Caleto Gonzalo

December 22, 2019

Once again we were treated to fantastic weather upon awakening this morning. We enjoyed our breakfast in the company of our fellow campers, Lewis and Eliose from Manchester and Felipe and his wife from Valdivia (on the coast north of Puerto Montt) before making our way down to the ferry.

Volcan Hornopiren in all its glory. Two years ago it was so cloudy and rainy we weren't aware of its existence.

There were three other cyclists on the boat. Antonio from Santiago whom we had met on the road two days before and a French-Swiss couple with their young daughter (not quite two years old!). Antonio and I had a long conversation, all in Spanish I am quite chuffed to claim while we spoke quite a bit to the Swiss lady who spoke excellent English.

Five cyclists on the ferry this morning.

Antonio from Santiago de Chile. We had first met him on the road to Contao.

The trip to Pumelin consists of two ferry rides. The first takes one to Leptepu and lasts three and a half hours. Then it is ten kilometers across to the ferry port where embarkation for the ride to Caleto Gonzalo happens. Cyclists may not ride this section and pick-up drivers are press-ganged into transporting the bicycles while the cyclists ride on the bus provided for foot passengers. Two years ago, after the disastrous landslide that destroyed Villa Santa Lucia, the ferries were redeployed causing the second leg to be serviced in two batches by a smaller ferry. This meant that as cyclists we were allowed to ride the ten kilometers of truly beautiful forest road during that period. The death of twenty people in the Santa Lucia disaster puts that privilege in perspective.

The ferry ride to Leptepu was in mostly great weather but the clouds eventually started rolling in and by the time we docked at Caleto Gonzalo the rain was coming down steadily. Mercifully it dried up for a while which allowed to get to the campsite close by without getting wet. There was an Americann couple from California at one of the three shelters who told us that the warden had come by and said that we could camp under the shelters because heavy rain was expected tonight. A nice change from last year when we camped out in the rain.

The great weather continued for the first part of the ferry trip.

As we approached Leptepu the weather started to close in but the views were still great.

The stream over which a small suspension bridge leads one to the campsite at Caleta Gonzalo.

Our cosy (and dry) home for the night. Leigh is sucking on a mug of mate', the favourite (very) mild stimulant in South America.

Today's ride: 2 km (1 miles)
Total: 131 km (81 miles)

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