Walk!

And then the walking part; 4 miles of very, very hard work… We left around 9 a.m. the following morning. It had rained very hard the night before, so the track was wet and slippery. The first part went very steep up through a very narrow ‘gorge’. We had to take the front panniers off right away. It didn’t take long before we also had to take the back panniers off. Which meant that we had to do every stretch a couple of times; first the panniers in 2 or 3 times and then the bikes. After that narrow stretch, it became a bit less steep. From there on steep hills and flatter terrain in between. But a lot of high tree roots. Had to take the front panniers off again and again to make the bikes lighter and then push the bikes up the hills together, so first the one bike and then the other. We couldn’t get the bikes up the steep hills otherwise. Sometimes we had to cross a river for which we had to take all the panniers off again and there was a sort of swamp which we had to cross. Mudd and dirt everywhere. And it went on like that for 4 miles. We were so glad when we saw a sign with welcome in Chile! From there on there was a gravel road which meant that we were finally able to cycle again. But by that time it had taken us 8 hours, while the riding time of the bikes wasn’t even 2 hours. It had taken us so much time to walk, take panniers off and put them back on.

The cycling part on the gravel road went well for a couple of miles, but then the road got very bad. Very large and loose rocks on very steep (down)hills. So we had to walk again while we tested the brakes in order to try and stop the bikes from breaking out on us. It was not possible to cycle because the bikes kept sliding away from us.

And then, finally and after 14 miles and 11 hours, we reached the Chilean customs. The men were already waiting for us and sticking their thumbs up. Got our passports stamped and had to go about half a mile further to reach a campingplace. Had to work hard and walk that part also; steep downhill and very loose rocks again. And when we thought we were there, there were another 2 steep hills to push the bikes on… But then we were finally there and had a magnificent view on Lago O’Higgins which was a nice reward. And we could take a shower there also…

The ferry left the next day at 5 pm, so we had the whole day to get ready and were able to take it easy. Fortunately, because our whole bodies hurt and we had a long night sleep. The weather was beautiful, so we spent the day in the sunshine. It’s a very beautiful place over there with a stunning view, so it wasn’t a punishment to have to stay there.

We arrived late on the other side of the lake. It was 8:30 already and we had to cycle another 2,5 miles to the town Villa O’Higgins. Fortunately the road was fairly flat. Looked for and found the campground/hostal that was recommended to us by other cyclists, pitched the tent, had dinner, took a shower and then went to bed.

Because we had to do some grocery shopping for the next 3-4 days (no other town or store along the road), we decided to stay here for the day. No punishment! It’s a weird and rugged little town, but the campground/hostal is very relaxed and the weather is great. Lots of sunshine and warmth, such luxury! Tomorrow we really start the famous Carretera Austral which is supposed to be beautiful; forests, lakes, waterfalls, fjords, mountains, volcanos and who knows what else. We shall see!

5 thoughts on “Walk!

  1. Hai, Kanjers,
    Niet te geloven dit verhaal met de smalle weggetjes
    Waarschijnlijk was er geen alternatieve route anders hadden jullie die wel genomen.
    Het blijkt wel weer, de aanhouder wint. Nu komt de beloning !! De Carretera Austral, Volgens de afbeeldingen is dit een gebied om de tijd voor te nemen en te genieten. Dit gun ik jullie van harte, gelukkig is het weer goed. Hier vriest het. De elfstedentocht is al bijna in zicht.
    Liefs.

  2. Hoi, wat een route!!!!
    Fijn dat jullie ook een beetje van het mooie weer kunnen genieten.

    Ronnie, Sem mist jou…..wil jij anders eens even een berichtje aan Sem sturen of eens even skypen, zou erg leuk zijn!

    Liefs en geniet van jullie mooie reis!

    Nienke

  3. Bikkels!!!!!
    Brood met nutella??? Ga je daarvoor helemaal die kant op ?????????? 😉 🙂 hahaha
    Geweldig mooie foto’s. Jullie zien echt een prachtig stukje wereld zo. Het kost wat bloed zweet en tranen, maar dan heb je ook wat.
    Doe het jullie niet na, maar dat weet je wel. Maar ben stiekem wel een beetje jaloers, maar vooral heel trots.

    Groeten uit Heerenveen
    PS de vetbollen hangen nog steeds op de wimpel, komt goed uit met deze vrieskou …

  4. Hallo Ronnie & Linda,
    Het ziet er allemaal indrukwekkend uit!
    Zowel een mooie afwisselende route als ook overwegend mooi weer maken het volgens mij tot een belevenis.
    Het landschap lijkt me erg afwisselend en derhalve voor fietsers zeer interessant.
    Ik vindt het opvallend dat jullie nog zoveel andere fietsers tegen komen, hopelijk wordt het geen file rijden!
    Geniet ervan en blijf ons op de hoogte houden met mooie foto’s.
    In Onna is het thans ijzig koud en voor mij als zon aanbidder derhalve niet te harden! BRRRRRRRRRR…
    Groeten uit Onna,

    Jan van den Berg

  5. Hallo, jullie hebben het over 40 graden terwijl het hier al een hele tijd echt winter is.
    heb even bijgelezen. Wat een avonturen!!!.
    Stel de 11 stedentocht komt dan kunnen jullie zo wel meedoen.conditie genoeg denkt mij. Rutger en Tamarah zijn de trotse ouders van een meisje geworden.
    Silke Eline geboren 22 januari. Alles prima.
    Voor jullie nog maar weer veel fietsplezier. groetjes Lutske

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