Puyuhuapi

December 6, 2022 to December 7, 2022

Tuesday 6th December 2022

It was still overcast today but, importantly, it wasn't raining this morning. Nonetheless, we had to drag ourselves away from our warm and cozy cabaña. The ride to Puyuhuapi would be short and quite easy so there was no reason to cut our comfort short.

Within a kilometer or so of leaving La Junta it started to rain and the rain trousers were pulled on hurriedly but the rain soon stopped and they came off again. After that it was an enjoyable ride on a great surface with a good hard shoulder for much of the way. The last section of ripio between La Junta and Puyuhuapi has been tarred making the ride even easier.

We encountered only four other cycle tourists along the way. Firstly, a young French couple who started their trip in Colombia and are heading for Ushuaia, caught up to us as we were enjoying our lunch of pan and boiled eggs alongside the road. They are wild camping as much as possible but had also decided to take refuge from the rain in a hostal in La Junta. In turn, we passed them while they were having their lunch in a bus shelter a few kilometers further on.

The next couple were the two Argentinians I had met in La Junta. Sadly, the rain had beaten them and they had given up on the idea of cycling the Carretera Austral section of the route to Ushuaia. They were heading back to Argentina via Palena and plan to continue southwards on Ruta Cuarenta.

What most roads in Argentina lack but is fairly common in Chile - a good hard shoulder.

A break in the clouds reveals the snow on the mountains above La Junta.

Second breakfast, same menu as lunch, was taken at the viewpoint to this series of small waterfalls. I am sure we have stopped at the same spot on our previous trips.

The saturated soil means the risk of rock falls is quite high and with the memories of what happened in Villa Santa Lucia we are grateful for the protection afforded by the netting on some of the cuttings.

Many of the cuttings are not protected and there were quite a lot of fallen rocks on the road although many of the rock falls had already been cleared and moved onto the side of the road.

Although we can't see the mountains through the clouds at least we are able to enjoy the many pretty streams cascading down the hillsides.

Upon our arrival in Puyuhuapi we headed for the Camping Rio Mar where we had stayed before. It has very good covered shelters for tents and two refugios with wood fired stoves to cooking and staying warm.

Puyuhaupi lies at the northern end of a fjord and this is the first time we are at sea level on this trip. As with La Junta, the town seems less basic than on out previous trips and, in particular, the grocery shops seems better stocked.

Lying at the end of a fjord in an area with lots of possible volcanic and seismic activity, tsunamis are a potential risk

Looking past Camping Rio Mar towards the fjord.

Wednesday 7th December 2022

We have spent most of the day sitting around the wood fired stove in the refugio. Against all expectations I managed fire up the stove without any assistance from the campsite owner, which was the case last night.

We have shared our warm spot with a Welsh couple and a pair of Rufous-collared Sparrows (Zonotrichia capensis), one of which is partially leucistic.

Today's ride: 46 km (29 miles)
Total: 4,343 km (2,697 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	4
Comment on this entry	Comment	3

Bill ShaneyfeltYour bird photos are wonderful! You must have quite a good zoom.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago

Jean-Marc StrydomTo Bill ShaneyfeltHi Bill. I use a Leica 100-400 lens on a Panasonic Lumix G85 body. Fairly basic body but a pro quality lens and the combo is small enough to fit into my handlebar bag.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago

Bill ShaneyfeltTo Jean-Marc StrydomYeah, some quality you have... I just use an old Canon SX130.
Reply to this comment
1 year ago