Toe2Top of South America
DAY FIFTEEN
Camp spot to camp spot
Distance: 54 miles
Average speed: 11.2mph
Moving time: 4h35
Door to door: 8h25
Our alarm went off at 4.30am it was quickly turned off as the wind and rain whirled around the tent, no way we could leave the warmth of our sleeping bags.
We pushed hard to make the 3 o’clock ferry and we arrived at 2.55 to find that the ferry actually leaves at 4.00! At least we didn’t miss it! On the ferry a kind Chilean family let us use their cooker to make some ramen, delicious!
We pedalled up some really steep climbs after the ferry, some which had to be pathed so cars could make it up them! The rain continued to fall and still we had no fuel for our cooker. We had cookies and cold chicken soup for dinner and failed miserably to get a camp fire going!
DAY SEVENTEEN
After being pointed in the direction of the local mechanic we met Tomas who makes out he can fix the rack easily. Issue is it’s going to be ready in a days time. Whilst we pray Tomas can work his magic we have finally have time to update all you lovely people at home who have been following our progress and to reassure our parents we are alive after being away from internet for the past 5 days!
Let’s hope tomorrow we can get on the road again to catch up on the miles missed today!
DAY NINETEEN
Outside Cochrane to Puerto Tranquilo little island
Distance: 66 miles
Average speed: 9.9mph
Moving time: 6h30
Door to door: 11h42
What an amazing day! The scenery from the Careterra Austral is just unbelievable. After almost every corner we had to stop to set up the camera to get another snap as these was just another ridiculously amazing view. So many breathtaking mountains and lakes. We realised just how lucky we are to be travelling these roads by bike, being able to properly take everything in as we pedal.
An awesome day topped off by a awesome campspot. We lifted our bikes over a padlocked gate and pushed them over to this little empty island. We set up the tent looking over the lake with the mountains in the back ground. Cooked up some pasta, cracked open a cold one and enjoyed the final out of daylight.
DAY TWENTY-ONE
Rio Ibáñez to El Blanco campsite
Distance: 62miles
Average speed: 11.5mph
Moving time: 5h15
Door to door: 10h15
Throughout the last 21 days we have so many people in shock about how quickly we have come from Ushuaia, which is great for our morale! This morning though, we were the ones in shock. We spoke to a French family who have been on the road for nine months. The parents and their three children, aged 8, 6 and 4!! Two tandems and a small bike. So so cool, and incredibly impressive that they were up and out of the camp spot before us, nuts!
Today we tried to reach Coyhaique so we could have a morning off tomorrow to sort out some washing and get some needed hair cuts! Annoyingly the head winds slowed us down so we didn’t make it to Coyhaique. All things happen for a reason though, instead we found a camping spot in El Blanco. We were about to start cooking the rest of our food (the usual, pasta and tomato sauce) when we got talking to a ridiculously friendly Chilean family. They offered us two stakes each, some rice and a glass of Chile red wine! They were so generous and we can’t express enough just how much this lifts your spirits. What a family, what a evening!
DAY SIXTEEN
Camping spot to Cochrane - First fall!!
Distance: 54 miles
Average speed: 11.7mph
Moving time: 4h25
Door to door: 8h25
After finishing off all the cookies and raisins we had left for breakfast we set off on a 55 mile trip to get to Cochrane. It’s not easy biking in these conditions on only raisins and cookies! We met a lovely South African couple who kindly invited us into their camper van for a warm coffee.
The sun began to shine and the road was incredible. All was going so smoothly, we were both picturing some well deserved warm food and maybe even a beer. 12 miles away from Cochrane Jim had a fall, hopefully the only one on the trip. Falling at 25mph on a downhill gravel track isn’t fun. Jim all ok, a few cuts and grazes, the bike less so. Two bags broken and the front rack bent. Some very kind people picked up the broken bags and offered us a lift to Cochrane, which we turned down as we have to complete every mile of the continent we can by bike. After struggling with the final 12 miles we made it to Cochrane, cleaned up the wounds and stuffed our faces with the most unhealthy meal possible (chicken nuggets, chips, potatoes balls, sausages, ice cream and chocolate), finally a proper feast!
Rest day needed tomorrow to try and sort out Jim’s front rack. Let’s hope there is a handy mechanic here!!
DAY EIGHTEEN
Waiting for the bike repair
Distance: 8miles
Average speed: 9.6mph
Moving time: 0h50
Door to door: 1h00
We were told by our friend Tomas we could pick up the rack at 10am, this quickly became 1 o’clock and then 3 o’clock, which was really frustrating. To our delight though Tomas did manage to fix the rack! We decided to bike out of town and find somewhere nearby to sleep.
There had been a bad forest fire near by, all the locals seemed to be relaxed about it and said it is under control. We didn’t realise how big it was until we biked over the mountain out of Cochrane. It was like biking through a bonfire making it seriously hard to catch any breath.
Really hope everyone who lives near by isn’t too badly affected by the fire.
DAY TWENTY
Island to Rio Ibáñez - Valentines
Distance: 55miles
Average speed: 10.5mph
Moving time: 5h00
Door to door: 7h45
Yes the pictures of the tent look amazing but we both slept so badly. The winds were shaking the tent all night and we stupidly put the tent on top of a bush which was too big to be squished by us sleeping on it. Anyway, the sun rose and it’s Valentines! We wished each other a happy valentines, cracked open our heart shaped cereal and were ready for a new day. One of Roos knees was the size of a ballon which was causing him a little pain when cycling, but nothing to painful to stop him. Back on the gravel tracks it was.
We needed to stop of for some well deserved snacks and found ourselves in a house of a lovely family who charged us £3 each for some delicious homemade bread, jam and cheeses! We washed it down with some coffee and we leant from the son that Dolbek was the name of the best ale in Coyhaique, one to remember.
We found an amazing camp spot at Rio Ibáñez where we saw our Belgian friend Klass again! This must be the third time we have seen Klass, each time sharing a hot chocolate and some snacks with him, this time it was popcorn. After both sweet and salted we hit the hay.