Coyhaique

December 13, 2022

The other cyclists who had arrived at eight o'clock last night, an Australian father and daughter, were still snoring by the time we left this morning. We didn't leave early - it was nine thirty by the time we got away - but their body clocks might be wired differently to ours.

The first half of today's ride was quite attractive but the road was pretty busy. It links Coyhaique to Puerto Aysen and traffic seemed to pass in clusters suggesting that they might be related to ferry arrivals and departures. Most of the traffic was very considerate apart from one taxi that forced us off the road by overtaking ignoring that we were oncoming traffic.

Salto de Virgen. It had a lovely shrine located to the one side.

After about twenty seven kilometers we started a climb of about two hundred and seventy meters near the start of which there is a badly lit tunnel.

The tunnel near the start of the climb was a bit scary.

Especially when you consider the vehicles with which we had to share it.

Near the top of the climb the "true" Carretera Austral from Villa Ortega joined us and it was nice to look back down the lupin-filled valley through which we had cycled three years ago.

The junction with the road to Villa Ortega.

On our arrival in Coyhaique we headed straight to our little AirBnB to drop off our gear and then cycled back into town to enjoy a hamburger and beer. Our shopping expedition we had planned fell somewhat flat when the bicycle shops weren't able to provide what we were looking for. After that we decided that all the other things we were looking for weren't that important either.

Imagine our surprise when we discovered that Coyhaique had a street named after the taxi driver who forced us off the road.

We plan to have a short ride to Villa El Blanco tomorrow so we can have a justified late wake up call in the morning.

Today's ride: 45 km (28 miles)
Total: 4,595 km (2,853 miles)

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Elspeth JarmanToo funny!! The Australian couple (Alban and Aliesha) we camped with at Puerto Gonzalo. They were still actually snoring when we left too!! I asked what time they planned on setting off and Alban said he just let these things happen! Anyway, lovely to know they got there OK. They had a tough day ahead when we left them. She was doing cheery but they had only been going two days and I worried it may not last.
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1 year ago

Jean-Marc StrydomI think they may have underestimated things a bit. Their plans include lots of hiking and expect to be in El Chalten for New Year. They caught a lift to get to Nacho's place and I suspect they will have to catch a few more if they want to fit in all the things they have planned.
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1 year ago