to get things ready in order to head out one last time from Puerto Varas in the morning. Leaving the comfort of Raul’s Hospedaje which in a strange way hits home for me. The smell in this building is of wooden pine or cedar and the building itself perhaps twice as old as Don Raul.

Herb

Day 3

“Cazuela”-Chicken soup

Sunday 1/14/2024

Balmaceda, Chile

Upon arrival in Balmaceda, our Airbnb host Jose Octavio welcomed Herb and I with open arms. Not only did he pick us up from the airport and help load our bikes, but him and his family also cooked our first Chilean meal called cazuela. Herb proceeded to ask Marta, Jose’s mother, what the difference between soup and cazuela are? Herb explained that in El Salvador they call it soup. Marta told us that the difference between cazuela and soup is that cazuela has meats/protein, soup in chile is basically veggies only.

So what’s cazuela?

It is a flexible Chilean stew which uses a variety of meat and vegetables depending on the time of year.

As I sit here at Jose’s dinner table, I’m reminded that these experiences are what keep me on the bike in far away places. For, there is no better way to experience the Chilean culture than sitting at the dinner table with locals such as Jose and his family; who kindly make you feel like home away from home. This again, painting the perfect picture as to why I enjoy bikepacking in different countries. Immersing one’s self in others day to day lives is how I learn most about other parts of the world and can be a very humbling feeling.

After the delicious dish of cazuela, Herb and I went back to putting our bikes together. While packing bags and loading the bikes you can’t help but hear the 25 mile per hour wind gusting into the side of the house. Eager to get on the bikes we are happy that we have one more night until our first day of pedaling. Luckily for us, Gonzalo; one of Jose’s really good friends, assures that the wind is supposed to die down by tomorrow.

Walt

Day 4

Off to Villa Castillo

Monday 1/15/2024

Villa castillo, Chile

First section by Herb

Today was our first day on the actual saddle. Though we had intensions of leaving early and having a good start to the day, didn’t leave Balmaceda til 11am. The night before Jose and Gonzalo cooked a parrillada (PA•REE•YA•DA). These are essentially thick pieces of steak and chorizos grilled at very low heat, if possible no flame. That said, we all hung out by the fire place, drank beer and talked in mixtures of English and Spanish. As we sipped on beer, ate some awesome parrillada, and shared stories of our origins, we learned much about the weeks to come on our route across carretera Austral. Amazing, I think, how well people can actually coexist even more so when language seems to be a bit of a barrier. It’s just like in Paolo Coelo’s The Alchemist, “sometimes you just gotta go far away, even if you don’t speak the language; you will soon find that learning the language of the world requires no speech.”

Second section by Walt

Confidence was at an all time high for the first day of pedaling. Putting in all those miles in 2023 was for this moment. The ego was quickly shut down when faced with a heavy head wind that seemed to blow in the face no matter what direction we turned. I had read about the wind throughout the Carratera Austral but seemed to brush by it with a smirk. The smirk blew away with the wind after a few kilometers into the ride. Averaging less than 5 miles per hour we were still having a good time. Granny gear was our friend, and it was there to stay. I had asked Herb what time he thought we would see our first cyclist on the route. He replied with 2:45 and he was spot on. Their first question when they saw our bikes were, “are those electric bicycles??” And then shortly after that, “those tires are meant for snow”. I immediately thought to myself, ‘can’t wait to see them on the gravel section.’

Pushing through the day we came across a nice spot to break and have a late lunch by the river. We considered to make it camp for the night but instead whipped up a quick “un café” and proceeded onto the route. It was a good idea too because upon arriving in the town Villa Castillo we had the best view of the trip by far as well as a much needed downhill coast right into a small shop where we devoured two empañadas. We found camp shortly after that and both of us were in need of some Lost Range cbd muscle and joint rub. I have a feeling that the small tin can won’t be enough for the entire trip but will come in handy during these first few days.

Day 5

Villa Cerró Castillo - Rio Valle Murtas

Tuesday 1/16/2024

First section by Herb

Second day on the bike; today for me was a tough one both physically and mentally. The campsite at Villa Castillo was not the best place to stay, at least the empanadas we had at a market, were great! I also don’t feel like I had good sleep, three hours on and off at most. All these things made for a tough day of riding.

Half way through our day, once we were at the ripio section, or gravel, I began to really thank the fact that I was on a fat tire bike. Damn, would it suck to pedal in that stuff on a standard bicycle tire!

We continued to push through our trek, at times stopping for minutes of rest. In order to push through our goal of hitting the town of Murtas. This town is a good stretch out from villa Castillo, at least 70miles. We only manage to get 40 down before we call it a night. Our campsite happens to be a perfect spot next to the river, where an old abandoned wooden cabin seems to still stand. Trying to beat the rain, I get my wooden powered kitchen and a fire going quickly; from dry stub in the area. I grab the lunch pale and cut up some chorizo, fresh onions, frozen veggie mix and through it into a pot. After some time, I add water to the sizzling pot and finally add a veggie chili mix MRE. This by far turned into one of the best bean stews I’ve made while camping.

Second section by Walt

Slow start to the morning. Probably had something to do with a terrible nights rest but that didn’t stop us from having a strong pedaling start. After a coast down hill into villa cerro Castillo we knew the day would begin with a up hill climb. About an hour of climbing and controlled breathing we came to a beautiful look out of the valley we just left. Took a few pictures, downed a Gatorade and was greeted with a descent that led us to the beginning of the gravel road! This is what we were looking forward to and it did not disappoint. The wide tires felt like they were eating up all the bumps and loose rock beneath me and I couldn’t help but think of how uncomfortable a road bike would feel on this section of the Carretera Austral. I had read that the clouds of dust were going to be terrible from the passing cars but to me it seemed much more manageable than the gravel roads of Iowa that Im use to. This probably had to do with the amount of wind that we’ve been experiencing. After a few hours of gravel we pulled to the side of the road and had lunch that consisted of clementines, nectarines, empanadas and another Gatorade. This gave us the boost we needed to get to camp. We were both eager to set up and start cooking because there seemed to be a storm rolling in. This always throws me off in mountainous regions and luckily it was only mist. We cooked an excellent meal that both sent us to our tents thinking, ‘man I sure can’t wait for that warm cup of coffee in the morning.’

Day 6

Friends on the Road.

Wednesday 1/17/2024

By Walt

Much better start to the day. Herb and I woke up to the river flowing and prompted us to hop on the saddle by 9. After 10 miles we took a break to layer down and put some sunscreen on. The 10 miles were all flat and included a tail wind which kept our legs turning. After pedaling for another 10 miles we stopped for lunch at a remote spot with an excellent host. We ordered ourself both a sandwich and three riders stopped and awed at the fat tires we had. They came inside and saw what we were eating and decided to stay for a meal themselves. There names were Heiko from Germany, Simon from England and Laure from Belgium. We shared stories about biking and life in general and started to click with one another. The size-able meal had us all wanting to take a nap but we knew we had to make it to the next town about 15 miles down the road. All of us took off at the same time but went at our own speed (Herb and I never more than 50 feet apart). Viktol had dropped a bike lock along the way which I picked up and returned to him later that night in the town of Rio Tranquillo. The five of us spent the evening chatting around the dinner table with a slight drizzle outside. The conversation seemed to keep its momentum similar to the tail wind we all had on the bike that day. Ending with a smile on all our faces knowing that we met friends that we’ll remember for many bike rides to come we parted ways with different schedules the next day.

Day 7

Bahia Manza /Rio Tranquilo

Thursday 1/18/2024

By Herb

Today was a great day to recover and be off the bikes. While at Puerto Tranquilo, where we met w/ Gonzalo, whom we met upon arriving at Balmaceda when Jose picked us up w/ him.

Gonzalo then took us Kayaking to the marble caves at Bahia Mansa for the day. The experience was awesome! The wind was not that bad either. Personally my shoulders were feeling that paddle session; I remember thinking to myself, “thank god I’m not paddling the distance of the carretera Austral!”.

Later we met at Arisca, a brewery in town that the locals swear to be the best beer period! Puerto Tranquilo made me want to stay and just drink for the next couple days. At some point we were talking about tattoos with Elliot the bartender, who was slinging some great piscos. As we talked he blurted it out, “I don’t think I’ve ever met a person with just one tattoo; it’s like beers, you always have more than one.”

Very quickly, one beer turned into a drunken night, partly because we all ran on “Gonzalo” time. And when you mix really good beer and piscos, a great bartender, and a kind friend who can light up a room; running late just fits the part. And so we continued on, Walt and I had agreed to have an early start no matter what. Much to our amazement, the following day would be quite the ride across the carretera Austral.

Day 8

Rio Tranquilo - Valle Baker; the never ending climb.

Friday, January 19

Section By Walt

Waking up early in a bed aiming for 100 kilometers on the day. Had to lay my head back down for an hour after feeling the affects of the pisco sours from the night before. Still hit the road around 9 with a bang knowing we had a climb right off the bat. At the top of the climb we layered down and saw two South American condors soaring bellow us from our high vantage point. The next couple hours of riding were pretty flat and once we got to Rio Lione we had a sandwich and were blessed with a strong tail wind. Right when the tail wind ended the mega hill started. 3 hours of granny gear climbing and we arrived in the small town of Bertrand. Absolutely exhausted we got ice cream and a coke and enjoyed them by the lake. This was a very neat town and everyone living there was a shining star amongst lesser stones. Hard to leave but we continued down Ruta 7 which was following the raging river Baker. Around this point Herbs knee was giving him problems so we were looking for a place to camp. We descended down to the Rio Baker and set up camp. Ended with 55 miles (a little short of our goal) and 4,985 vertical feet climbed. Ooff! Off to bed

Section By Herb

“I’ll most likely see you guys on your climb to Cochrane when I’m due for my first kayak tour in the marble caves. at noon” Yelled Gonzalo laughing as he sipped on beer at 11:30pm. Walt and I were absolutely gonna wake up at 6am to get on the bikes the next day. We were all having a grand all time and the idea of staying another day at Puerto Tranquilo, just to drink at Arisca really resonated with me; though this was not the case.

This small town in the middle of the Aysén Region was by far my favorite. It may have been that on a personal level it reminded me of my life style back home; the fact that everyone in it seemed to be making a living from the service industry. Behind the bar was Elliot, a geologist by degree who moved from Santiago and fell in love with the place, and has been bartending ever since. In the kitchen was Julian, a German cook who has been there for 5 years plus and has now become “a Chilean” in the words of some of the locals. Perhaps, what amazes you the most is how chill and mellow the place runs, even during busy hours, these guys carry a smile and calmness about them. “We get to work here with basically super low supervision and so we just feel great and love it here.” This perhaps the reason they were handling the buzz of it all so well. At some point Julian stepped out to ask me if I wanted my pizza to go in the oven, off to the side where it would just remain warm for the next hour or so, that way it wouldn’t get cold. Pretty awesome of him, being that his tickets in the kitchen seemed to be non-stop coming in.

The next day came by and with a well deserved hang over I proceeded to get my things ready on my bike. It was about 5:40am at this point. It honestly took my set up on my bike for ever to get ready in order to pedal, I think this due to the fact that a lot of the gear on my rear bike didn’t really jive well, requiring me to tie it w/ rope most of the time. Perhaps one of my revélate rear saddle bags may have come in handier on this trip. Oh well, live and learn I suppose.

With the coffee ready and things all packed up, Walt and I manage to get on the road by 9am or so. The first section of climb was good! For being hungover I felt great on my bike! Though we didn’t make it to Cochrane in one go like we wanted (114 km) we biked about 89km (55miles). My leg was not doing well at this point. I had developed what is called ITBS, a stress on the right Long muscle that stretches from your knee up to your hip. Manageable, however we find a sweet camping spot and enjoy dinner before the sunset.