The Cat 5 Problem

Villa Agostura, Argentina to Puerto Montt, Chile -

Among the reasons why Joe and Aaron chose to continue south through Argentina was because Chile is more expensive. However, it soon became apparent to me why at least I think I made the right decision to cross into Chile toward Puerto Montt. Markus and I were only able to make it to the border before it was too late to cross through Chilean customs, so we found a tiny lake to camp at within the Puyehue National Park.

Markus, with his million and one auxillary items packed away, pulled out a diving mask and we both swam looking for and finding plenty of fish. At dusk around the lake, there must have been two dozen fish jumping out of the water every minute! (the ripples are from the fish) It really was an incredible and peaceful scene, I couldn't help but think of my dad who would love to put a fishing line, or three, into the water. Hell, I wish I had a hook and line since bread tossed from our dinner spot on the lake was gobbled up in less than a minute.

The next morning we descended the rest of the bajada (downhill) toward the aduana (customs). No more than 2km past, break time! There were some small, but beautiful falls to stop by and take some pictures. Had we not been en route to the natural hot springs and if it weren't so early in the day, I would have taken a swim. The tabanas were as nasty as ever, though, and with a bamboo stick I was actually able to bat 3 out of the air swinging like Yoda in Attack of the Clones Star Wars movie. I stopped when I realized I have nothing on Yoda, missed the tabana I was going after, and hit my own leg breaking the stick in the process. I still have that mark almost a week later...

Another thing I've learned is to never ask the locals about road conditions. They ride in cars, and thus they lie. It's not worth the frustration to ask and expect an easy ride. The 4km detour off the main road to the hot springs with some climbs and some downhills according to a hotel guard at the bottom turned into a solid 3.5km climb with two tiny downhills. However, it was a worthy detour as the hot springs were everything they promised to be and more. Between the hot dog italiano (with guacamole and tomatoes on top, yeah, don't ask) the soaks in the hot
yet relaxing thermal waters, and the near freezing river water, I had enough energy and motivation to last through the end of the remaining day.

As I said before, the locals lie. The 45km ripio road to Lake Llanquihue turned into an minor but endless climb. The town we expected with campsites half-way through, Rupanco, didn't exactly exist either in the capacity that we expected. I had bought 6 eggs for breakfast, so it meant I had to stand to protect them in my backpack for the entire way until a gracious familly let us camp in their fenced-off grass that night near Rupanco proper. I also forgot to mention my near Cat 4 mishap, but I found the parts of my derrailleur that had fallen apart onto the ripio. Although we had no showers, the water and tall grass meant I could look forward to a good night of sleep, those 6 eggs that emerged unscathed, and the volcanoes that were starting to show themselves.

The rest of the ripio the following morning ended earlier than expected. For the first time of the trip, it was a cloudy day! Clouds mean cooler weather which means a less sweaty ride. It did feel in a way like the middle of Siberia with the desolate road cutting through a timber forest that served as a path for this Swiss vehicle that looked like it could withstand a nuclear blast and keep on trekking with the full-size BMW motorcycle easily strapped to its back. I have no guesses to offer as to where the said vehicle came from, except for perhaps
military surplus. Anyway, it disappeared into a gigantic dust cloud leaving us pondering what lies ahead. I sometimes wished that my bike wasn't the only one failing here and there, but I really just wish none of us had to deal with anything. Inevitably, on a trip like this, with the ripio we are experiencing, challenges are to be expected.

When we reached the pavement, Markus noticed the hub of his rear wheel broke. That's it, that's the Cat 5
I hoped to never see. The bike was rideable, but not on ripio, and not for long for that matter with the broken hub and 5 or so spokes now useless. We would head toward Puerto Octay to call Phil Wood and have a hub shipped to Chile ASAP. Markus redistributed most of his pannier weight to the rear pannier bags now attached to the front racks, and I took his backpack and solar panel (I told you he has everything) on my rear. Before limping off, we noticed the commanding Volcano Osorno directly behind us on the road toward Puerto Octay.
Over the next few days, it we would ride along the western edge of Lake Llanquihue, opposite to Osorno. We camped the night at a site in Frutillar, and ate lunch the next day in Llanquihue.

The headwinds were very strong the whole way to Puerto Montt, but they were especially noticable when Markus and I rode on Ruta 5, the PanAmerican Highway. All it really meant was that it would take close to 3 hours to get to Puerto Montt instead of 1.5 hours had the winds been at our backs. Markus wanted to stop by Puerto Varas, however, so I followed despite the 3km descent down to the port city on the southern tip of Lake Llanquihue. There we met Elicia and Andy from Portland, Oregon, who are writing for a web magazine and also traveling south like us. Find their blog here in which they share their thoughts on the same region we are passing through. <http://www.wendmagazine.com/elicia-andy/>.

The town of Puerto Varas proved to be a worthwhile stop with its situation right on the lake and a pretty cool business district downtown. I was somewhat, but not really, surprised to see some signs in English. Quite a few more Chileans speak English than did their Argentinian counterparts. Anyway, we asked about routes to Puerto Montt and instead of riding on Ruta 5 again, we were able to take a pretty flowing country road south, albeit with more hills and traffic than Ruta 5 (traffic that comes closer to us that is), but more stimulating nonetheless.

My first impressions of Puerto Montt is that I've finally reached a city once again, outside of Buenos Aires. Puerto Montt itself is situation on the edge of the water, a couple hundred meters from the surrounding countryside. Coincidentally, it's also where I felt least safe on the trip in the sense that I did not want to leave my bike attached to anything outside. We finally found just after sundown the Hostel Don Teo to where the Phil Wood hub was shipped, and what I would call my home base for the next few days just across from the water front.

Markus and I ate a gigantic plate of french fries, diced hot dog, steak, tomatoes, avocado, pickles, onions, and maybe one or two other things I forgot. On the menu it said for 2 people, but thinking we could finish a 2-person portion, Markus and I eached ordered one. This gave our waitress, Vanessa, a laugh because she didn't think we could indeed finish it and only put in the order for one initially. Well, she was right. The plate was more like for 3 or 4 people, and so we settled on that, beer, and a durazno (peach) drink for dessert. A shower and a bed were certainly welcomed that night.