Trip Report Two: Chilean Patagonia January 13 - 20, 2001 January 13 - We wake up early to take care of purchasing supplies and other errands before heading north towards Torres del Paine National Park. One of the errands is to take a picture of the brothel where we stayed. Approaching the brothel, I am worried that Patricia will spy us as I am snapping the photo. Sure enough, she is walking down the street as I take out my camera. We try ducking around the corner to no avail. She spies us and cries 'tu madre' this and 'tu madre' that. We leave Natales about mid-day and bike gravel roads in moderate winds. Our first stop en route to Torres del Paine is the Cave of the Milodon National Monument. A milodon is a giant ground sloth bigger than a bear that inhabited Patagonia as recently as 5000 years ago. A piece of milodon skin and some bones were found in this cave in Chile, but they rotted in the mail en route to the museum in Britain. All that can be seen now at the National Monument is a plaster replica of a milodon. Not too impressive. We continue northwards past the Cave of the Milodon along a road which is closed to general motorists (tourists heading to the Torres del Paine park must take a longer circuitous route that passes to the east). Our mountain biking route proceeds through private sheep and cattle estancias until the road becomes a rough four wheel drive track complete with stream crossings and steep gradients. About 25 km before the border of the park, we encounter a series of hills that require us to push our bicycles up the steep inclines (first time we haven't been able to ride). We push our bikes a total of about 3 km. Fortunately the scenery is unbelievable. The azure Lago de Toro is off to our right, the magnificent Cuernos de Paine are straight ahead, and there is not another vehicle or person in sight for the entire afternoon. As dusk descends, I almost crash into a cow. We camp at the edge of a little river with bloodthirsty mosquitoes. Total distance 71 km. picture: Incline near Cueva del Milodon January 14 - We cycle 15 km of 4-wheel drive track (complete with some unridable inclines) until we reach the abandoned bridge over the Rio Serrano. It is three planks wide so we carry our bicycles and gear across. On the other side we are officially within Torres del Paine National Park. Our immediate goal is the trailhead camp located at the foot of the hiking circuit a mere 50 km away. Though the scenery is magnificent, riding conditions are difficult. Headwinds and crosswinds, steep inclines and declines. In places we have to stop riding until gusts of wind pass us. Motorists and guanacos both stare at us with incredulity. The last 7 km up to the trailhead are nearly unbearable. Gusts of wind that exceed 80 km per hour force us to stop for a minute at a time. We even observe cars that slow to a halt when the wind picks up because visibility drops to nothing. We reach the protection of trees (and our camp) about a half hour before dusk. The odometer mileage reads low, but we are completely exhausted. Total distance 65 km. pictures: Cuernos del Paine with Lago Toro in foreground - Crossing Rio Serrano January 15 - The beginning of three rest days! The first day we hike up to the Torres del Paine lookout (12 km walk). Hans takes a great picture of me swimming in the glacial lake (complete with icebergs) below the incredible Torres del Paine towers. pictures: Torres del Paine Mirador - Torres del Paine swim January 16 - We do a 20 km walk along the popular W trail. Scenery is neat, but the whole time I wish that we are climbing rather than hiking. Next time I visit Patagonia. January 17 - We hike the spur trail up to the Cuernos del Paine lookout and back to our bicycles (28 km total). I look forward to getting on the bike again. Torres del Paine is a fantastic place for walking, but is really meant for climbing. Also, there are just too many hikers. This is good and bad. We meet lots of interesting friendly people (many invitations to homes), but I never feel as though we are really out in the wilderness. In fact, we see lots of South American backpackers with double backpacks - on both their fronts and backs. Some of them even carry plastic shopping bags in hand. I have no idea what these people feel the need to carry when they camp. When we return to our bicycles, I celebrate the end of the hike by changing my socks (my first sock change since I arrived in South America more than two weeks earlier). picture: Syncline and lake in Torres del Paine Park January 18 - An epic ride of exactly 100 miles. We leave Torres del Paine heading south and cross into Argentina at Cerro Castillo. Cerro Castillo is a dusty truck stop that sees perhaps 50 vehicles crossing the border each day. One of these vehicles stops at the cafe where we are lunching. The occupants enter the cafe and I recognize a woman who I know - she happened to be at the same mountain hut in New Zealand more than a year ago. Small world. After crossing the border, Hans and I enjoy a perfect tail wind for nearly 100 km. The tailwind is 30 to 40 km per hour and comes from behind the entire time. We bike until it is almost too dark to see because the wind is so enjoyable. Though the road is gravel, it is well graded and flat and we see only about two vehicles per hour. Both Hans and I each have our first flat tire. Hans's flat occurs at exactly 100 miles and about three hundred meters shy of a perfect camping spot beside the river Peluque. He walks the bike the last few meters. It is a convenient end to a perfect day of cycling. Total distance 161 km. picture: Hans biking at dusk January 19 - We wake up at 6:00 AM in anticipation of a nasty cross wind for the 116 km that remain to the town of El Calafate. In turns out that the wind is not so bad, but we are tired from the previous day's ride. Fortunately, much of the ride is on pavement. We climb gradually to about 700 meters and then descend 600 meters (a huge lateral moraine) towards the outlet of Lago Argentino, one of the largest lakes in South America. We branch west off of Route 40 and bike a 32 km spur road to El Calafate, which is possibly the most expensive town in Argentina. Internet here is 6 dollars per hour (hence this email is not proofread). One of the positive attributes of this town however is the eating possibilities. Hans and I find a 'tenedor libre', an all-you-can-eat establishment, for ten dollars. I manage to get my money's worth by eating 4 plates of meat (each plate has a sample of grilled beef, pork, chicken, and sausage), 3 plates of green salad, three plates of pasta, and 6 empanadas. I estimate that the total caloric intake for my meal is in excess of 5000 calories. I am still full the next morning! Total biking distance 116 km. January 20 - Our butts are sore as are our muscles. Since we accomplished three days of biking in two days, we decide to make today a rest day. We cheat and pay 25 dollars for the round trip bus ride to the Perito Moreno Glacier. It feels weird to sit on a bus with other tourists, but it also feels good to avoid an out-and-back 160 km trip over washboard roads. The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of the most impressive sites in South America as it is one of the outlets of the Southern Patagonia ice cap into Lago Argentina. The mouth of the glacier is a 40 meter high escarpment several kilometers wide with towers that collapse every couple of minutes. There are excellent vantage points where it is possible to view the spectacle. Unfortunately, they do not allow tourists down to the water edge because flying chunks of ice killed 32 tourists between 1968 and 1988. I regret that there will be no swimming picture. Tomorrow the real route 40 begins. There are no services for the next 450 km! Next internet is probably in 10 days to two weeks. pictures: Perito Moreno Glacier - Perito Moreno with tourists in foreground Adios. << Previous | Next >>