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The Gathering Of The Kiwis No 4 & Puerto Montt
Day 4
We had mapped out our planned route through the national park, tanking up and on the road we discovered our road did not even exist despite being shown on maps and GPS.:huh A KTM 950 ADV and F8 had passed us earlier when we were packing down camp, while trundling down the road we came across the 950 with no front wheel, forks down on the dirt and the bike sitting on the center stand with two ladies sitting beside it, we turned around and went back to see if they needed help but they had it sorted, seems all the air had gone to the top and the lads had removed the front wheel and taken it to get fixed.:clap Making our way to Villarrica the traffic thickened and got worse slowing down to first gear in places, turning left we thought we would get away from that but there was and air show on as well as some silly slow buggas doodling along like grandmas and no way to pass for quite some time. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8598/...15d945c2_b.jpgP1230178 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Non of us were expecting this so it put a dent in the time but no biggy, arriving at Licon Ray amidst the madness we decided to carry on south to Coñape for a bite to eat. Then the ripio started again but this time laden with cars kicking up dust and just putting along, finally down to Panguipulli we stopped at a small cafe for a coffee….he only had Nescafe so we opted for fresh juice instead.:clap Having wifi we checked to see if Princess Diana had emailed t meet for lunch us but nothing, Clint and Rosie had heard from their friend in Temuco and wanted to meet up with him, Rosie also needed some teflon spray for her luggage zips that were not playing ball. At this point they decided to head north to meet their friend and get the fixits done, we opted to head south into the mountains again. We stopped at a cool we camp ground and met some nice people too, Alexandro rides the Africa twin in the background :clap https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7315/...8864cfc2_b.jpgP1230183 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr The next day to Puerto Montt was dreary and cold ... then very wet around the lakes, jump under the hose then stand in the fridge ...that is what it felt like :eek1 https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8653/...0fce106b_b.jpgP1230186 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr We did have about half an hour of sun but the suns rays proving to heavy for our spotlight bracket that decided to do its own thing and snapped off :huh https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7374/...a573073c_b.jpgP1230192 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Plan A is to catch up again in Puerto Montt with Clint and Rosie then hit the Carretera Austral together if we time it right, we will have our new rubber on and take all that weight off the top ….awesome!!! :clap |
Carreterra Austral Day 1
Puerto Montt waterfront
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7386/...ec87bf10_b.jpgIMG_6041 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Leaving Puerto Montt was dreary and cold, not to mention wet, with new stilettos on Maya covered in fitting lube and silicone I couldn’t wait to feed them a bit of gravel to knock the slippery shiny edge off them.:clap Our road that helped https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7458/...a85ab9fe_b.jpgP1230224 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Taking the back way, beautiful, no traffic, not toll, little tar on the V 55 then out to the lake around the mountain and onto the V 69 to Cochamo for the night, was like riding in Fiordland in New Zealand. https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7293/...08048406_b.jpgP1230222 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr The weather was shite and cold, we had one more day of this then a settled forecast should see us on the road with (hopefully epic views). We chose to to wait it out or we would not see anything so no point in hitting it with nothing to see. An uneventful but beautiful ride to Cochamo setting us up for the main course of the Carreterra Austral. Some Flor de Caña to help pass the time by in an awful place :evil My "look what I have dumb and dumber look" :rofl https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7306/...ee5833c1_b.jpgP1230243 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Argh the almost view https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7320/...ff359abb_b.jpgP1230242 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Tomorrow, Hornopiren :clap |
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looks like you made a quality life-long friend there mate...bier |
Enjoy the Carratera, our favourite road of our whole trip......
You guys left before we did so I have been watching the blog, we did our year, missed you in Guatemala I think and have been home for a year now working and still your travelling, jealous..... Thanks for the updates, makes work bearable Gino & Fiona |
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Yeap Flore de cańa a great choice. When we leave Santiago I will stock up with 7 year, allowed 3 liters each so will make the most of it, can't get it in NZ. Cheers Andi |
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We concur about the Carretera Austral it was stunning, some updates and reports coming through today, just uploading everything as we speak but the wifi here is kinda slow. We started with 1 year in mind, then decided it would be too tight, we decided to make it 1 and half years. At 1 and half years we only just made it too the equator so logic then said three years ..... that worked :clap::clap: I know what you mean when sitting at the desk watching others travels and we are grateful and lucky to have the time to do it, back to work from May 16th on. :( More updates today so hopefully restore the day for you :clap: Cheers Andi |
Carreterra Austral Day 2 Cochamo To Hornopiren
As we had a big day ahead of us needing to do 124 km we were up in time to make sure the birds had not already gone to bed :rofl … yeah slightly relaxing.
After a mischievous start :evil …. moving right along, we finally left about 11.30 am after scoffing tonnes of berries for breaky from the blackberry bushes. :clap Only five minutes out of town we came to a halt with a semi trailer tanker spread across the road, in Bolivia this would have been an everyday protest however here it was a mechanical failure of a clutch judging by the awful smells coming out. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8650/...50ff8bec_b.jpgP1230251 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr He had all but made it around the corner nearing to top of the steeper part, there were wheel tracks everywhere with scuffing and sliding so you can guess there was some tender moments before it all came to a halt around a corner while going backwards, I think nappies would have been handy for the driver!!!. https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7460/...15c76393_b.jpgP1230249 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Establishing there was no way around for cars we had just enough room for Maya and with some assistance from the Police pushing we got around and carried on our merry way. There was a combo of clear then rain, fog then clear and mum natures mind swinging back and forth like a pendulum as to whether to rain or shine, the upshot of the previous days rain giving us a welcomed dust free road. https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7432/...1ea5d378_b.jpgP1230285 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Cyclists galore proved to be the biggy of the day and made cornering interesting having to keep an eye out for them as well as avoiding the spending locals who thunder around the blind corners like the Peruvian taxi drivers on BOTH sides of the road, many toots and waves to the cyclists as we made our way south to Hornopiren. https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7452/...f26f853a_b.jpgP1230286 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7313/...b3e08350_b.jpgP1230275 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Arriving at the port we needed to get tickets for the ferry, I went to town to find accom while Ellen sorted the tickets. We had been given a card for a local hostal so I went to check it out, got the price and it was a little steep (10000 each) for what it was but the weather was looking more dodgy so I said we would be back, heading out to Maya a boy of 8 - 9 years old on a BMX bike said you wonna hostal? Me, yeah where Boy, three blocks Me, ok, how much Boy 7000 each Me, ok Boy follow me. I followed him down and around and arrive at an equally dodgy place but the lady was nice and the place was cheaper and the industrious young fella deserved something for his work so we said we would stay. Our day then took an interesting turn we I arrived back at the ferry after doing dodgy deals down back alleys.:rofl Juan (Colombian) and Alice (English) are travelling two up on a 250 Vespa, talk about style and grace, we hit it off well with these guys, they were going camping and we thought about it, taking them to the camp sight via GPS cords it was a nice spot but mum nature was giving all the signs of not playing ball weather wise and besides I had already agreed with my dodgy deals to stay in town. https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7316/...89ac5e0b_b.jpgP1230290 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7295/...9e826db4_b.jpgP1230296 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Big smiles from two groovy people https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7306/...078e519d_b.jpgP1230297 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr That night the weather caved in with quite a bit of rain so I felt great with my decision, also with a great surprise our hostel actually had wifi, proper hot water, undercover secure parking and a monster wood burner warming the place up.:clap All in all a great day out and meeting Juan and Alice a highlite for us. |
Carreterra Austral Day 3 Hornpiren To Chaiten And The Bridge
Meeting up with Juan and Alice at 9.00am as we were to do (as told by the ferry guys) we all managed to get tickets on the spot, motos always no problem, just cars that have to book in advance.
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8572/...86a7f020_b.jpgIMG_6077 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8591/...81b63220_b.jpgIMG_6078 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Loaded and leaving at 10.00am we enjoyed our 3.5 hour ferry ride to the next port, a small 11.00 km ride to the next shorter ferry ride of 45 minutes then onto the main ride down to Chaiten to stock up on fud then onto our campsite under a bridge. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8619/...2f8eb623_b.jpgIMG_6084 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8674/...0093c132_b.jpgGOPR3058 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8648/...c4e12df1_b.jpgIMG_6098 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr The ruffians :evil https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8562/...6815fdfc_b.jpgIMG_6111 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Loading onto the next Ferry https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8585/...f1f1ebc6_b.jpgGOPR3089 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Our bike, the 250 Advespa and two BMW's https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8643/...d7dbea25_b.jpgIMG_6126 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Disembarking https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8587/...2a37c661_b.jpgP1230312 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr At the end of the ferry crossing we set up for the ride https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8643/...f40bcbea_b.jpgP1230317 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr The Carretera Austral providing beautiful backdrops as we made our way south, we rode with the others just cruising and checking the place out, most excellent….slightly unusual combo of a 250 AdVespa and 950 SE but it worked. Check out the size of these plants,Alice is about 6 ft tall :eek1 https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8563/...3fa43bbd_b.jpgP1230325 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Riding past Volcan Chaiten it was steaming and venting clouds, a very cool sight to see. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8678/...e4985176_b.jpgIMG_6137 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Lots of damage done from previous eruptions https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8595/...82bac86d_b.jpgP1230351 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Stocking up in Chaiten was moto central, I could not believe how many motos were sifting around, everything from a 125 yammy roady up to a 1200 GSA massively loaded with one dude on it…..hmmmm.:huh Making our way to camp it turned out to be the big bridge I wanted photos with, the site is on ioverlander which unfortunately I think will be the death of the site with rubbish and human waste from inconsiderate travellers who believe no-one else can see their colier and half a roll of toilet paper :huh. A chilean in a car had his car parked right smack bang in the middle of two good tent camping sites, Juan asked him nicely if we could have one of them….no. We left then returned, Alice went over and asked and explained that they were parked on top of good tent sites, the wife was not happy but the husband agreed to shift their car a bit so everyone could share, in a show of thanks and good faith I went over and gave them some butterscotch lollies which the well fed wife seemed to like .…smooth waters again.:wink: https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8658/...904d0223_b.jpgIMG_6153 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8671/...4637c579_b.jpgIMG_6162 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Although in was New York central as far as campers go with motorhome, cyclists, cars and motos we still had a great night talking travel, motos and general shit about life over a rum or two. The starry night providing some great viewing from our home for the night. :clap:clap |
Carreterra Austral Day 4 Our Bridge to Puyuhuapi
What we had to wake up too
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8648/...468eede9_b.jpgIMG_6149 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr The sun sneaking through and starting to grace the landscape https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8679/...e26b83f2_b.jpgIMG_6158 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8617/...349697af_b.jpgIMG_6165 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Due to road works further down they were closing the road from 1 - 5 pm daily so they could blast rock etc, we only had 150 km to do but most of it on gravel, the last part very boney rock base with 40 - 80 mm roundish rocks. This meant a not so lazy start and on the road by about 9.30 am. Just as we went to move out so did the dickhead in a large motorhome who was an arrogant wanker the day before and no better today. He jumped in front of us with his motorhome then proceeded to bottom it out through the entry then stop in the middle of the single lane exit and entry to check if he had damaged anything ….WTF…. we waited for a bit only to find he had got our and was looking at his motorhome and happy to hold up everyone else in the process, I spotted enough of some room to scoot along side, brush the bushes then out, the guy was a prize dick all round. F i n a l l y getting out and up onto the bridge we got all of our photos etc while he was still busy blocking the whole camp entry in and out with his epic driving skills. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8561/...4c843659_b.jpgIMG_6164 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8668/...19648fe8_b.jpgIMG_6173 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8641/...e5d0e75c_b.jpgIMG_6179 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr We are off https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8592/...a058ab7e_b.jpgGOPR3102 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr On the road and hitting it south was slow for Alice and Juan, the wee Vespa wheels bouncing off the not so small rocks but in cred to Juan he held a steady pace which allowed us to take in our surroundings again of hanging basins, rock tops and spectacular faces while still making good progress, we could only get as far as Puyuhuapi anyway before the road was closed so no rush. Our road took us on new pavement, old road, new gravel, awful rock and all sorts with the Chileans paving it flat out. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8668/...2f355a08_b.jpgP1230381 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Such a beautiful place to be https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8606/...e18af660_b.jpgIMG_6190 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8625/...58630379_b.jpgP1230396 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Arriving at one intersection was a mob from Peru Moto Tours who were slightly surprised at the combo of a 950 SE and 250 Vespa pulling up and riding together, amusement, amazement and good good chats all round before waving goodbye and heading on down. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8662/...4893e55f_b.jpgP1230390 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr The last bit of our road was starting to impinge on our timetable, the road works some 10 km short of Puyuhuapi meaning if we didn’t make it we would have to sit and wait for 4 hours in no mans land, being stuck at roadworks prior did not help. As luck would have it the last stretch to the big road works where they close it was tar and Juan making the most of this winding up the Vespa to a healthy clip to make it, the dead soldier for the day being Alices glasses which flew off in front of us hitting the road and disintegrating so we didn’t even bother flagging them down to tell them or to stop for the debris. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8562/...14a78bb2_b.jpgP1230443 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8604/...af9db66f_b.jpgP1230432 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Making it through “the zone” we got into town tanked up and Juan found a neat camping spot on the lake edge, 200 meters from the gas station, a quick ride down a single track and we found nice grassy area with some shelter from the crisp breeze that was teasing us. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8598/...86422d86_b.jpgP1230458 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8590/...f87c4985_b.jpgIMG_6222 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr A very pleasant afternoon followed with some maintenance on Juans Vespa needing an oil change and air filter cleaning job, the air filter was leaking some dust through as well which is less than ideal so we dealt to that hopefully fixing the problem. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8669/...30811e53_b.jpgGOPR3166 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr A small fire at night and some drinks we had planned to head away the following morning however the RTV we used had not dried overnight with very low temperatures and very very damp, they result was we decided to stay for that day so we could fix the problem properly knowing we had a lot of dusty road ahead. Trying to dry he RTV https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8624/...9ac40d61_b.jpgIMG_6221 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr There was no rush, the weather was plus or minus ok (note not wet) and the long term forecast no worse for further south. Some more supplies and recharging of batteries for cameras and lappy, actually I am writing this report from the Copec gas station beside the lake with the lappy plugged into an external power socket and working on a wheelibin … dedication.:rofl It was that or an over expensive shitty hostal with poor services…not while the weather is ok!!!!.:clap |
Carreterra Austral Day 5 Puyuhuapi To Puerto Cisnes
Heading out of Puyuhuapi we had a good start from camp with a nice day.:clap
The road was completely rippio with road works galore and they were setting up for rock blasting. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8624/...109b8c9d_b.jpgP1230489 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Friendly dudes loving the motos :clap https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8656/...3c52d673_b.jpg[url=https://flic.kr/p/rne2ucP1230486[/url] by twomotokiwis, on Flickr With our stunning day on hand we took a small turnoff to the river for lunch, this turned into a shower and clothes wash as well given the warmth of the sun and the breeze to help dry, just a stunning place. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8681/...9ef5b9f0_b.jpgIMG_6239 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr The laundromat :D https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8562/...9fda77e9_b.jpgIMG_6243 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Our stunning lunch laundry spot https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8678/...0b5dff89_b.jpgIMG_6255 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr See the depth of the icepack (from above) https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8588/...e5ae08a8_b.jpgIMG_6246 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Turning off the main drag we opted to head to Puerto Cisnes with the view of buying fresh fish and making chips so for all the Kiwi readers a good feed of greezies and for all you “others” fush n chups.:rofl There was a rodeo on this day (Saturday) so pretty much the whole town was closed, Juan and I went from place to place finding all the necessaries to creating the perfect feed. In all the excitement Juan had to make a wee stop :evil https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8587/...3e660138_b.jpgGOPR3211 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr The evening was set around making a feed and having some drinks, we got our camp site sorted (free again) right on the waterfront. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8561/...39c7f714_b.jpgIMG_6293 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Our feed was a progressive type with chips and fish being made one pot at a time over the camp stove making a rolling dinner. Our camp https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8577/...7320fcde_b.jpgIMG_6274 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr The following morning amidst bad weather :evil https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8673/...5768788d_b.jpgIMG_6297 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr This place was awful :lol3 https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8568/...a4f36cd8_b.jpgIMG_6281 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Puerto Cisnes in the background above, very nice place to camp, waterfront and free :clap |
Carreterra Austral Day 6 Puerto Cisnes To Free Camp At High Pass
Heading out of Puerto Cisnes we opted for the loop road around the back and out then back up to the main road.
Hitting the main road set us up for a tar seal section all the way to Coihaque, a pleasant change from hard rock, rolling stones and volcanic sandpits. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8681/...00a5e9d4_b.jpgP1230598 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr We were completely spoilt with epic views from the fine day, many hanging basins, abrupt rock tops and valleys. :clap https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8621/...f65d9570_b.jpgP1230601 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Coihaque was our restock place for food, fuel and try to get wifi to check the weather. Sorted and on our way we had 80 km to do to make it to our camp site which is on ioverlander, Juan has the info but no GPS, we have the GPS so we teamed up to make it happen on a daily basis, given accommodation was around $140 for the night in Hostals etc and we had reasonable weather we camped out ever night and always ended up in great locations.:freaky This camp was no different, we found the turnoff pretty easily, once up through the first 100 meters of rolly rocks it opened out to a neat waterfall, being at 1136 meters though it was bitterly cold. Boys looking for the perfect place to take the cave woman back too, the last of the sun changing the landscape colours https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8660/...379d1a08_b.jpgIMG_6314 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr We backtracked down amongst the trees, set camp and built another fire which was a god send, by about 9.00pm our tent was frozen and this was with a breeze so it was well below zero, again the last of the sun colouring in the upper parts of the hill, it was freezing in the shadows :eek1. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8653/...a7a603b6_b.jpgIMG_6309 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Our campfire was sheltered but a trip over to the boys room 3 meters over to the exposed side of the tree made a toilet stop very quick with extremely cold bitting wind. Camp and the stunning sky unfolding from the late afternoon sun to sunset https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8563/...092949aa_b.jpgIMG_6319 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Sky TV Carretera Austral style turning it on https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8653/...aaff08ba_b.jpgIMG_6321 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Our tent at 9.00pm, see the frosting, add to that the wind of 25 km/hr plus. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8615/...8ca51934_b.jpgIMG_6347 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Discussions about life ensued over rum and Maté by the fire. Bliss :clap:clap https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8647/...0e44b9b4_b.jpgIMG_6332 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Dumplings by fire, never had them baked by fire and they were a total hit, even with Chef Juan who approved with vigor :freaky https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8634/...27d009e6_b.jpgIMG_6340 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Bed time arrived and we were all dressed for very low temperatures but luckily we were all aptly kitted, can never go wrong with good gear.:clap The morning broke with sun which was a blessing, the tent covered in ice and the temperature sharper than a butchers knife we were happy to feel the sun....at least until it clouded over. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8657/...ed73120a_b.jpgIMG_6356 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr The waterfall was the invite before we left camp, wasn't far up but was semi difficult with steep terrain and loose rocks https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8585/...09ccd45b_b.jpgIMG_6365 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr The climb https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8579/...68121f5c_b.jpgP1230686 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8665/...87c11dba_b.jpgIMG_6380 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr At the top WOH HOH https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8654/...44b74e29_b.jpgP1230690 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Getting back down to the bikes was about 1 - 2 o'clock so the rest of the chinese pies gave their life before hit the road again Awesome awesome places :clap:clap |
Carreterra Austral Day 7 Free Camp At High Pass To Free Camp To Puerto Tranquillo
A great lunch was had with the chinese pies and with the timing of it the rain was trying to start ....tie to hitit!!
Dropping down the zig zag from the pass the temperatures did not improve and in fact got colder as we headed into a snowy laden shower ripping the temperature out of the air.:eek1 heated grips on full with wet and wind and an ugly windchill factor. Part way along the road we met another moto rider heading north we had stopped to put on wet gear so he stopped for a chat which was cool. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8615/...e0fb0a59_b.jpgP1230710 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Yeah...wet https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8664/...b40cebdc_b.jpgP1230719 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Further down the road we also came across a side car DL1000 setup so we stopped and talked with them too, great day out. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8633/...ea718916_b.jpgP1230728 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8678/...bec05e90_b.jpgP1230730 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Juan and Alice had been having some air filter issues with their Vespa, Ellen and I spotted some blue smoke so we stopped to take a look and sort it out, Juan had put a filter clothe in to help and it has disintegrated and we think that is what the smoke was, lets hope. Running late we didn’t make it to Puerto Tranquillo that night, we found a nice grass flat which took us half a km off the main road and a camp with a river front view and sunny…outstanding, we all needed warming up given the day had been so cold. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8589/...98132b7e_b.jpgP1230740 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8666/...08cf427c_b.jpgP1230743 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr The sun dropped taking the temperature with it, some snow shower clouds stealing the rest of the temperature as we cooked and huddled around fire. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8609/...42daee9e_b.jpgIMG_6395 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8574/...82553f3a_b.jpgIMG_6392 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Our camp in the trees https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8677/...4da248fd_b.jpgIMG_6396 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr More rum, international chats, fire good times. :clap:clap |
Carreterra Austral Day 8 Free Camp At Puerto Tranquillo To Glacier And Back
Well, the morning awoke but we didn’t, looked at the clock when we woke up to find we had missed breakfast and smoko and were lining up for lunch, a great sleep from an epically peaceful location.:clap
Finally everyone outa bed we got the fire going again and enjoyed an extremely late breakfast at near mid day. Such was the pace we decided to have a bite of lunch, Juan and Alice cooking up a pasta while we opted to make small pizza style bread kinda thingies cos our awful dry Chilean bread had dried even more making it suitable for toasting with cheese mustard and ham….good choice to I might add.:clap Concluding lunch we packed up and headed for the road at nearly 3 pm :huh:rofl… funny thing is normally we are looking to get off the road at this time but Puerto Tranquillo was only 44 km away, getting their saw us arrive amidst a sea of backbackers and travellers … it was like main street New York. With the Glacier in mind we gathered some fresh dry stale bread etc and headed AWOL up the valley to find a camp site.:clap It was getting very cold and the evening was pulling a draw string on the light so camp was priority, we rode up the valley and everything was fenced off so it was starting to look pretty grim, we found one spot that was ok but a foot or tire wrong would see the bike 6 feet under water, not wanting the risk we opted to carry on. I again started questioning my merits but yet again perseverance paid off with a tip. We spotted a big Mercerdes Overland truck in a clearing that looked good, Ellen went and asked if we could join their spot and we were welcomed in. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8663/...0e56867e_b.jpgIMG_6399 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Setting up we made a fire and started cooking up a storm again, Christian and Alica (from the truck) came bearing gifts reassembling firewood and beer … never turn that down so they joined us for our fire and chats.:clap Yet another great day on the Carreterra Austral on an international level. The following day was Glacier day, packing up our camp we left to do the 25 km to the Glacier, upon arrival we discovered they wanted to charge $3500 CLP each (about $7 bucks) for a 20 minute walk, we ALL borked at that.:eek1 :eek1 Prior to that in a pleasant conversation with the ranger girl we had given her a lolly (because we are nice) ((and I wanted a lolly)) so it turned out she was softened by our warm approach to her, we said we would pass on seeing the Glacier as we felt it was very expensive given you only see it from a distance. With a smooth smile and a low voice she said we can all go in gratis, her warmth was welcomed with yet another lolly …talk about cool as.:D Given this opportunity we took it leaving all our precious gear in her hands and did the short walk, the weather not 100% so no mountains due to cloud cover but the glacier still serving up and optical gem and grande view. We were here :D https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8656/...3a821c3b_b.jpgIMG_6437 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Such was the relaxed pace of the day we stayed for a about 2 hours seeing many people come and go with selfies and "we were here" posy photos … then they quickly moved on to the next attraction somewhere else.:huh Christian and Alica turned up as well so we enjoyed more chats with them talking travel, trucks and tech tips. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8587/...f2c8b29a_b.jpgGOPR3367 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr The glacier https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8641/...7e3ddda8_b.jpgIMG_6435 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Parting our eyes away from the Glacier we decided we would find camp, by this time it was already bordering 3 pm (again), a discussion was had about who was going to go where, given we were 2/3 the way up the valley we decided to head to the top, Juan opting to head back to make camp as the road was torturing the 12 inch wheels of the AdVespa. https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8592/...2982c389_b.jpgIMG_6476 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Our day turned up a small problem as our 2 liter water bottle jumped over its clip and sat right at the exhaust exit, within seconds the plastic bottle was blown apart and melted from exhaust heat destroying our second and last water bottle (the other one died with the hit and run in Brazil)…it is the little things like that which can turn your day upside-down cos 2 liters while travelling is quite a bit.:cry Our way up https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8659/...f257dc20_b.jpgIMG_6416 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr The bridge abutments but no bridge...not built yet https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8621/...c4788a85_b.jpgIMG_6468 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Christian and Alica also decided to head up and camp somewhere up the top, we caught up with them on the way back down wishing them well heading north and us south., great meeting you guys :clap Onwards back to camp we arrived as the sun was disappearing so we started another fire and brewed up another night of chats and discussions over the last of the rum, an earlier start was agreed as we all had to make some ground the following day. Right on queue our alarm woke us up, I was in the middle of chatting up Hallie Berrie again and doing quite well till the alarm went off.:rofl:rofl Our day we woke to welcoming us again https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8668/...77f0f68d_b.jpgIMG_6401 by twomotokiwis, on Flickr Up and outa bed, breaky, tent (very wet from dew) packed down and we hit it back to Puerto Tranquillo for fuel and wifi. Juan and Alice opting to go out via Chile Chico and we opted to head down to Tortal and Villa O'Higgins |
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