November 7, 1999
Day 16 Villarica: Ruta 5 then off route
La Torre Suiza
We get up early and are on the road at 730am trying to beat the wind that seems to pick up at about 1030 each day.
Another 15km on the Pan America route 5 and then we take a left, leaving the main road after 750km from Santiago. We get on a beautiful new asphalt road with about a two feet shoulder on each side. And hardly any traffic!
The road follows a major river valley up to Villarica. This means a constant but very gradual climb. We make good mileage, stop a few times at bus stop shelters to eat. We even get out the stove and make coffee, much to Rachel's delight. When she was cycling solo in NZ & Australia, she would stop and fix tea often.
At about noon we arrive in Villarica, a small tourist town at the foot of the volcano and along the lake, both of the same name. We cannot see the volcano though; clouds are obscuring the view for now. We locate the hostel we planned to stay at. Patrick had already found it on the internet and also heard about this hostel from Trevor.
La Torre Suisa is like a Swiss chalet, run by a Swiss couple who stopped here after cycling around the world for two and a half years. We can camp in the back yard and use the very nice sitting room, kitchen and hot showers.
Later we explore the town, eat an empanada and walk to the lakeshore where we watch the volcano reveal itself. Slowly the clouds dissipate, and we see it's with a smoking summit. We return after dinner for another look at sunset.
Today's ride: 69 km (43 miles)
Total: 795 km (494 miles)
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