Cabanas Taitao Puerto Aisen

Ich habe nach der wunderschoenen Querung von Argentinien her bei Villa Santa Lucia die legendaere carretera austral erreicht. Sie ist das Kern- oder Herzstueck meiner Reise.

Und die Strasse fuehrt dann munter
immer weiter, rauf und runter,
zur Abwechslung mal am Meeresarm,
das Wetter ist jetzt schoen und warm.
So ist's Freude und keine Qual
auf der tollen carretera austral!

... it started snowing. We thought this was unusual for Chile in November but no one else on the bus seemed to blink an eye. Before you know it we were in thick snow and we couldn´t see the road. Being surrounded by this thick snow was very cool even if there were a few hairy moments with the bus losing traction. Making it to the ferry in one piece, I was a wee bit nervous as I had read somewhere that as it was a vehicle ferry, foot passengers had ...

... our first day, we go in search of transportation to the national park. It comes in the form of Paulo and his minivan. Paulo has a kind smile, but i a man of very few words. He drives us to the national park (40mins away) and waits whilst we go in search of ice. Simon and I climb uphill for an hour and a half. When we get to he viewing point, there is cloud covering the glacier, so we wait. Twice it pops out from behind the cloud ...

... around just after lunch.. In town I met German Alex, who I´d met previously in Castro and we went for some nice fish n chips.. well for me salmon and chips! Yum. The next day we boarded the ferry sometime before sunset and watched the sky turn pink over the very slowly receding port and on the horizon the glacier covered mountain peaks of Chilean Patagonia.. It was to be a highlight of the 24 hour voyage, as the next ...

... hill was a very steep, rocky climb on a very, very, very wet day. The conditions necessitated the invention of an entirely new means of moving the bike forward called, "Tug of War." Did I mention that it was raining? There was the falling rain that slowly leaked into my waterproof clothing. There was the sideways rain that fell in sheets together pushed by cold gusts of wind. Then ...

(Barato Goes Home) Today I passed two New Zealand cyclists, one of whom had a little yellow trailer. We stopped at the side of the road and traded information for a little while before they left... and Barato with them. 150 km!

... I found a bicycle mechanic, he immediately turned the handlebar around the right way. I thought: That was a good idea too. The bicyle ride began at Hospital de Coyhaique. I visited my friends in the hospital and took some photos before saying a final farewell. In the first 10 kilometres, the weather changed rapidy between extremes. When the winter extreme came, with Patagonian wind gusts and icy rain, all I could ...

... to the bottom of the glacier. It was a beautiful hike. We didn't see any big chunks get ripped off, but in the tiny lake at the bottom of the glacier there were some huge ice chunks floating around. We continued the drive to Puyuhaupi where we spent the night. Puyuhaupi is a small town on a fjordish inlet from the ocean. Rocky and ...

So, last week, after spending one day and a half in Santiago, it was time to leave for Chiloe with Kelly. We were planning to meet Bengi in Queilen, to spend Holy Week at the town's parish. However, I spent weds morning at Santa Adriana (I'll give more details below) and by the time I had to leave on the overnight bus, I had no interest in going. I was tired, and was not looking forward to spending another week in Chiloe, in the freezing rainy weather they are currently ...

... going in then out of doors too often (how can I avoid that - I'm on a cruise, for goodness sake!) Seas still nice outside the Darwin Passage. Swells 3-4m, but we barely feel the. Slight pitch. Now overcast, but it matters little since we are at sea and away from land. Spent the afternoon in the café, drinking tea, chatting with M&P. Paul saw the movie; the kids read, napped. Went to the lecture on dolphins - mostly interesting. Less of, "Bam! It's out there!"