Adios South America

Nice day


Smoky day


Next week's workforce (left) and happy travellers (right)

The final week of our trip has been in Buenos Aires, spent sight-seeing and beginning the re-engagement process with the developed world. It's a bustling place with wide avenues, fashionable shops and lively locals. Unfortunately the views on most days were degraded by the smoke haze across the city caused by farmers burning wide areas of nearby countryside as part of their dispute with the government. But once the air (and our throats) cleared we had a good shop and rounded our time off with an OUP reunion with Blanca and Jon, who are themselves travelling around the continent in 2008. So sadly it is now 'Home Time' and we return to the UK with strong legs, great pictures and a multitude of memorable experiences. It has undoubtably been an awesome journey of great cultural and scenic variety, although maybe next time we'll go somewhere a little less hilly than the The Andes...

We look forward to seeing everyone soon.

The end of the world at last

Pto. Williams from Cerro Bandera

A chilly campsite

Seals and cormorants

Ushuaia from above

Autumn colours

Well, the 5-day trek didn't quite go as planned - for the first time in 8 months, the weather did not co-operate. We took a very small boat (6 passengers) across to Puerto Williams over an uncharacteristically calm Beagle Channel. A real highlight was a short detour past the Isla de los Lobos, a seal colony - it was so lovely to see them in their natural habitat, all lounging about in the sun and seemingly unconcerned by our presence.

We started the trek the same day and reached the first camping spot at dusk - so far so good, lovely clear skies and splendid isolation. But then we were woken in the small hours by the unmistakable sound of snowflakes brushing against the tent - a very wintry scene greeted us at breakfast! Given the remoteness of the trek, the challenging terrain and potential route-finding difficulties, we decided to go down instead of go on and thankfully there was an easier valley route back to the town.

We then ended up stranded in a B&B for 2 days waiting for the boat back to Ushuaia and spent our time huddled round the wood-burning stove, watching the incessant rain, sleet, hail and snow. There´s not a lot going on in Puerto Williams so it was quite a relief to get back to the relatively urban and civilised Ushuaia. And it´s still snowing so we´re just going to do a couple of day walks before flying to the capital on Monday. We are prepared for the culture shock and looking forward to an increase in temperature of about 20 degrees.

The end of the world (almost)

Greetings from the southernmost Argentine town, Ushuaia, where we arrived yesterday by plane from El Calafate. Since Torres del Paine, we have been relatively inactive by our standards. The bicycles have now been dismembered - the wheels and other bits boxed and sent as air cargo to Buenos Aires and the frames are still with us in home-made (beautifully-crafted by Clive) cardboard packages. However, we haven't been idling our time away completely. In Puerto Natales we met Clive's second cousin Anne and her family, who run a cafe in town - a big hello to the delightful Lucas and Mica and many thanks to you all for your hospitality. And I spent a day in a different kind of saddle - had a fantastic time galloping around on horseback in beautiful unspolit countryside but experienced some difficulty walking for a few days afterwards ...
We have nine more days in Ushuaia before flying to Buenos Aires and we're going to do a 5-day trek on the remote Isla Navarino, involving a short boat trip across the Beagle Channel and a final return to Chile (the 4th and surely the last time we cross the border).

Torres del Paine trek

In our new-found pedestrian world we thought we'd better start using our feet for more than just going to coffee shops, so left Puerto Natales for the Torres del Paine National Park. To see it all we did 'the circuit', an eight-day lap of the massif. First stop were the iconic towers themselves, typically wrapped in chilly cloud and very bleak. Then the main trek was a mix of sights, initially through lush woods with the characteristic backdrop of snowy mountains. The highest point at Day 4 was the Gardner Pass; only 1240m of altitude but right next to the Southern Icefield and the stupendous Grey Glacier. This monster is 5km wide and a whole lot longer, although thinned by recession, and a genuinely awesome panorama. Further along the way the glacier calves into a lake, producing charming icebergs of infinitely varied shapes and colours. Sadly not the most practical souvenirs. The whole trip was an dramatic mix of raw, glacial mountain scenery and we returned thoroughly wind-blasted and imprEssed. And after a week of oats, pasta and crackers that steak tasted real good. Next: Back to El Calafate for a flight 4 April to the end of the world (Ushuaia).

Panniers to rucksacks

Leaving El Chalten


A bit of a westerly ...


Camera-shy armadillo


Iceberg


Spegazzini glacier

Well, we are now back in Chile in Puerto Natales, having completely failed to update the blog in El Calafate due to continuing internet connection problems. However, we seem to be back in the 21st century and we have a lot to tell you ...

First of all, a confession. Technically speaking, you are no longer reading The Cycle Diaries because our cycling days on this continent are over. We had always planned to stop in Puerto Natales anyway but we decided to burn our cycling shorts in El Calafate instead, mainly because in order to get back to Buenos Aires, we need to take an internal flight from Argentina, not Chile, and we don´t have time to cycle all the way to Ushuaia (approx 700km from here). It`s also pretty bleak round here for cycling - 30km cycling into Calafate into a brutal headwind was quite enough for us! The best thing about cycling on the pampa is the bizarre array of wildlife - armadillos, massive birds of prey, and emu-type things, to name just a few.

Having recovered from the two-day El Chalten to El Calafate cycle, we went on a catamaran trip to see some glaciers. (We haven´t been to the world-famous Perito Moreno glacier yet but will probably do so on our return to El Calafate.) It was a truly memorable day out, too much to take in really - massive 5km wide glaciers cascading into the Lago Argentino and huge blue icebergs floating around. The scale of it all is just mind-boggling - there is so much out there and the only way in is by boat.

The further into Patagonia we get, the more amazing the scenery becomes. We are now planning our trip to the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine for some world-class trekking. The complete circuit takes a week so let´s hope our legs don`t seize up again ... watch this space. And then we´ll be flying from El Calafate to Ushuaia for some more outdoor adventures in Tierra de Fuego. The blog lives on, even though it´s two feet from now on, not two wheels.

(Clive adds - As trip statistician, I´ve crunched the numbers and they are as follows:

Totals: 114 days cycled; 7230km (along); 71,070m (up). Daily averages of 63km and 623m.

Maximums: 122km along (on the Arg. pampa); 1570m up (crossing Andes to Santiago), altitude 4700m (crossing Andes S. of Huaraz, Peru). About one-third of total milage was off the tarmac).

Mt. Fitz Roy trekking

Back in El Chalten after seeing the striking granite towers of the Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre ranges, which gave a great backdrop to our arrival. After six months and around 7000km on the bikes we were ready for a change of activity from pedal-twiddling, so we headed out for a four-day wander. The mountains are just east of the Southern Icefield, the largest ice-mass in the continent, which gives a certain chill to the air and often cloudy views. However the numerous glaciers coming off the icefield have not yet receeded to extinction and were generating plenty of little icebergs to hop onto. This was the first significant walking we had done for four months and the day after our thighs were aching plenty! Oh dear, what a pair of novices. There is something subtle but fundamentally different between the leg motions in cycling and walking, like the 'transition' in triathalon, but it's good training before a week in Torres del Paine. Next: The bleak Argentine pampa to El Calafate.

The end of the road

Here we are again after our longest break from a PC - apologies for the silence but we have been in the middle of nowhere and rather busy! This is just a quick entry for now (poor connection and hideously expensive) to let you know that we have completed the full 1,247 km of the Carretera Austral and crossed the border from Chile back into Argentina - a two-day epic involving two ferries, lots of bicycle pushing, and the invaluable assistance of horses.
We are now in El Chalten at the foot of the spectacular Fitz Roy massif in the Parque Nacional de los Glaciares and will spend a week or so here to give ourselves a break from the saddle and time to do some trekking. We´re still enjoying beautiful blue skies so you can expect some pretty cool photos in the next entry. Hasta pronto.

Carretera Austral: Puyuhuapi to Coihaique

You´ll be relieved like us that the heatwave has passed and we are back to typical southern Chilean conditions i.e. drizzle, as evident from the bike shop shown that we visited this afternoon (Oxford is never far away see...) The week down from Puyuhuapi had further grand, open scenery and continuing ripio dirt roads that are giving the bikes, and us, a good workout. Interestingly the rain en route was our first on the road for 54 days; like the UK at present? We called by the beautiful, and dramatic, huge hanging glacier Ventisquero Colgante, although Liz was ambushed by a little bug that tried to chew her thumb! We are now in the metropolis, by local standards, of Coihaique stocking up on Nutella and whisky before the southern, and more remote, leg of this road. And if you would like to read more bike blog banter, here is the link to one smarter and wittier than ours. It is by a UK trio doing a longer, reverse, version of our route with some "experiences" of note already (and with an uncannily similar title): http://www.cyclediaries.com/

As we will next be in remote lands for two weeks or so, the next post may not be until March.

Heatwave on the Carretera Austral

We are beginning to wonder whether we are in the right hemisphere - it seems to be getting hotter and hotter as we head further south, which is great for the views but makes the cycling a hot and dusty experience. Frequent immersion in glacial streams seems the most effective way of cooling down! As expected, the road is tough going with a very variable surface, a couple of ferries across the fjords, and some steep climbs (meaning we can only average about 9km per hour) but the scenery more than makes up for the hard work - stunning lakes, rivers, glaciers and waterfalls with absolutely nothing and nobody on the long stretches between villages on the way. We are currently in Puyuhuapi, a village of 500 inhabitants founded by German settlers, with limited resources but more good cakes. And we´re slowly but surely making our way towards Coihayque, the only town of any size on the whole route, plus we have a day-trip cruise booked to visit the Laguna San Rafael glacier on the way.
Those of you who have read Bill`s comment on the previous entry, see the last photo above as proof that the whole trip isn´t a hoax and we aren´t blogging from Oxfordshire ...!

The road to Puerto Montt

So another splendidly scenic week in the Lakes and we've had a proper little mini-break (with the current stats at: 86 days cycled, 5707km along and 57,640m up) . All the photos look very blue again I'm afraid: sunny skies, lakes, new T-shirts..! (Cloud and rain to come I promise). We crossed back to Chile and then came south past the elegant snowy cone of Osorno volcano. It was mainly dirt roads and you can also see a swarm of horseflies chasing Liz uphill that kept us busily swatting en route. The area has a marked Germanic influence visible in the architecture, names and (happily) the availability of wurst and kaffe und kuchen. We are now in Puerto Montt, which is another milestone as from here we leave populated lands and start on the 1240km of the Carretera Austral (southern highway). This is a remote dirt road through the fjordland of southern Chile. Lots of raw nature, isolation and scenic drama to follow...

The Lake District

Greetings from Patagonia, long-awaited destination of my outdoor dreams! We arrived in Villarica just over a week ago after a ten-hour, 700km bus journey from Santiago, our longest and probably last bus of the whole trip. And since then, we have been in cycle touring heaven with bright sunny skies almost every day, impossibly blue lakes, snow-capped volcanoes, waterfalls, and beautifully lush woods - somewhere between Norway and the Rockies, we think. To maximise on the views and avoid the Panamerican Highway (and not because we have turned into proper hard-core cyclists, honest) we decided to cross the Andes again back into Argentina, where we are now. Then tomorrow it will be back to Chile for what is supposed to be another absurdly scenic stretch of lakes.
It´s peak holiday season here at the moment (full of wealthier Argentinians from Buenos Aires) so prices are quite high and the towns are busy but it´s easy to get away from the crowds and we´ve stayed on some idyllic campsites. Camping isn´t that cheap either (more than a decent Peruvian hotel) but wine is still very affordable so all is well.
Puerto Montt is four days away and there begins the legendary Carretera Austral. And that will most probably be the end of all this warm sunshine, you will be glad to hear.

Crossing the Andes (again)

We've taken the bus to Mendoza and it was a blessing as the road was a bleak, wind-blasted horror. However after several restoring glasses of wine, we decided to cycle over the mountain pass from Argentina to Chile. The crossing took two days up and two down, with fine views on the way (but the ski slopes were a bit short of snow...) The biggest mountain in the continent - Aconcagua at 6960m - was just off the road, although another 4km up in the air so we didn't walk up it. Downhill into Chile was splendid bendy tarmac (another classic motorcycling road, ah...) and then into the capital Santiago. After 1750km in four weeks we needed a breather and enjoyed a nice social with Amanda, a friend of Liz's, ending in a Germanic bar in town. Interestingly that was the first day we had spoken to another British person at all since starting out. We've cycled over four months now and our riding kit's worn out, so we have been shopping for new clothes. The trip has also been a test for our gear, with some brands falling short: Brooks saddle (bust tensioning bolt), Leatherman Blast (broken catch) and Shimano pedal (grinding bearing). Thankfully the bikes (Thorn Raven Tours) have been admirably reliable. Off to Temuco and (the southern hemisphere's) Lake District tomorrow. (NB: Settings have been re-re-revised to allow comments by all. I hope...)