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A polar plunge and cape Horn
On our last day in the Peninsula region we headed into the volcanic crater of Deception Island. We finally had a day of bad weather. The expedition leader said finally a day of the “usual Antarctic weather”. It was so bad though we could not make the morning landing in Telefon Bay. Later we headed to Whalers Bay for a hike to Neptune’s window and then a Polar Plunge.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2829/1...d0f12de1_c.jpg deception island 2 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7344/1...c26ed90c_c.jpg DSC01574 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5498/1...a29ddb75_c.jpg deception island 5 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr Headed thru the very narrow Neptune’s Bellows. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3670/1...a46103a3_c.jpg deception island 7 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3729/1...ee1ffaf6_c.jpg deception island 8 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr A snowy hike to the Neptune’s Window. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5532/1...3741cbcf_c.jpg deception island 17 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5495/1...f7abc12c_c.jpg deception island 14 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3697/1...92215ac2_c.jpg deception island 18 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7336/1...f52ec9d6_c.jpg deception island 29 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3813/1...01e96cca_c.jpg deception island 28 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3682/1...e9680886_c.jpg deception island 26 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5515/1...01ef6325_c.jpg deception island 27 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr Now for the plunge with some fur seals. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3823/1...80f79f8e_c.jpg deception island 37 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7421/1...9081b827_c.jpg deception island 50 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7335/1...9d9f3941_c.jpg deception island 53 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr We had the “best Drake crossing in 25 years” and so with some spare time the captain took us to Cape Horn. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7358/1...1239bf56_c.jpg DSC01650 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3706/1...e21a59b4_c.jpg DSC01651 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7303/1...5f565de4_c.jpg DSC01642 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3758/1...ba992979_c.jpg Cape Horn by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2857/1...8512d891_c.jpg DSC06897 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr We had Dolphins leading us back up the Beagle channel. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3701/1...ef90eedb_c.jpg DSC06958 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3763/1...7ab9c6d1_c.jpg DSC06965 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr |
Spectacular doesn't even begin to cover it. Wow!
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Hey
Quote:
What is ever more crazy is that it looks ten times better in real life than the photos. Truly epic. Sp |
To Porvenir
Well what an epic trip so far! Now north again to the Carretera Austral! But first lets get out of Ushuaia! Today we headed back 215 km to Rio Grande for the night.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3796/1...82c1ff1c_z.jpg Screen Shot 2014-02-14 at 12.48.47 AM by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3799/1...ae276a37_c.jpg FILE3769 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3735/1...078f01b5_c.jpg FILE3777 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2856/1...3569e4a6_c.jpg FILE3827 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr The next day we went the very windy 80 km to the border at San Sebastian. Here we gassed up on the cheap Argentine gas and met up with Dave (Prairies to Penguins). http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3803/1...ca3b6e7a_z.jpg Screen Shot 2014-02-14 at 12.50.37 AM by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7420/1...ea203e16_c.jpg DSC01672 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr We headed over the first 14 km of dirt to the Chile border. No one maintains this section so it is full of Potholes. Dave said “ I don’t remember it being that rough.” We were lucky this time at both crossings as we were the only people there. When we were just about to leave Dan noticed Dave had a completely flat rear tire. Since we had just 140 km to go to Porvenir we stayed to help him. The funny or not so funny part was after 45 minutes of trying to set the bead on the Heidenau the woman watching us from the food truck says she has a compressor. We had already asked the border guys who denied there was any air available here!!! http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3721/1...9d350b40_c.jpg DSC01673 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2816/1...7b024070_c.jpg DSC01675 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5510/1...41109aa6_c.jpg DSC01680 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3691/1...e3c7a916_c.jpg DSC01682 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3746/1...dd9f2e15_c.jpg DSC01686 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr We were entertained by the fruit sniffer dogs for sure. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7402/1...346ec360_c.jpg DSC01678 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr Now off road to the ferry dock at Porvenir. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3757/1...cd5fac17_z.jpg FILE3897 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5501/1...e0bf8835_c.jpg FILE3959 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr This is a wind swept little town. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3775/1...aa950ae3_c.jpg DSC01689 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7415/1...c536a7ed_c.jpg DSC01692 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7294/1...cc14ee90_c.jpg DSC01691 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr |
To Punta Arenas
In the morning we headed to the dock at 1130 for the 2 pm sailing and were of course first in line, except for those with reservations. “You can make reservations!!??” We all said since this is not listed anywhere online.
https://ycpi-farm4.staticflickr.com/...64b55028_m.jpg Screen Shot 2014-02-14 at 12.52.30 AM by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3723/1...759d6b41_c.jpg DSC01696 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5508/1...aeec112c_c.jpg DSC01699 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr In the end there were 12 bikes… Us, Orvar from Sweden, Trevor from Calgary, Tony from Spain, Bart and Renata from Holland, Eran from Isreal, Faizel, Madie, and Zamri from Malaysia, and Argentinean couple. http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2875/1...07506110_c.jpg FILE3986 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3680/1...b3db5d10_c.jpg DSC01700 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3832/1...d52f047c_c.jpg DSC01711 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr The 90 min crossing took over 3 hours with salt spray and waves crashing over the bikes and us at times. https://v4s.yimg.com/so/7380/1252073...39b626fb_c.jpg DSC01713 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5496/1...e71e0439_c.jpg DSC01714 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr https://v4s.yimg.com/so/7302/1252070...d52ea0ed_c.jpg DSC01717 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr Arriving in Punta Arenas we headed first to the shop of Alejandro, who is a great mechanic at Alelago Workshop! We needed oil changes and he did a one over and adjusted and fixed several things on both bikes. Thanks so much! I don’t think our bikes have been this clean since new. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7316/1...9ffdb02d_c.jpg DSC01747 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2807/1...f34d885b_c.jpg DSC01749 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3672/1...ed9cc859_c.jpg DSC01752 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5504/1...4fa0a9d8_c.jpg DSC01751 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3833/1...7268c791_c.jpg DSC01750 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7299/1...d7afaecb_c.jpg DSC01768 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr There is a very impressive cemetery here and a nice waterfront as well. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7424/1...6172808a_c.jpg DSC01718 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3688/1...8cd24dd3_c.jpg DSC01722 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3818/1...934fedb7_c.jpg DSC01726 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3721/1...edd1009c_c.jpg DSC01729 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5547/1...2ca21cf3_c.jpg DSC01719 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3769/1...e5f317c5_c.jpg DSC01745 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3778/1...b7901a09_c.jpg DSC01743 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7414/1...bef3eb79_c.jpg DSC01753 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3784/1...8314038d_c.jpg DSC01763 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr |
To Puerto Natales
Now an easy ride 247 km to Puerto Nateles.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3794/1...5bc898b580.jpg Screen Shot 2014-02-14 at 1.04.20 AM by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr We ran in to the Malaysian team again on the road. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7340/1...aabe6c98_c.jpg puerto natales 1 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3715/1...389a6572_c.jpg puerto natales 4 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr It’s a small town so we eventually met up with 10 of the 12 riders from the ferry ride for a Parilla dinner. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7413/1...3ae7bcca_c.jpg puerto natales 7 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3827/1...835d7940_c.jpg puerto natales 6 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7456/1...424f3b7e_c.jpg puerto natales 9 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3755/1...ebcb9f21_c.jpg puerto natales 10 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr We did a bit of riding around town. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3802/1...796f480d_c.jpg puerto natales 20 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7347/1...e832ec5c_c.jpg puerto natales 12 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3758/1...85871b6b_c.jpg puerto natales 16 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3792/1...8ab378c0_c.jpg puerto natales 15 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr https://v4s.yimg.com/sk/3808/1256470...115288a9_c.jpg puerto natales 19 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2826/1...cf028a66_c.jpg puerto natales 23 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr |
Torres del Paines
The big attraction here is the Torres del Paines National Park, where people come from all over the world to hike the 5 -day “W” route. Initially “we” entertained similar loft plans, but luckily I reminded Daniel, “we really don’t like backpacking trips remember”. That said we opted for the 1- day hike to the towers. This is 9 km each way. Somehow we convinced Orvar and Trevor that this was a great plan.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7449/1...3f56f64933.jpg Screen Shot 2014-02-16 at 4.15.17 PM by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr So we all got up early to drive the 150 km to the Park gate, with the last 90 km ripio. Driving along we had the view of the mountain range and the towers that were our target for the day. http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2882/1...5c8aa5c6_c.jpg torres del pines 1 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr https://ycpi-farm4.staticflickr.com/...7101a00a_c.jpg torres del pines 3 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr The entrance fee is a steep 18 CP or about 40$. We set off with water and a lunch to walk the 4 hours up to the towers in 3 ½. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7355/1...d0bec491_c.jpg torres del pines 43 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3761/...828541d6_c.jpg torres del pines 4 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7454/1...f6fac5e8_c.jpg torres del pines 6 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5527/1...1e104f45_c.jpg torres del pines 9 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr The middle section is less steep as we walked up the French Valley headed by the spires of Cerro Cota and Cerro Cathedral. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5527/1...04174661_c.jpg torres del pines 7 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3705/1...e9656112_c.jpg torres del pines 8 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2851/1...25da2142_c.jpg torres del pines 13 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7304/1...fc71bc38_c.jpg torres del pines 12 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr The last 45 minutes is switchbacks and then scrambling over boulders. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7348/1...587e6d7c_c.jpg torres del pines 17 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3764/1...da5489de_c.jpg torres del pines 18 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr The view of the spires for our picnic was amazing. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5512/1...335bb984_c.jpg torres del pines 22 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3749/1...fb4789fe_c.jpg torres del pines 23 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3813/1...ecf43bf9_c.jpg torres del pines 25 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3756/1...3173b475_c.jpg torres del pines 31 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2828/1...941643f5_c.jpg torres del pines 40 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr Laying on a hot flat rock we all had a 45- minute nap to recover for the 3 hours walk down. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3675/1...f3316df7_c.jpg torres del pines 38 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3725/1...1e9c5226_c.jpg torres del pines 42 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr |
Torres del Paines
The back road thru the park is all ripio for 110 km back to Natales, but the views are stunning along Lakes Nordenskjöd, Pehoe, del Toro, and Sarmiento. (red on the map)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7409/1...8ab0c49b_c.jpg Screen Shot 2014-02-16 at 4.11.46 PM by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3733/1...d5c13067_c.jpg torres del pines 44 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7297/1...ec00fbd8_c.jpg torres del pines 48 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2894/1...3a222406_c.jpg torres del pines 52 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2872/1...2512db33_c.jpg torres del pines 53 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr The lakes are all a vivid turquoise color because of rock flour or glacial flour, which consists of fine silt sized grains of rock generated by glacial erosion that are suspended in the water and make it look cloudy. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5504/1...15b32616_c.jpg torres del pines 55 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5498/1...5306ce19_c.jpg torres del pines 56 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3788/1...78543663_c.jpg torres del pines 61 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2828/1...e5159af1_c.jpg torres del pines 62 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5511/1...5586247b_c.jpg torres del pines 64 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr The last section of the road at this end of the park is closed 10 am to 930 pm for construction. ( yellow road from where the red and green roads meet on the map) Luckily they opened the road just as we arrived at 745 for a very dusty ride back to Natales on the south side of Lago del Toro. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7303/1...740dd5bd_z.jpg Screen Shot 2014-02-16 at 4.11.08 PM by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr |
Wow, I know what I'm doing for 5 days when I get down there...
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Hike
Quote:
If you love hiking you can enjoy the whole circuit for ten then! :taz: Sp |
To Baja Caracoles on the Ruta 40
We had to have an extra days rest in Natales after our big hike and the other guys had a day to see the glacier at Perito Moreno, which we had already seen and so we were a day behind them. Time to catch up. We had a 280 km drive to El Calafate, with a bypass on the Ruta 40 between the 5 and the 7, which is a 115 km gravel road.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5509/1...10954c9a48.jpg Screen Shot 2014-02-22 at 7.45.58 PM by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2877/1...939b7cdc29.jpg Screen Shot 2014-02-22 at 7.46.58 PM by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr We headed out of town towards the border crossing at Rio Turbio. This was an easy 2. We handed our import papers to the agent and he just said thanks. We were done so fast we said “is there not anything else?” He laughed and jokingly said no “ get out!” Then there is a 3 km drive to the next control. Here we had a 10 minute entry to Argentina. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3672/1...5216ac13_c.jpg to calafate 1 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr We stopped for cheap gas in town of Rio Turbo and then headed to the turn off to the Ruta 40 (where the gravel started) to add our sticker to the collection. It was nice to arrive to find a room booked for us and a great restaurant picked out by Trevor ad Orvar. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3749/1...788f71da_c.jpg to calafate 5 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3783/1...6ee9ef5d_c.jpg to calafate 2 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2853/1...423d7b69_c.jpg to calafate 3 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2887/1...7b6e326d_c.jpg IMG_2510 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr We headed out of Calafate in very heavy winds on the pavement to Tres Lagos in 163 km. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7354/1...3e4c8bf970.jpg Screen Shot 2014-02-22 at 7.53.26 PM by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7433/1...db50a19d_c.jpg to baja caracoles 1 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2809/1...bbbe5662_c.jpg to baja caracoles 2 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr The worst part of the day actually was the desvio or detour into the town with high winds and very deep gravel. The gas station is past the town so there was no need to do the detour!!! http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3733/1...eecdbc8f_c.jpg to baja caracoles 3 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr All we had heard from people in the last week or so is how horrible the road is north of Tres Lagos. Heading up the Ruta 40 with some trepidation the first 20 km were shit with deeper gravel, but it was pretty good for the most part after that. All the nay sayers failed to mention the paved sections in the south part and that the last 180 is paved. We managed to sneak onto a few of the blocked off paved sections. http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2827/1...7e75f460_c.jpg to baja caracoles 5 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3774/1...0844ba52_c.jpg to baja caracoles 7 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2843/1...f34d6305_c.jpg to baja caracoles 12 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr Trevor did have a miracle today. A huge gust of wing hit him and pushed him into the deep gravel. He ended up in the ditch, but with the gas on when BOTH of the wheels came off the ground and he did a 180 and landed it facing backwards down the road looking at Dan! Wow we had some wind on the gravel today. We did stop to hear the tale on a sheltered corner. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7313/1...3203a21b_c.jpg to baja caracoles 11 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr We stopped at 430 in Gobenor Gregores pretty tired from the wind and dreading the last stretch and considering staying for the night. We met this couple from Denmark and Colombia who were riding to Ushuaia on this heavily loaded 250. We were happy to hear from them that there was pavement for the last 180 km to the “town” of Baja Caracoles, where there was gas and actually not a bad hotel. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7419/1...797c9f00_c.jpg to baja caracoles 20 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7414/1...42188eb0_c.jpg to baja caracoles 13 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7295/1...65b21c6c_c.jpg to baja caracoles 21 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3773/1...ed1d1951_c.jpg to baja caracoles 25 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr |
The Ruta 41 to Paso Roballos
We had been advised by Roberto and Matteo to go to Chile on the Ruta 41 as it was more scenic than the routes farther north, but that the road is a challenge. Luckily we had a great day for it, since we were advised not to go if it had been raining.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2807/1...0fd5a9e7_z.jpg Screen Shot 2014-02-22 at 7.56.41 PM by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7328/1...34aa4082_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 2 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr The first 10 km were crappy deepish gravel, but after that it got better. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3723/1...6fed4362_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 4 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr We stopped on the road waiting for the other two. It turns out Trevor had his brake lever come loose, but luckily none of the parts were lost. While Orvar was waiting to help him his bike was blown over and he had to unload. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3666/1...84ce620a_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 5 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7397/1...69706f2a_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 7 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr Just then I said I hope this “ great scenery” starts soon. Well just 1 km further it was spectacular. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7383/1...84c3fe0b_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 14 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5512/1...87f744f6_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 11 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3757/1...9ef6054e_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 16 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr There were some easy parts and some challenging bits for all of us on the 91 km to the border and some annoying washboard too. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3718/1...546a05c0_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 28 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3728/1...6021cc06_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 29 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7407/1...dcc5c0af_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 32 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3804/1...84bb694d_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 40 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr We had some nice views on our way to Paso Roballos. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5476/1...fbfcabd7_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 42 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7382/1...7a30536d_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 43 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7298/1...9a76fd78_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 18 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2810/1...10fb839c_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 21 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7447/1...b4625634_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 26 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7410/1...d0be8bc8_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 27 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7399/1...205c9581_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 33 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr The panorama just before the Argentina border was stunning. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7329/1...20dfb77d_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 35 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7395/1...6bfe9794_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 38 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr Driving up to the border there was a locked gate, a security guard, and a border official. It was an easy process and since there were no computers he entered everything by hand in big ledgers. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3668/1...596f7a9c_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 47 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7400/1...a6f73d8d_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 48 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3791/1...7f20f3d6_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 49 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3670/1...85c1e176_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 50 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr |
To Chile and the Caraterra Austral
Now just a short 10 km to the Chile crossing.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3683/1...578db21c_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 51 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3688/1...abed6769_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 52 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr This was a more substantial operation, but again everything was done old style by hand here and using carbon copies. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7381/1...0d9d7b1c_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 53 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3825/1...508dba38_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 54 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3741/1...80cc088a_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 55 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3747/1...042c1114_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 56 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7352/1...c5e425f2_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 58 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr Then there was another sometimes-challenging 70 km on the 41 to meet the ruta 7. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7289/1...1a01caf7_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 59 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr We drove along the river and had a few water crossings. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3732/1...cbfaf952_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 61 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7313/1...24353afc_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 64 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr Dan for some fun headed off into a field to chase some Vicuna/Guanaco. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3809/1...d21107e4_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 66 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr The 7 is a good gravel road along several lakes here to the village of Puerto Tranquillo for a total of 253 km off off road. We were super happy to find a cabin with a kitchen and 2 bedrooms for 20$ each, since we were all just too bagged to “camp”. A hotel room here in this tiny place is 95$ and the camping is a tent on a weed patch. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7316/1...ce18b79f_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 67 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2864/1...f46594bd_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 69 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7328/1...759b0b92_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 70 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3747/1...608e3a13_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 72 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3732/1...348ddbde_c.jpg to puerto tranquillo 75 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr |
To Coyhaique
Getting up the next day we were headed to Coyhaique in 234 km of which 146 was pretty good gravel.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3752/1...1c1673bed8.jpg Screen Shot 2014-02-22 at 7.57.35 PM by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7421/1...3f232c96_c.jpg to coyhaique 2 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5528/1...3e2a3959_c.jpg to coyhaique 3 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr Just out of town were stopped as they had cut down a huge tree, which had then fallen on the road so the guys pitched in to speed up the process of clearing the road. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5509/1...6afbccf1_c.jpg to coyhaique 5 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7398/1...fac7e2f1_c.jpg to coyhaique 7 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3799/1...1d3b844e_c.jpg to coyhaique 12 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr The views were panoramic. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7405/1...58b90cbe_c.jpg to coyhaique 9 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7348/1...846ea14e_c.jpg to coyhaique 14 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3766/1...2603d4cf_c.jpg to coyhaique 18 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3774/1...b2fe4906_c.jpg to coyhaique 19 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3790/1...4a434c01_c.jpg to coyhaique 20 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3811/1...3ba8a492_c.jpg to coyhaique 21 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7374/1...013db375_c.jpg to coyhaique 23 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr Coming down the mountain on the switch back gravel we finally met the pavement and stopped for lunch in a food bus in Villa Cerro Castillo. http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2806/1...19eacace_c.jpg to coyhaique 16 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7317/1...ea29d60a_c.jpg to coyhaique 34 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3788/1...b6b08722_c.jpg to coyhaique 40 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3757/1...dde66d4b_c.jpg to coyhaique 39 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5514/1...7dd48972_c.jpg to coyhaique 38 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr There were some crazy curves near the end of the day. This is a bit of a crappy town, but we found a great place for dinner at Momma Gaucha. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7344/1...37d9be18_c.jpg to coyhaique 41 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7350/1...4521fb8f_c.jpg to coyhaique 44 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3805/1...d4f32909_c.jpg to coyhaique 45 by Worldwide Ride.ca, on Flickr |
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