Distance to Date: 1887 km , 1132 miles

We finally pass through the Chilean border and stamp in. The last kilometer to the pier is downhill, so it gave us some time to enjoy the view around us. A group of 6 cyclists (Simon and Martin from France, Yves and Katharina from France and Switzerland and whom we rode with in the beginning of our trip, Matias from Germany, and Tamara from the US) had passed through the day before. We wanted to join them to catch the boat across Lago O'Higgins. The 6 cyclists had taken over a refuge at the pier. We take refuge inside and enjoy a hot beverage. The refuge was too small to fit another two cyclists, so we pitched our tent nearby. The sun came out the following day and so everyone dried their tents. And washed their bikes. It is Sunday and we have no idea when the boat will come to take us to Villa O'Higgins (3-4 hrs away by boat). At the moment, there are protests all over this region of Chile. The government wants to raise taxes on gas because it's difficult to get gas delivered to this area given the bad road conditions; however, the people protest because past taxes on gas have not been used to build or repair roads. So we don't know when the boat will come because there's not enough gas. Tauru helps Tamara with her bike while we all wait for the boat. Days later, the boat hasn't come. The story now is that the weather is too bad for a boat to come. Down below, our tent and the refuge wait. Christi looks across Lago O'Higgins in hopes of a boat. The boat hasn't come... And finally, after 10 days since leaving El Chalten, the boat comes! We finish packing up to catch the boat. The boat unloads 20 southbound cyclists. She's ready to go. 10 of us on the boat. Simon and Martin (France), Mattias (Germany), Tamara and Paul and Kelly (US), Yves and Katharina (France and Switzerland), and the two of us. Over Lago O'Higgins, and with rolling swells, Tauru wonders if he'll get motion sickness. Ha-ha, he's got dramamine. We arrive at the pier at 10 PM in the dark, and Villa O'Higgins is 7 km away. It's dark, so we can only walk our bike. Paul, Kelly, and Tamara insist in walking with us even though they could have ridden being that there was a full moon. We find an open area 2 km later camp there for the night. We stay in Villa O'Higgins for two nights and then start making our way up north. When we arrived, we were completely out of food -- only some coffee left. In town, we feasted on whatever we could find in the store. With the strikes and protests, there haven't been many shipments to this part of the country. The one gas station did not have any gas, and the stores were mostly empty. We stock up on cans of tuna and bread for the journey northward. We find a welder who may be able to make a temporary weld for our derailleur hanger. Tauru works on the bike. A stray dog joins us as we wait for the welder. Tauru comes back with bad news. Welding alumninum is only possible in Punta Arenas (where we did our first weld) and Coihaique. We ride out of town a couple of kilometers, but the chain breaks. We piece it back together and push on. Over the next 85 km, the chain skips gears and breaks a couple of times. Tauru walks the last 5 km to the pier to catch another ferry.