We are sitting in the departure area of OR Tambo Airport, Johannesburg, waiting for our flights to Puerto Montt via Sao Paulo and Santiago. The flight to Sao Paulo has been delayed by a few hours which gives Leigh some time to catch up on some last minute work and for me to get started on my journal.

We got back to South Africa after six months of wonderful cycling in Asia just over 8 weeks ago and most of that time we have been dreaming about getting back on the bicycles. A lot of the last few weeks of the Asian trip was spent thinking about where to go next. South America was an obvious choice because we would be leaving during the austral summer and the lack of overly restrictive visa requirements means our agenda could be open-ended. We were probably only vaguely aware of the Carretera Austral and Patagonia as a cycling destination until we met Matias and Camila, a Chilean couple on an extended cycling honeymoon, on the trail in South Korea six months ago but their description certainly got us interested. The route we would plan for was dependent on how soon after New Year we could get going. We both wanted our doctors to give us the once-over on our return to South Africa, particularly our skins after so much time in the sun. The all-clear from the medicos came through in early December which meant we could be in Pategonia early enough in the summer to tackle the Carretera Austral before the weather heads south. So we booked the tickets about three weeks ago and now sit champing at the bit in a boring airport departure area.

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We only managed to cycle about six hundred kilometers while back in South Africa, most of that coming during a ten day period a few weeks back, so we are a little bit out of shape and will have to ease into loaded touring again. The weather for the first few days after we arrive in Puerto Montt doesn't look that good so a slow start might not be a bad thing.

The only maintenance needed on the bikes on our return from Asia was a good wash, new chains and new brake pads. I'm sure they are in better shape than we are.