|
|
Distance to Date: 1887 km , 1132 miles
He pushes it uphill and so earns coasting it downhill.
Remember the stray dog above sleeping in front of our bike? Well, she followed us for 90 km all the way to the pier! It seems she's done
this before -- follow cyclists back and forth between the pier and Villa O'Higgins.
The car ferry comes. It usually crosses 3 times a day; but with recent strikes where the availability of gasoline is affected, it only crosses
once a day. Besides, there are only 5 to 6 vehicles that pass through per day. 2 to 3 going north, and 2 to 3 going south.
A truck of horses backs up onto the ferry (for easier exit).
90 kilometers down, 120 more to Cochrane, the next major town. We could stretch our food supply out to four days; that's 40 km per day
of walking the bike to Cochrane. WIth no traffic at all through this area, we are sure to walk the Carretera Austral.
The captain of the ferry invites us to the control room.
He lets Tauru take the controls, but then found out that Tauru couldn't see well.
So he fires Tauru and lets Christi take control. He's flabbergasted when he finds out that she's also visually impaired!
The bike is ready for the 45-minute ferry crossing.
The stray dog from Villa O'Higgins sends us off... another set of cyclists passing through her territory. She'll wait for the next cyclist going
southbound to run back to Villa O'Higgins.
The truck of horses is tempting... to ask for a hitch. Walking the 120 km remote road to Cochrane with limited food now seems daunting.
It's not possible to ride the bike, so we have to think of alternatives. Can the horses hang with the bike, and vice versa?
We didn't ask. We were going to walk it!
When you're on a journey, at times, amazing things happen. After getting off the ferry, an hour later, a random truck with two guys from
Cochrane show up. They are from Punta Arenas and are temporarily working in Cochrane to finish a construction project. They give us a
lift to Cochrane, feed us and give us a place to stay for the night in Cochrane. The following morning, they arrange a truck heading back to
Coihaique (300 km) to take us and our bike.
The bike and the trailer and loaded onto the truck.
They're strapped down for the bumpy ride to Coihaique.
Todo es bien!
We wanted to ride the southern part of the Carretera Austral, but a truck ride will also do.
It's not just a ride, it's a journey.
Christi chills in the back of the cab.
The bike survives more than 200 km of being thrown around.
The last 95 km (from Cerro Castillo to Coihaique), the road is good. We arrive in the dark and have a difficult time finding a campground.
But a random guy doing construction on a house lets us pitch our tent in the back yard. Random! The following day, a random old lady
approaches us and invites us to stay at her hostel for a really discounted price. It baffles us the way things happen sometimes - they just... happen.
A friend of ours is sending us two derailleur hangers; we'll stay in Coihaique and wait for them. Then the journey continues...
|
Spread the word and help us Raise Awareness!
Send us a comment (include email for response):
Top of Page
|
|
