3/17/2002; 44º23' south- Camp on Fijordo Puyuguapi. Rode 10km in 1hr
Ok, so we only rode 10k today (an all time low, I believe). But we have several very good excuses: 1) a nice hike, & 2) hot springs. In the morning we woke to the typical light rain, packed our bags and then hiked up to the Ventisquero Colgante (hanging glacier) overlook. One might think that we would tire of looking at glaciers, but each one is unique and fascinating. This one in particular had a large river flowing out of it and falling several hundred feet to the valley floor.
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Ventisquero Colgante
After the hike we packed up the bikes and headed down the road towards Puyuhuapi, reaching the road-side office for Termas de Puyuhuapi on the shores of fijordo Puyuhuapi in half an hour. Termas were sounding pretty good after days of riding in the rain and so we stopped to check it out. The termas and associated resort are located on a peninsula on the other side of the fijord, and the only access is by boat. The office was closed, but the sign outside said that boats would leave at 10am, 12:30am and 6:30pm. So it's 10:00am and there is no boat. Travel in Chile is full of little puzzles to be solved. After waiting and looking around a bit we hailed one of the workers at the adjacent salmon hatchery and asked him when there would be a boat. "Oh, in the next hour" We waited around a bit more and there was no sign of the imminent arrival of a boat of any sort, so we hailed another more important looking worker and asked him. "Just one moment" he says, pulling a radio out of his jacket. After a few minutes of talking on the radio he asked if we were willing to pay 5,000 pesos each for a boat ride, and when we said sure he talked in the radio some more and announced that a boat would be arriving shortly. Sure enough, a few minutes later we saw a boat speeding across the bay.
Fifteen minutes after leaving the dock, the boat rounded an island and in the back of a cove sat one of the most lavish resorts that I have seen. A large log hotel and restaurant were on the right, with cabañas and a spa on the left and two large sail boats anchored in the bay. After checking in at the reception desk we followed a plank path through the jungle to three very nice hot springs ranging in temperature from 88ºF to 104ºF. I hopped into the medium temperature hot springs, and didn't get out for the rest of the day. While sitting in the hot springs I noticed some swelling on the inside of my knees, which was odd because my knees had been feeling fine for the past several weeks. Upon further inspection I realized that it was muscle. After a month and a half I'm finally getting into shape. And, of course, the one day that we could deal with some rain the sky clears and it is beautiful weather until we leave the resort at 6:30 in the evening, when it starts to rain again.
Soaking away soreness & worries at Termas Puyuhuapi
Upon returning to our bikes we realize that it is getting dark fast, and the town of Puyuhuapi is still 13km down the road. About half way to town it is almost too dark to see when we spy a nice campsite next to the bay and quickly set up camp, have dinner (pasta again), and hit the sack.
3/18/2002; 43º58' south- La Junta, Chile. Rode 61km in 5hrs:
The morning dawned bright and clear, and so while Mandy rode in to town I waited for the sun to dry the tent out before setting off at 10. The town of Puyuhuapi is a nice little community with several German hotels. Many of the towns in the lake district of Chile were settled by Germans in the early 1900's, but this is the only town on the Carretera Austral in which we have encountered any German influence. In 1945 several families of Germans settled in Puyuhuapi to start a rug factory. Why Puyuhuapi, you might ask. So did many other people at the time; one could only reach the place by boat from Puerto Aysen, making it difficult to export the rugs that they were making. Conspiracy theories related to the war abound, but eventually most people came to accept the claim that they were just escaping economic hardship in Germany and taking advantage of the weaving skill of the local Chilote women. The rugs are all hand woven from 100% wool, and are very beautiful and soft. Although the techniques are ancient, the sales and marketing are modern, and you can find out more on their web site: Click Here.
Looms at Alfombras Puyuhuapi
Before leaving town we have a few errands to run- groceries for the next few days (plenty of cookies for me), and a bit of bike repair. Mandy noticed earlier that one of the welds on the BOB had cracked, so she went looking for a welding shop. The only shop in town said that they could not do the repair, and that we could have it fixed in La Junta 50km down the road. After buying a few more packages of cookies we headed out of town to La Junta and had nice riding weather for a few hours until the rain returned once again. I arrived in La Junta at 5pm, an hour behind Mandy, we found a nice hospedaje to stay at, then Mandy went in search of a welding shop. She found one shop but the owner was out drinking, so she found another but it was closed until the morning. That evening four young Israelis stayed at the hospedaje with us. It seems that there are Israelis all over Chile and Argentina, and over dinner we asked them why. Israel has a mandatory 3 year conscription in the army after one graduates high school. After leaving the army many of the Israeli youth work for a few months to make some money, and then head out to see the world. South America is a primary destination because it is inexpensive and beautiful. After a few bottles of wine the discussion turned to politics, and for several hours we got an ear full of the Israeli point of view on the Israel/Palestine situation. I left with the impression that it will be many generations before the situation is resolved.
3/19/2002; 43º36' south- Camp Cow Patty, Rode 52km in 5hrs:
