Oscar from Couchsurfing randomly bumped into us on the street of Talca only moments before we were going to call him. We had made very good time on Ruta 5 and arrived a few days earlier than planned. We were his first couchsurfers but this didn't stop him putting his full trust in us, giving us the keys to his house and a bottle of wine to wash down the day's hardship. Oscar was shooting away for the weekend to attend a wedding, however we were able to spend a few hours chatting about his town, the effects of the earthquake and some of his research projects before his departure. We would like to thank Oscar for his generosity and open door.
Earthquake effects still evident 9 months on:
- We cycled past several bridges that had collapsed in which all traffic was still being diverted as construction goes on.
- We also managed to successfully navigate through miles and miles of cracked pavement, another reminder of this natural disaster.
- Earthquakes don't pick and choose which structures to destroy. We learned the Talca prison was severely damaged in the quake and prisoners escaped, some are still at large!
- Everyone you talk to in this region has their own story to tell of where they were, what they experienced, and what got damaged. Quite chilling to hear such vivid stories.
Our last stop on Ruta 5 before ducking back over to Argentina through the Lake District was Temuco. Again, we were warmly received by couchsurfing host, Lorena. She is a psychology professor and has the perfect work schedule of working only two days a week! We both went on little excursions with Lorena. Belinda went to a cosmetic Christmas party which had many free samples as well as goodies to eat and drink. Then later in the evening Roland accompanied Lorena to her free English lesson. Apparently everyone was fighting over who would be his partner! That beard was really working some magic! Roland was able to have some down time walking her two dogs, and even help mark a few final exams (multiple choice). Additionally there was no shortage of cuddle time with her 'gatito' (kitten) that was only a one month old. Thank you to Lorena for being marvellous!
It was a relief to get off the busy autopista and immediately we were rewarded with intimate farm land views which eventually gave way to lush forest, pristine rivers and lakes. We had one of our most pleasant rides in a long while cycling to Pucón, where we met up with Seth (one of the brothers we cycled with in Peru) and his girlfriend Aliza that was down from the US visiting for one week. After our fill of the biggest burgers we had seen since Alaska at RAP we polished off our evening with some gourmet chocolates famous to this region. It was such a treat to see Seth again and finally meet Aliza after hearing Seth gush about her so often. To top the evening off we also had company at hostal Alicia with an Austrian couple we had met on the road cycling into town. We did contemplate camping in Pucón but were glad we were under cover as it rained pitch forks all night long and continued throughout the next day.
But that didn't stop us! We jumped back on Big Bird and raced away knowing we had some gravel and some climbing to get to Tromen's Pass, the Chilé and Argentina border crossing. It wasn't the worst day in the world, Belinda didn't cry, but IT was up there. It was wet, windy, cold and some sections were so steep and offered little traction we had to push the bike. It was a shame as this area is very pretty but it was shrouded in mist so we couldn't see much. But as we descended the pass on the Argentina side we were immediately taken by the lighter skies, the change in vegetation and the return of pavement. We were able to clock up some quick kilometres as the day ended before hunkering down in a cosy bus shelter overnight for some wind and rain relief. Upon setting up camp, Belinda asked where was the handlebar bag? Turned out to be a very good question indeed. After looking about our bike and bus shelter in the middle of no where more times than necessary, our bag didn't appear. After much detective work we realised the only logical place for it to be was the Argentina customs building where we had busied ourselves warming up in front of the fire. Apparently so distracted by the cold neither of us noticed the bag was missing. Roland is still baffled at how he can cycle 30kms without noticing something that sits mere inches from his nose. The good news is that after retracing our steps back to customs, our bag was warmly waiting for us with all the contents still there i.e. camera, diary, ipods, crib board, flash drives, swiss army knife etc. etc.
Our social calender was filling up fast this week as we also had an opportunity to see Parker (the other brother) and his friend Matt in San Martin de Los Andes. The Bike Hostal was the cool place to hang out, talk bikes, fix bikes, see and breath bikes. Infact, the owner who is bike crazy built one bike made of bamboo that he rode across country to Buenos Aires. Once again we were happy to be indoors as it came down cats and dogs to the early hours of the morning. However we awoke to blue sky which was the perfect backdrop for cycling the Seven Lake Drive. We probably took more photos these next two days than the previous two weeks combined. This road passes through two national parks: Lanin and Nahuel Huapi. These sections are downright astonishing and we couldn't have been more thankful to have a sunny two days to tackle the challenging gravel roads that are skittled with potholes and enjoy the scenery and remind us of home.
Recommendation:
- We really enjoyed listening to "Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe" written by Laurence Bergreen. This book gives an exciting history of the voyage Magellan took to find the strait through South America that would give Spain a water route to the Spice Islands. Particularly interesting for us as we are heading into this area now. Thank you to Tomas and Nadia in Vaqueros for this thoughtful gift.
- Anyone know the difference between the Texas State flag and Chilé's? There doesn't seem to be much in it!
Crib Scores:
Roland 47
Belinda 33