December 2, 2022
Villa Santa Lucía
It started raining yesterday evening and it was still chucking down when we woke up this morning. The forecast suggested that the rain would taper off after midday so we only got on the road at eleven o'clock in the hope that by the time we started the climb up to Villa Santa Lucía the rain would have abated sufficiently for us to remove our rain gear.
The first thirteen kilometers was under repair so the road surface was quite churned up and soggy. It felt like we were cycling through glue at times. Once past the roadworks the surface was better and of course there was no dust from passing vehicles.
By one o'clock the rain had been reduced to misty drizzle and we started removing rain gear and the extra layers we had put on to keep us warm. The climb was long and slow but were in no rush and we ambled in to Villa Santa Lucía at three o'clock.
The small campground is much the same as it was when we were here in 2019 except that there is now second shelter on the western side which affords more protection from the prevailing north westerly wind. So that is we we set up camp. Another addition to the village is a food truck opposite the campground. A late lunch of a completo for me and some papas fritas for both of us was a pleasant way to end the ride. A cold beer would have made it even better but this is still a dry town.
In the early hours of the morning on the 16th of December 2017, two weeks before we arrived in Puerto Montt on our first cycle tour down the Carretera Austral, the mountain above Villa Santa Lucía collapsed and a mudslide destroyed much of the village claiming twenty two lives. After supper we strolled up to look at the memorial to the disaster. The Carretera Austral enters the village through the area most impacted by the landslide and when we came here on that route the three years ago I was overcome by emotion as we cycled in. At the time the village itself still seemed to be in shock but now it seems to have moved on. The memorial is on rather poor shape and not all of the twenty two flags planted where the lives were lost are all standing. I must admit I was less affected on seeing the scene of the disaster for the second time but even though the village seems to be progressing the scars must still remain.
Today's ride: 30 km (19 miles)
Total: 4,222 km (2,622 miles)
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