World Tour - Europe, Asia, North and South America - Entries for: Chile
20° | sunny | km 1723
Vulcanizer wanted
on 2017-12-12 in Chile
[Basti] On the Chilean side I literally had to search for the border offices. You drive 50 km on a perfect tarmac road all the way to San Pedro de Atacama till you reach a small customs and immigration office! The entry procedure was easy and after a couple of minutes I was officially in Chile!
However the prices for hostels were shocking. Because San Pedro is very touristy I decided quickly to ride an additional 100 km to Calama in hope for better prices there. And indeed I found a nice hotel for an acceptable price and enjoyed the higher comfort of Chile.
The gas stations had automatic inflation pressure gauges, the roads had perfect tarmac and the supermarkets and restaurants lived up to their name.
After two exhausting offroad days I was looking forward to a few days just doing mileage. Despite desert there is not much to see in northern Chile anyway. I only stopped at the Mano del Desierto. But I had to carefully watch the fuel level the whole time because the next gas station was always surprisingly far away.
After 460 km I checked in a small hostel in the sleepy coastal town Taltal. The next morning I detected my first flat tire - after more than 100.000 km!
The first two shops I went to told me they wouldn't do motorcycles. Pretty baffled I continued searching. Also the third vulcanizer didn't really want to help me until I used google translate to tell him that I would dismantle the wheels myself and the only thing he needed to do was to patch my tube. Luckily this was alright with him.
Later I found out that it was indeed his first motorcycle tire he ever patched up. But together we managed it without problems.
He refused to get payed or a tip with a very friendly "buen viaje". Thank you so much!
With a little delay I continued my ride on the highway-like main road. I spend one night in normally too expensive fancy hotel for a special price and checked out the nearby Lider, the Chilean Wal Mart. For dinner I enjoyed delicious Salami with bread!
An extraordinary meal was also waiting for me the next evening in Los Vilos. Thanks to a lot of great comments on google maps I enjoyed a superb steak with mashed potatoes at the Calafate restaurant. It had been quite a while since I had really great food!
The next day I already arrived at the capital.
However the prices for hostels were shocking. Because San Pedro is very touristy I decided quickly to ride an additional 100 km to Calama in hope for better prices there. And indeed I found a nice hotel for an acceptable price and enjoyed the higher comfort of Chile.
The gas stations had automatic inflation pressure gauges, the roads had perfect tarmac and the supermarkets and restaurants lived up to their name.
After two exhausting offroad days I was looking forward to a few days just doing mileage. Despite desert there is not much to see in northern Chile anyway. I only stopped at the Mano del Desierto. But I had to carefully watch the fuel level the whole time because the next gas station was always surprisingly far away.
After 460 km I checked in a small hostel in the sleepy coastal town Taltal. The next morning I detected my first flat tire - after more than 100.000 km!
The first two shops I went to told me they wouldn't do motorcycles. Pretty baffled I continued searching. Also the third vulcanizer didn't really want to help me until I used google translate to tell him that I would dismantle the wheels myself and the only thing he needed to do was to patch my tube. Luckily this was alright with him.
Later I found out that it was indeed his first motorcycle tire he ever patched up. But together we managed it without problems.
He refused to get payed or a tip with a very friendly "buen viaje". Thank you so much!
With a little delay I continued my ride on the highway-like main road. I spend one night in normally too expensive fancy hotel for a special price and checked out the nearby Lider, the Chilean Wal Mart. For dinner I enjoyed delicious Salami with bread!
An extraordinary meal was also waiting for me the next evening in Los Vilos. Thanks to a lot of great comments on google maps I enjoyed a superb steak with mashed potatoes at the Calafate restaurant. It had been quite a while since I had really great food!
The next day I already arrived at the capital.
15° | sunny | km 2978
Golden tires
on 2017-12-18 in Chile
[Fabi & Denis] While we still rode on gravel on the Bolivian side of the border the rode turned immediately into perfect tarmac once we passed into Chilean territory. The border was a small outpost at roughly 12000 feet with little to no one around. Perfect for us! Crossing the border was therefor easy and quick and we quickly decided to ride all the way towards Antofagasta on the same day. We had found a nice and affordable hotel in advance and were not disappointed when we arrived there. We were able to park our bikes in a small shop downstairs and quickly decided to book the room for the next five days. We did not leave the room except to get some groceries or go out for food. After a couple of days it was time to head on. On the morning of our departure Fabi had to find out that a bottle of drive shaft oil had emptied itself in his Backpack and so he spend the better part of the morning trying to clean his backpack up. Within the next 500 meters after departure, Fabi noticed that his clutch had developed a problem and so we quickly decided to stay one more night hoping we would be able to figure out what was wrong with it. In the end it turned out that the cap of his clutch fluid, due to a recent accident had probably leaked to much fluid and therefor he had some air in his clutch line. We refilled the fluid and it was as good as new.
The next day we were off once more and we headed straight south. Since the Hand of the desert was directly next to our route we decided to stop and take some pictures. Mano del Desierto is a 11 Meter tall depiction of a hand and was put there as a reminder of the worlds pollution. So that the world will not end up as a huge desert. Obviously we had to look this up after visiting the monument. The place where it is set is nothing special after a couple of hundred kilometers straight, we had to turn on a gravel road for about 100 meters to get to it. After taking a couple of pictures we went back to the high wet and set the cruise control for the rest of the day.
We tried to avoid going to any of the major cities like Santiago or Valparaiso. Togo whom we had met with his friends a couple of weeks before was on his way back north with a friend and we decided to met up for one night. After almost missing each other we managed to meet up in Los Ángeles (the LA of Chile) and spend a nice evening together. Both of them had made their way down to Ushuaia and were now on there way back towards Valparaiso from which they planned to ship their bikes back to Germany. We were very glad that meeting them worked out in the end and even though it was just for a short while we are only separated by 400 kilometers at home. Another meet up should be no problem once we return!
We had to say our good byes once more, because we were heading towards Osorno where we planned to change our tires. Once we arrived there we were unpleasantly surprised at the prices. The price of new tires and the tire change was more than 430$ !!! The luxury tax in South America is insane! In the end there was nothing we could do... we needed new tires and they were not going to get cheaper in Argentina. Denis had it even worse because he needed oil for another oil change. In sum 100$ more... Astonished by the prices we were very careful the next kilometers not to use too much rubber and be very gentle with the throttle input.
We tried to forget about the immense prices as quickly as possible and so we carried our bikes to Puerto Montt, where we had found a pretty cheap apartment to spend the next few days over the Christmas break. It had a bedroom with a big flat screen TV and a good sized living room with kitchen. All we needed to enjoy the holidays. We enjoyed the time very much and on Christmas we talked to our families and friends before eating fondue for hours and falling asleep in front of the TV!
The next day we were off once more and we headed straight south. Since the Hand of the desert was directly next to our route we decided to stop and take some pictures. Mano del Desierto is a 11 Meter tall depiction of a hand and was put there as a reminder of the worlds pollution. So that the world will not end up as a huge desert. Obviously we had to look this up after visiting the monument. The place where it is set is nothing special after a couple of hundred kilometers straight, we had to turn on a gravel road for about 100 meters to get to it. After taking a couple of pictures we went back to the high wet and set the cruise control for the rest of the day.
We tried to avoid going to any of the major cities like Santiago or Valparaiso. Togo whom we had met with his friends a couple of weeks before was on his way back north with a friend and we decided to met up for one night. After almost missing each other we managed to meet up in Los Ángeles (the LA of Chile) and spend a nice evening together. Both of them had made their way down to Ushuaia and were now on there way back towards Valparaiso from which they planned to ship their bikes back to Germany. We were very glad that meeting them worked out in the end and even though it was just for a short while we are only separated by 400 kilometers at home. Another meet up should be no problem once we return!
We had to say our good byes once more, because we were heading towards Osorno where we planned to change our tires. Once we arrived there we were unpleasantly surprised at the prices. The price of new tires and the tire change was more than 430$ !!! The luxury tax in South America is insane! In the end there was nothing we could do... we needed new tires and they were not going to get cheaper in Argentina. Denis had it even worse because he needed oil for another oil change. In sum 100$ more... Astonished by the prices we were very careful the next kilometers not to use too much rubber and be very gentle with the throttle input.
We tried to forget about the immense prices as quickly as possible and so we carried our bikes to Puerto Montt, where we had found a pretty cheap apartment to spend the next few days over the Christmas break. It had a bedroom with a big flat screen TV and a good sized living room with kitchen. All we needed to enjoy the holidays. We enjoyed the time very much and on Christmas we talked to our families and friends before eating fondue for hours and falling asleep in front of the TV!
18° | sunny / rainy | km 798
A million Ferries!
on 2018-01-02 in Chile
[Fabi & Denis] Our trip down south in Chile was dominated by one singular thing... ferries! Normally we would have had to take 3 different ferries to go towards Chaitén from which we could have stayed on the road until crossing into Argentina. As it soon turned out the famous Carretera Austral had been closed due to some major rock slides over the past view days and so we had to take another long ferry around a big part of the famous road to get further south. Thanks to the good English of one of the employees we were at least certain that we would be able to continue further south and so we decided to embark on this nautical adventure.
Whilst waiting for the second ferry we stayed at a small hotel near the harbor at which we met two Germans that we had known from the afternoon at the ferry service. They were waiting on the next ferry as well and so we decided to make the best of the evening and exchange some interesting travel stories. We both cooked some pasta and drank some beers and the night was a lot more fun than expected. The next morning we gave them some of our gear to take upon the ferry so that it would stay dry on this rainy day. We tried to leave about five minutes later but Fabi soon had to find out that he had given his motorcycle key to the couple and was therefore unable to start his bike!!! Denis was luckily able to ride ahead and convince the crew of the ship to let him aboard to retrieve the key in order to get Fabi and his bike onto the ship as well. What an exciting start to our adventure!
The boat ride was pretty uneventful due to poor visibility thanks to the rain. The ferry landed and we knew that there was one more to come in about 10 kilometers. So we both decided just to put on our Goretex Layer and leave the riding gear in the car. At first we stayed behind the cars on this short gravel stretch but after a little while we decided to go ahead to the next ferry in order to wait for the others in the dry. What we did not know after boarding the second ferry was that it was smaller then the first one and therefore left before our German friends could board the boat. So we waited about another hour at the end of the second ferry for them to return with our gear... we decided to not give our gear to anyone ever again ;). Luckily there was a nice little restaurant in which we were able to stay warm and dry whilst waiting for them to return. We also had a very nice conversation with some bicyclists from the US and Canada which made the wait more bearable.
The last and longest ferry ride around the closed road was fully booked for the day and so we had to stay for one more night in Chaitén. Since the ferry left late at night the next day we relaxed an entire day in a comfortable common area drying our gear and thinking about the boat ride to come. The ferry was supposed to leave at 11 p.m. and take us south for 7 hours. It was uncertain though if it was going to leave this evening because it had been delayed before and therefor possible that it would not leave due to weather conditions. To our relieve we were lucky and when we boarded the boat everything was going according to our plans. We had met the bicyclists again and we further ran into another dutch motorcyclist with whom we shared another nice evening discussing everyones trips.
The following morning we arrived very punctual at a tiny "harbor" and even though it was very early we were in a good mood to have finally made it and leave the ferries behind. Or so we were led to believe. After just a very short while we found ourselves waiting for another tiny ferry to take us across a small river... To make matters worse it started to rain once more and we soon found out that the ship was not going to start for another hour... Denis used the time at hand to tighten his chain once more and after a short while we decided to skip ahead and try to at least catch the first ferry across. All the bicyclists and motorcyclists took cover in a small shed at the landing site of the ferries. We all waited for the boats crew to finish their breakfast and coffee... but after said hour we were finally able to cross the river. We had decided to use the early start to get to a small town called Coyhaique. The countryside was nice but the rain held a tight grip on us, after about 100 kilometers we had to wait for another small ferry to get around a small construction site. When we arrived in Coyhaique we agreed that we were sick of ferries for the unforeseen future and that we needed a break. Therefor we stayed in Coyhaique over new years and after 3 days of relaxing in a nice apartment with a fireplace we headed towards the Argentinian border.
We decided to take a small border north of Lago Gral Carrera and we found ourselves enjoying the road along the coast very much. It was a nice gravel road that allowed for a fast paste along some very scenic view points. What we did not know at the time that we had passed the Chilean exit border by accident and so when we arrived at the Argentinian side we had not been stamped out of Chile yet. So we had to go back for about 25 kilometers to get our passports stamped just to turn around and go back to the same Argentinian border. Luckily for us the road was nice so the 50 kilometers detour were acceptable. Since the border was far away from any main road the procedure was done swiftly and crossing into Argentina went without further problems.
Whilst waiting for the second ferry we stayed at a small hotel near the harbor at which we met two Germans that we had known from the afternoon at the ferry service. They were waiting on the next ferry as well and so we decided to make the best of the evening and exchange some interesting travel stories. We both cooked some pasta and drank some beers and the night was a lot more fun than expected. The next morning we gave them some of our gear to take upon the ferry so that it would stay dry on this rainy day. We tried to leave about five minutes later but Fabi soon had to find out that he had given his motorcycle key to the couple and was therefore unable to start his bike!!! Denis was luckily able to ride ahead and convince the crew of the ship to let him aboard to retrieve the key in order to get Fabi and his bike onto the ship as well. What an exciting start to our adventure!
The boat ride was pretty uneventful due to poor visibility thanks to the rain. The ferry landed and we knew that there was one more to come in about 10 kilometers. So we both decided just to put on our Goretex Layer and leave the riding gear in the car. At first we stayed behind the cars on this short gravel stretch but after a little while we decided to go ahead to the next ferry in order to wait for the others in the dry. What we did not know after boarding the second ferry was that it was smaller then the first one and therefore left before our German friends could board the boat. So we waited about another hour at the end of the second ferry for them to return with our gear... we decided to not give our gear to anyone ever again ;). Luckily there was a nice little restaurant in which we were able to stay warm and dry whilst waiting for them to return. We also had a very nice conversation with some bicyclists from the US and Canada which made the wait more bearable.
The last and longest ferry ride around the closed road was fully booked for the day and so we had to stay for one more night in Chaitén. Since the ferry left late at night the next day we relaxed an entire day in a comfortable common area drying our gear and thinking about the boat ride to come. The ferry was supposed to leave at 11 p.m. and take us south for 7 hours. It was uncertain though if it was going to leave this evening because it had been delayed before and therefor possible that it would not leave due to weather conditions. To our relieve we were lucky and when we boarded the boat everything was going according to our plans. We had met the bicyclists again and we further ran into another dutch motorcyclist with whom we shared another nice evening discussing everyones trips.
The following morning we arrived very punctual at a tiny "harbor" and even though it was very early we were in a good mood to have finally made it and leave the ferries behind. Or so we were led to believe. After just a very short while we found ourselves waiting for another tiny ferry to take us across a small river... To make matters worse it started to rain once more and we soon found out that the ship was not going to start for another hour... Denis used the time at hand to tighten his chain once more and after a short while we decided to skip ahead and try to at least catch the first ferry across. All the bicyclists and motorcyclists took cover in a small shed at the landing site of the ferries. We all waited for the boats crew to finish their breakfast and coffee... but after said hour we were finally able to cross the river. We had decided to use the early start to get to a small town called Coyhaique. The countryside was nice but the rain held a tight grip on us, after about 100 kilometers we had to wait for another small ferry to get around a small construction site. When we arrived in Coyhaique we agreed that we were sick of ferries for the unforeseen future and that we needed a break. Therefor we stayed in Coyhaique over new years and after 3 days of relaxing in a nice apartment with a fireplace we headed towards the Argentinian border.
We decided to take a small border north of Lago Gral Carrera and we found ourselves enjoying the road along the coast very much. It was a nice gravel road that allowed for a fast paste along some very scenic view points. What we did not know at the time that we had passed the Chilean exit border by accident and so when we arrived at the Argentinian side we had not been stamped out of Chile yet. So we had to go back for about 25 kilometers to get our passports stamped just to turn around and go back to the same Argentinian border. Luckily for us the road was nice so the 50 kilometers detour were acceptable. Since the border was far away from any main road the procedure was done swiftly and crossing into Argentina went without further problems.
28° | sunny | km 1144
Amigos Chilenos
on 2017-12-16 in Chile
[Basti] Cristobal, a friend of Haralds wife Malu, was already waiting for me in Santiago de Chile. He was so kind to offer safe parking for my bike while I would be flying back home for Christmas and New Years.
What I didn't know was that my parking space would be in his parents garden. They welcomed me with open arms and I was like naturally invited to stay at their home. My poor Spanish wasn't an issue at all and I immediately felt comfortable.
Cristobal showed me a bit the bar area and in the evening we spontaneously got invited to BBQ by some friends of him. We had some beers, incredible meat and a fun time!
The next day we went on a short day ride together with Sebastian to a small river in the mountains. At the time it really was summer in Santiago and we enjoyed jumping into the fresh water just days before Christmas. Our bikes couldn't have been more different, but nobody cared. Biker is biker!
For one day I tried to organize some Christmas presents before I had my flight on December 19th. The 14 hours flight from Santiago to Rome was hard, but I was more than happy to come back home to snowy Munich.
I spend three weeks at home with my girlfriend, family and a couple of friends.
On January 8th I returned with some spare parts and new tires to Cristobal and his family. Once again I enjoyed the sensational hospitality while I prepared my bike for Patagonia.
At this point a huge thank you to Cristobal and his family!
On my way to Puerto Montt the other drivers suddenly started to wave at me again and at one lunch the owner of the restaurant gave me 20.000 Pesos to support my travels.
How great to be on the road again surrounded by so lovely people!
I did a dreamy d-tour to the national park Conguillío. I circumnavigated half around volcano Llaima and passed former rivers of lava and some lakes. A bit later than planned I arrived at Puerto Montt where Cristobals friend Rodrigo was already waiting for me.
He had bought a melon and white wine. Needless to say that we enjoyed a very funny evening with this typical Chilean drink. The next day Roberto suggested a beer festival which of course I couldn't miss.
Prior to that we went to eat sea food and sausages for breakfast. To my surprise I even liked the food and so we were ready for the beer fest, which was like a festival with live music and different booths offering all kinds of beers from the region. Since they like to drink lager I almost felt like home. Sonja, Rodrigo and I surely had a great day with sunny weather, tasty beer and good music.
What I didn't know was that my parking space would be in his parents garden. They welcomed me with open arms and I was like naturally invited to stay at their home. My poor Spanish wasn't an issue at all and I immediately felt comfortable.
Cristobal showed me a bit the bar area and in the evening we spontaneously got invited to BBQ by some friends of him. We had some beers, incredible meat and a fun time!
The next day we went on a short day ride together with Sebastian to a small river in the mountains. At the time it really was summer in Santiago and we enjoyed jumping into the fresh water just days before Christmas. Our bikes couldn't have been more different, but nobody cared. Biker is biker!
For one day I tried to organize some Christmas presents before I had my flight on December 19th. The 14 hours flight from Santiago to Rome was hard, but I was more than happy to come back home to snowy Munich.
I spend three weeks at home with my girlfriend, family and a couple of friends.
On January 8th I returned with some spare parts and new tires to Cristobal and his family. Once again I enjoyed the sensational hospitality while I prepared my bike for Patagonia.
At this point a huge thank you to Cristobal and his family!
On my way to Puerto Montt the other drivers suddenly started to wave at me again and at one lunch the owner of the restaurant gave me 20.000 Pesos to support my travels.
How great to be on the road again surrounded by so lovely people!
I did a dreamy d-tour to the national park Conguillío. I circumnavigated half around volcano Llaima and passed former rivers of lava and some lakes. A bit later than planned I arrived at Puerto Montt where Cristobals friend Rodrigo was already waiting for me.
He had bought a melon and white wine. Needless to say that we enjoyed a very funny evening with this typical Chilean drink. The next day Roberto suggested a beer festival which of course I couldn't miss.
Prior to that we went to eat sea food and sausages for breakfast. To my surprise I even liked the food and so we were ready for the beer fest, which was like a festival with live music and different booths offering all kinds of beers from the region. Since they like to drink lager I almost felt like home. Sonja, Rodrigo and I surely had a great day with sunny weather, tasty beer and good music.
18° | cloudy | km 367
Stuck in Chaitén
on 2018-01-15 in Chile
[Basti] Shortly after Puerto Montt there would be a quick way to Hornopirén via a ferry crossing a small fjord. Or you go like me for a nice day ride around the fjord and admire the iconic Osorno volcano along the road. There's probably not a second mountain with such a perfect triangular silhouette. Half way the great tarmac road turned as expected into a dirt road which was still easy to drive on.
Finally at Hornopirén there is no other option than to take the ferry. As I was going to the ticket office I was stunned as I discovered Mia's bike parking in front of a restaurant. Mia and her brother joined us on the steel rat sailing from Panama to Columbia.
As luck would have it she had also booked the ferry the next morning and we could bring us up to date on the 4 hour ferry ride. By now she was also riding alone to Ushuaia.
After the ferry hell of dust broke loose, because all the vehicles from the ferry had to drive the 56 km to Chaitén. To overtake on the single track dust road was not fun and so I decided to let the convoy pass while I did several stops.
At Chaitén we found out that due to a land slide the only route south, the Carretera Austral, was impassable for month and there would be free ferry around it. The only problem was, that the ferry was fully booked for the next two days. That's why Mia and I were stuck in the litte town Chaitén for now.
We decided to go for a hike to the nearby volcano Chaitén. His first eruption was 2008 and there was still a lot of smoke coming out on top.
The second day we initially had to plan to go to some hot springs but during breakfast we heard about the possibility of a kayak tour.
There a plenty of hot springs, so let's jump into the cold sea. When I saw pictures of people in kayaks in Patagonia I always thought they were crazy but to my surprise the water was a lot warmer then expected. While covered in neoprene of course.
The kayaks were the best I have ever used and going forward in the perfectly calm sea was almost effortless. We paddled relaxed to a nearby sea lion gathering and could watch those impressive animals up close. What an experience! Also some penguins were swimming right next to us.
Only dolphins were missing, although you should be able the watch them in the area regularly.
Very happy and a bit tired we went on the ferry in the evening. Over night the ferry would bring us big step more south.
Finally at Hornopirén there is no other option than to take the ferry. As I was going to the ticket office I was stunned as I discovered Mia's bike parking in front of a restaurant. Mia and her brother joined us on the steel rat sailing from Panama to Columbia.
As luck would have it she had also booked the ferry the next morning and we could bring us up to date on the 4 hour ferry ride. By now she was also riding alone to Ushuaia.
After the ferry hell of dust broke loose, because all the vehicles from the ferry had to drive the 56 km to Chaitén. To overtake on the single track dust road was not fun and so I decided to let the convoy pass while I did several stops.
At Chaitén we found out that due to a land slide the only route south, the Carretera Austral, was impassable for month and there would be free ferry around it. The only problem was, that the ferry was fully booked for the next two days. That's why Mia and I were stuck in the litte town Chaitén for now.
We decided to go for a hike to the nearby volcano Chaitén. His first eruption was 2008 and there was still a lot of smoke coming out on top.
The second day we initially had to plan to go to some hot springs but during breakfast we heard about the possibility of a kayak tour.
There a plenty of hot springs, so let's jump into the cold sea. When I saw pictures of people in kayaks in Patagonia I always thought they were crazy but to my surprise the water was a lot warmer then expected. While covered in neoprene of course.
The kayaks were the best I have ever used and going forward in the perfectly calm sea was almost effortless. We paddled relaxed to a nearby sea lion gathering and could watch those impressive animals up close. What an experience! Also some penguins were swimming right next to us.
Only dolphins were missing, although you should be able the watch them in the area regularly.
Very happy and a bit tired we went on the ferry in the evening. Over night the ferry would bring us big step more south.
24° | sunny / cloudy | km 758
Searching for tourists
on 2018-01-18 in Chile
[Basti] The ferry arrived even half an hour early and that's why Mia and I were sitting on our bikes at 7 o'clock in the morning heading back to the main road. At that crazy time the hot spring on our way was still closed, so there really was nothing better to do then to drive all the way to La Junta at once. After breakfast we split up because Mia wanted to visit some family friends on a nearby eco ranch.
My destination for this day was the waterfall "Cascada de Ventisquero Colgante" where I could camp in the Parque Queulat. It caught me by surprise that I had to take another ferry to go around a construction site. Because of that my initial plan to go back to the city for dinner after I had set up the tent and had done the hike failed.
I didn't care. I was just happy that I got a camping spot and that I managed to see the waterfall just before the weather turned bad. In the evening after having a shower the small restaurant at the park entrance was also closed and the next one according to my GPS 70 km away. After checking my panniers my dinner for the night would be tuna out of a can and cereal bars.
But I had very nice company because I shared my spot with two Chilean bicyclists and two Chilean girls. I refused their offer to join their meal because they had to have enough strength the next day to continue cycling while I only had to move the throttle. Together we played some rounds of Dobble until we all went to bed quite early.
The next day I reached the biggest city around, Coyhaique. I spend the afternoon at a motorcycle dealer to finally change my tires that I had brought over from Germany. The guys were super friendly and allowed me to use their tools to remove the wheels myself. That way I only payed very fair 11.900 Pesos (20 USD).
It was already half past 7 when I left the shop and continued riding south. I wanted to reach a nice campground that I had found on iOverlander. When I arrived I got the last free spot and the fire for hot water in the showers was already burning. To my pleasant surprise nobody showed up the next morning to collect the fee.
On this day I wanted to get to Puerto Sanchez to visit the world famous Cavernas de Mármol. I was hoping for fewer tourists in comparison to the better known Puerto Río Tranquilo right on the Carretera Austral. Unfortunately and contrary to my GPS data there was no gas station at Bahía Murta. Being already low on fuel, the 25 km to Puerto Sanchez and back would have been too much. So I tried the local tourist info and asked for fuel. The very friendly lady quickly called two people and gave me directions to a hostel that would sell gasoline.
Finally I went on a very nice gravel road to the super small town Puerto Sanchez. There was also a tourist info and after my good experience before I asked for a place to stay. There weren't any hotels or hostels anyway. Again just after one phone call I had a place. But the boat tour to the caves would be a challenge, because it would cost me 30.000 Pesos (50 USD) to do it alone and there weren't any other tourists around...
But my room in the house of a very nice lady was super comfortable and I would get breakfast and dinner, too. Needless to say that there wouldn't have been a restaurant in this tiny village.
A bit worried I started searching for tourists. Lucky me, I found a Chilean group from Coyhaique just on the main square. Their French guide spoke even English and of course I could join their group. But they were still looking for the best price for the boat trip.
My 30 000 sounded better than their 8000 per person. So I asked my guy again, but for a group he also wanted 8000 per person. When I came back I could only find two women from the group and both couldn't speak English. Somehow I thought they would drive to the rest and got in their car.
After about an hour driving in the middle of beautiful nowhere I realized that they were looking at properties in a forest. We continued walking for about an hour in the forest and they showed me eatable berries and nice lookouts. With cows, wooden shacks and wooden fences around it reminded me of the Bavarian Alps. Only the rest of the group was nowhere to find.
Didn't matter, it was a nice 3 hour excursion and at the end I found out that they camped right in the center of the town and that I should come by the next day at around noon.
I immediately booked another night in my cozy homestay and the next day the group and I actually went to the caves for the special price of 7000 Pesos per person.
The marble caves in the turquoise waters of the General Carrera lake are a unique display of natures beauty. But after maybe 1,5 hours you have seen everything.
I spent the afternoon finally cleaning my air filters. My bike was running significantly smoother afterwards and reacted quicker on the throttle.
The next day I had a lot of fun riding through the dreamy landscape towards the Argentinian border.
My destination for this day was the waterfall "Cascada de Ventisquero Colgante" where I could camp in the Parque Queulat. It caught me by surprise that I had to take another ferry to go around a construction site. Because of that my initial plan to go back to the city for dinner after I had set up the tent and had done the hike failed.
I didn't care. I was just happy that I got a camping spot and that I managed to see the waterfall just before the weather turned bad. In the evening after having a shower the small restaurant at the park entrance was also closed and the next one according to my GPS 70 km away. After checking my panniers my dinner for the night would be tuna out of a can and cereal bars.
But I had very nice company because I shared my spot with two Chilean bicyclists and two Chilean girls. I refused their offer to join their meal because they had to have enough strength the next day to continue cycling while I only had to move the throttle. Together we played some rounds of Dobble until we all went to bed quite early.
The next day I reached the biggest city around, Coyhaique. I spend the afternoon at a motorcycle dealer to finally change my tires that I had brought over from Germany. The guys were super friendly and allowed me to use their tools to remove the wheels myself. That way I only payed very fair 11.900 Pesos (20 USD).
It was already half past 7 when I left the shop and continued riding south. I wanted to reach a nice campground that I had found on iOverlander. When I arrived I got the last free spot and the fire for hot water in the showers was already burning. To my pleasant surprise nobody showed up the next morning to collect the fee.
On this day I wanted to get to Puerto Sanchez to visit the world famous Cavernas de Mármol. I was hoping for fewer tourists in comparison to the better known Puerto Río Tranquilo right on the Carretera Austral. Unfortunately and contrary to my GPS data there was no gas station at Bahía Murta. Being already low on fuel, the 25 km to Puerto Sanchez and back would have been too much. So I tried the local tourist info and asked for fuel. The very friendly lady quickly called two people and gave me directions to a hostel that would sell gasoline.
Finally I went on a very nice gravel road to the super small town Puerto Sanchez. There was also a tourist info and after my good experience before I asked for a place to stay. There weren't any hotels or hostels anyway. Again just after one phone call I had a place. But the boat tour to the caves would be a challenge, because it would cost me 30.000 Pesos (50 USD) to do it alone and there weren't any other tourists around...
But my room in the house of a very nice lady was super comfortable and I would get breakfast and dinner, too. Needless to say that there wouldn't have been a restaurant in this tiny village.
A bit worried I started searching for tourists. Lucky me, I found a Chilean group from Coyhaique just on the main square. Their French guide spoke even English and of course I could join their group. But they were still looking for the best price for the boat trip.
My 30 000 sounded better than their 8000 per person. So I asked my guy again, but for a group he also wanted 8000 per person. When I came back I could only find two women from the group and both couldn't speak English. Somehow I thought they would drive to the rest and got in their car.
After about an hour driving in the middle of beautiful nowhere I realized that they were looking at properties in a forest. We continued walking for about an hour in the forest and they showed me eatable berries and nice lookouts. With cows, wooden shacks and wooden fences around it reminded me of the Bavarian Alps. Only the rest of the group was nowhere to find.
Didn't matter, it was a nice 3 hour excursion and at the end I found out that they camped right in the center of the town and that I should come by the next day at around noon.
I immediately booked another night in my cozy homestay and the next day the group and I actually went to the caves for the special price of 7000 Pesos per person.
The marble caves in the turquoise waters of the General Carrera lake are a unique display of natures beauty. But after maybe 1,5 hours you have seen everything.
I spent the afternoon finally cleaning my air filters. My bike was running significantly smoother afterwards and reacted quicker on the throttle.
The next day I had a lot of fun riding through the dreamy landscape towards the Argentinian border.