December 21, 2019
Hornopiren
There is so much good to say about today it is hard to know where to start.
Weather-wise I can't recall enjoying such a lovely day in Patagonia before. It was a crisp seven degrees when we woke up but there was hardly a cloud in the sky and it would remain like that for the whole day with the temperature predicted to hit the high teens. We managed to cycle the whole ride without resorting to a a jacket or warm top but there was enough of a cool breeze to ensure we never got hot. Unfortunately, we know this will not last.
Our decision to cut yesterday's ride short was quickly justified when we hit the first of the big hills just a few hundred meters out of town. The total climb for today was almost 850m over a short distance of 45Km with a good amount on ripio. I really don't enjoy walking my bike but had to resort to doing that for a short section today. However, there has been quite a bit of work on this section of the road over the past two years so there was far less ripio and most of it was in quite good condition. This makes me wonder how we managed this section two years ago because on that occasion we started from Lenca and had to contend with dire weather and far worse ripio.
I'm not going to claim that we enjoyed all of today's ride but we felt pretty good about it at the end. We certainly felt a hell of a lot better than we did at this point two years ago. During that ride I bonked in a bad way about twenty kilometers out of Hornopiren and I was glad we managed things better this time. There are three main climbs on the route but the last one to Hornopiren is quite gentle and all on asfalto culminating with a big descent into the town so it is a nice way to end the day
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Once in Hornopiern we sought out Dona Martina's campsite of which we had heard good reports. In is in the back garden of her house on the eastern side of town and for a mere 3000 CLPs a head you get a nice refugio, hot showers and a good place to pitch under some trees or in a large covered shelter. I asked her about doing some laundry and she gave me a price but when I handed our dirty clothing to her she remarked that it was "pocito" and not worth charging us for. To top it, she treated us to a plate of sweet snacks, including Pastel de Pascua (Easter Cake, which is eaten at Christmas!) and glasses of Cola de Mono (monkeys' tails), a traditional Chilean drink.
If you are ever in Hornopiern, stay at Dona Martin's place!
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Our previous stay in Hornopiren was quite a sad affair but today has been quite wonderful.
Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 129 km (80 miles)
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A berry bold trip indeed ;-) :(
Safe journeys, John
4 years ago