O'Higgins - Tortel - Cochrane

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  Cochrane, Chile
Tuesday, February 12, 2008

O'Higgins - Tortel - Cochrane
 
06 - 07 Feb.
De O'Higgins al cruce del Río Bravo fueron 2 días y 102 Kms en bicicleta. Cruzamos en chalana (servicio gratis) a Puerto Yungay donde acampamos en la playa frente a la caleta. El día 07 tubimos fuertes y largas subidas de entre 3 a 4 kms de largo.
 
08 Feb.
 Salimos de Yungay de una vez remontando cuestas como por 5 Kms, y de paso: lluvia. Recorrimos un cañón muy cerrado y un camino con grandes barrancos. Luego llegamos a un valle bastante alto en la montaña donde anduvimos más o menos plano como por 5 kms. Luego disfrutamos de bajadas como por unos 6 kms hasta el cruce hacia Caleta Tortel, nublado pero sin lluvia

Acampando en el Camino

. Desde el cruce hasta Tortel fue lluvia incesante y carretera de ripio malo. Lo peor son unas especies de ondas continuas en el camino que dejan los carros, que desajustan las bicicletas y detienen el impulso hasta en las bajadas! 25 Kms después, entre "brinquitos" constantes llegamos a Tortel, Un pueblo "costero", muy particular porque no hay playa, sólo la montaña y la caleta (el mar), y entre los dos el pueblo, al cual no entran carros, así que sólo andas a pie entre su intrincada "red" de pasarelas elevadas. Es muy bonito y sobre todo curioso como todo está unido por estas pasarelas de madera. La "avenida principal" es una pasarela que recorre el pueblo a todo su largo por la orilla del mar.
 
09 Feb.
Después de recorrer Tortel y comprar provisiones para el camino partimos en dirección Carretera Austral y luego hacia el Norte. 48Kms más tarde acampábamos al lado del camino, con amenaza de lluvia. Apenas dio tiempo de montar el campamento y cocinar... y comenzó a llover de nuevo.
 
10 Feb.
Amanecido lloviendo. Comimos lago rápido dentro de la carpa, recogimos todo bajo la lluvia y salimos. 2 paradas obligadas: una para cambiar la tripa (cámara) trasera de mi bicicleta que se reventó al golpear con una roca que no vi en una bajada por saludar a un motorizado

Atardecer en Puerto Yungay

! La 2da para remendar los tirante de mi parrilla trasera y almorzar. Todo bajo la lluvia fría.
Más tarde vi a un Huemul...!!! Que suerte. No son nada fácil encontrarlos, mucho menos cerca de la carretera. Supongo que por la lluvia y en poco tráfico. Desde que llegamos a la Patagonia escuchamos hablar de esta especie de venado patagónico, Símbolo Patrio de Chile, pero no lo habíamos visto más que en fotos. Ya pensábamos que era una especie de animal mítico! Por cierto está en peligro de extinción.
Más tarde como regalo a nuestra persistencia como cicloturistas, el clima mejoró y salió el Sol. Tan fuerte que nos secó la ropa encima. Ahora entrábamos en un valle amplio con montañas de cumbres nevadas, lagos y ríos. Así es el clima de la Patagonia. Incesantemente cambiante. 49 Kms de salir, acampamos de nuevo cerca del camino.
 
11 Feb.
A subir de nuevo! Cuestas de 3,5 kms constantes con ripio suelto y las ya mencionadas ondas en la carretera que son una prueba de paciencia para los ciclistas y de resistencia para las bicicletas... La parte buena: buen clima. Sol hasta Cochrane. 45 Kms desde el último campamento de camino entramos a esta pueblo grande, de calles de concreto y muchos más servicios, incluyendo un banco, que no veíamos desde el 24 de Enero en Calafate, Argentina

Bahia Caleta Tortel

. Aquí nos tomaremos un día de descanso, Internet, mantenimiento y aprovisionamiento.
Además visitamos la sede de la agrupación "Defensores del Espíritu de la Patagonia", quienes se han dado a la tarea de informar a las comunidades del sur sobre los pormenores y las desventajas de la construcción de 5 represas en esta zona de Chile. La campaña llamada "Patagonia sin Represas" que se opone a la construcción con argumentos que personalmente creo muy válidos. Uno de los aspectos que me llamó más la atención es que el costo ambiental es altísimo, sin mencionar los costos económicos, sociales y culturales, como para que sólo se pueda cubrir un 10%  de la necesidad de electricidad cuando las represas se terminen dentro de 10 años, y que la mayor parte del servicio será digerido a la actividad minera del norte de Chile. Otra cosa que me llamó la atención es que, según Carlos, activista del mencionado grupo defensor, hay ministro que pasan de su cargo público a ocupar cargos en la directiva de las empresas involucradas con la construcción de las represas, y viceversa!
Yo por lo menos me uno al movimiento para salvaguardar estas zonas de la Patagonia! Más información de www.patagoniasinrepresas.cl
 
Hasta pronto!

Caleta Tortel y sus Pasarelas

 
Edgard y Frances

PD Fotos pronto


O'Higgins - Tortel - Cochrane
 
06 Febuary
Villa O´Higgins - Camp 1, 48 km
The day started well enough. We managed to leave by 9:30am - almost a record for us! It was pleasent weather - a little windy, but the sun was shining. Pretty flat for the first 50km we were told - but flat in Patagonia means ups and downs, and it being only our 2nd full cycling day we were getting fairly tired by about 4:30pm. So with 48km under our belts we decided to call it a day.
 
07 Febuary
Camp 1 - Puerto Yungay (Camp 2) 54 km
Today was supposed to be tougher - but in fact I enjoyed it more. There were 2 long (3 - 4km) uphills to negociate, but these were followed by downhills - the last being a glorious 20km mix of downhill and flat, through damp temperate rainforest with bamboos growing on the sides of the road

Cascadas Los Mellizos

. I was tired by the end though and the last 7 km to the ferry (which crossed a fijord to Puerto Yungay) took its toll. We made it in time though and camped on the beach on the other side.
 
08 Feburay
Puerto Yungay - Caleta Tortel, 45 km  
Today we had a 9 km uphill to start with - surrounded by rounded hat shaped mountains - but then a lovely 11 km down a steep tree covered valley, shrouded in mist which we sped down to emerge into a wide east - west valley, lined with mountains and with a very wide smooth turquoise green river running through it. It rained for the first time today though. At first I didn´t mind - the rain seemed to go with the mosses and the ferns and the dampness of the forest, but 4 hours later, soaked to the skin I had had enough. We had decided to take a 25 km detour to Caleta Tortel - a pintoresque fishing village on the coastal (western) end of the valley, with wooden houses and wooden walkways between them. But Caleta Tortel, although pretty, is somewhat annoying - to say the least, and especially after a 5 hour bike ride in the rain - since you have to leave your car (or bike) in the carpark at the entrance to the village and lug all your gear on foot to wherever you are staying. We stayed a a posada 10mins away - down wooden stairs and then along and up more wooden stairs, and 2 trips were needed to get all our gear down

Chalana de Rio Bravo a Pto Yungay

. The upside of this is that we are in a warm dry posada for the night and able to dry out our sodden luggage. Hopefully the sun will show its face tomorrow and I´ll feel a bit more well disposed towards the place.
 
09 Febuary
Caleta Tortel - Camp 3, 48 km.
I liked Caleta Tortel better today. It was cloudy when we woke, but bright enough and we wandered along the wooden walkways round the bay and into the village centre, which was made up, among other things, of a small dilapidated bandstand with a bust of General O´Higgins, and a large brand new mayor´s office. Caleta Tortel in general is a bit dilapidated - but there is much construction going on and plans for new plazas, restaurants and the like. And it is pleasent enough with fusias and rasberry bushes growing everywhere and painted fishing boats in the bay. We left at 2:00pm - the sun had come out, though it was still cloudy - and pedalled off towards Cochrane. The road was lovely, running along the side of the river, passing through woods and marshland. We stopped to camp after 48 km - more because it was suppertime than for tiredness. So we are at last it seems getting into the swing of things. About time !
 
10 Febuary
Camp 3 - Camp 4. 49.56 km
We awoke to the pitter patter of rain on the tent. We decided to ignore it - but it didn´t go away , so we finally decided to emerge to what my mother would call true Scottish weather, ie low cloud, mist and steady drizzle. The rain wasn´t too bad once we got going, but then Edgard got a puncture and his back bikerack broke - both of which had to be repaired

En el Camino

. It was cold and miserable. But then slowly, the clouds rose, the day brightened and lakes and mountains appeared from behind the mist. Our spirits rose as we cycled along through lovely woodland with greem swathes of green - just waiting for a tent. But it was early, only 4 :00pm so we soldiered on. At 7 :00pm we called it a day, our campsite above a steep canyon, snow covered mountains in the distance. Only another 45 km to Cochrane. Splendid !
 
11 Febuary
Camp 4 - Cochrane, 45 km.
Today was a lovely day. We started with a 4 km uphill, but then it was up and down (flat) all the way, with great views of the ever present mountains - this time merangue shaped with pointy peaks, past lakes green and blue, and finally a straight downhill through green, parklike woodland. The wind got up 5 km from Cochrane and it is blowing a right gale now - but we don´t care. Rest day tomorrow !
 
12 February
Cochrane
Shopping and internet day today. Cochrane is a clean and tidy town with wide avenues and a wooded main square - and a bank - haven´t seen one of those since Calafate in Argentina 

Frances subiendo cerca del Lago Cisnes

! Hot sun and cold wind. A pleasent place to rest for a day.
 
Just a quick note : There are government plans afoot for the construction of 5 huge hydroelectric power stations in Patagonia, which would be severely detrimental to the environment and the local economy and way of life, whilst providing very few benefits for the local population : most of the energy produced will be destined for the mining industries and the Santiago area, and in 10 years time when the dams are completed - they will supply only an estimated 10% of Chile´s energy needs. There is a local movement to prevent this happening, further information can be found at the website : www.patagoniasinrepresas.cl
 
Until next time
Cheers
Frances and Edgard

PS Photos to follow

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Lago Esmeralda cerca de Cochrane	Nubes Patagoniacas El Hilicoptero	Particular aviso de subida	Un poco rara la bici de los franceses
Segunda subida a Pto Yungay	Valle hacia Caleta Tortel	Villa OHiggins	Vista cerca de Cochrane

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