Coyhaique

January 4, 2020

It was pretty chilly when we woke up this morning but we still managed to get away by nine o'clock. A gift of some pan from Edith went some way to compensating for the crummy cabana.

The ripio was far rougher this morning than yesterday and a cold wind was blowing from the south. The sides of the road and many of the small valleys were covered in lupins in full bloom which were really good for the soul. What wasn't so good was the occasional speeding vehicle, one which got me to vent loudly and crudely. I guess karma will get me in the end.

The lupins along the way were spectacular.

On our arrival in Coyhaique, we cycled around the main area just to get our bearings and then settled on Hostal Gladys for the night. At 50K CLP it is way out of our budget but this is a tourist town and we need to spoil ourselves occasionally. Our matrimonial is the antithesis of every other Chilean room we have ever occupied - clean, bright and modern and the hostal itself seems to be run very strictly. Yolande and Gladys, the two ladies who assisted at check-in, were incredibly kind but also at pains to ensure we understood all of the myriad of rules. It is within walking distance of the main pedestrian shopping mall with the Unimarc just a bit further along.

After a great shower (and I mean a truly great shower - high pressure, hot water and a modern bathroom), we headed out to buy the things we needed to get in Coyhaique. On our way back who should we bump into in the plaza but Katie who has come to the end of her journey.

I'm feeling pretty tired at the moment despite the fact that we dropped several hundred meters today. The strong headwind and rough ripio today have taken their toll and for some reason I slept badly last night. We have climbed over 1500 meters on rough roads over the past two days and there is a bit more tomorrow up to El Blanco. At least this will be on asfalto and we know there is a good campsite at the village.

Although we have covered less than 80 kilometers in the past two days, it included over 1500m of climbing on rough ripio and some strong winds.

Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 626 km (389 miles)

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