Hidden Spot Next To The River

I can’t say enough nice things about everyone I’ve met here. I’m greeted with a smile and wave everywhere I go. My sweet Chilean hosts are suffering bravely through my Spanish and helping me get things done without fuss. While trying to find a laundromat yesterday, I told them that my clothes were sick. I didn’t have all of the words I needed so that’s what came out. There was a little snickering behind the counter at the lavenderia but it got the job done and I had a pile of freshly laundered bike clothes back to me in under two hours for just $10. To be fair, my clothes were sick – very sick after four days of riding. But now they are well.

I left my camp at Lake Yelcho around 8:30AM for a long climb to start the day. The climbing here has been fun so far. They built Route 7 with cyclists in mind and it shows. I haven’t encountered any terrible grades yet and there are plenty of pull outs to take a rest when my legs turn to jelly. The descents are a blast too and I am being treated to some of the most spectacular scenery that I’ve ever seen. There are wide views of dense forests and snow capped mountains in every direction. I’ve never seen anything like it – a mix of tropical looking forest posing in front of a pure white background. The Chilean Andes are mesmerizing. Today was especially spectacular on the other side of the climb and I stopped many times just to take in the views.

I met a nice young French couple that have been cycling for six months. They looked strong and happy to be out here. I admitted to them that I needed to slow down a bit and they seemed surprised that I had come from Puerto Varas in just four days. I need to chill but the riding has been so great and everything is working out so well that I just want to keep going. I pulled into my overnight town of La Junta around 4:30PM. I was headed to my hostel room that I had booked online but first this first – I needed a Coke. Coca-Cola is magic when you are on the road. It solves everything – really. I was pretty beat when I got into town but the Coke brought me back to life and I was ready to face my town chores.

My host at the hostel was Juan Carlos and he was so welcoming and patient with me. I had accidentally booked a room for two people and we tried to figure out how to fix that online together but couldn’t work it out. He didn’t want to charge me the extra $10 for the second person but I was happy to pay either way. My formula for overcoming my weak language skills are as follows: try to speak as much Spanish as I can, smile a lot, laugh and tip really well. He helped me find the laundry place around the corner and I grabbed dinner at a great small restaurant in town. I spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out how to get home. The secret about this ride is that it’s a ton of fun to go south but a real pain to get back.

My finish line is in Villa O’Higgins and it is literally where the road ends. That’s it. You can either continue hiking into Argentina or head back north by navigating a complex series of bus schedules to the nearest airport in Balmaceda and then fly back to Santiago. The bus from Villa O’Higgins doesn’t run everyday. To further complicate things, I have two video calls that I need to make on the 19th in a place that is notoriously disconnected from the rest of the world. I spent about three hours looking at different options and chose the bus route back. I found an Airbnb in O’Higgins that has WiFi and booked my flight from Balmaceda. I still have a few other logistics to cover but I think I am on the right path. My plan puts me back in Santiago a few days before my flight home but it will give me a good chance to do city stuff.

One of the things about Route 7 that i find so funny are the thousands of road and bridge signs. For sure, the plum contract you want is the paving work but a close second is definitely to be the sign guy or gal. No matter how big or small the hill, it gets a sign. When I first started noticing these signs I thought I would be headed into a big grinding climb and got myself prepared for some hard work. But, I quickly noticed that no matter how big or small the hill – it gets a sign. A little incline – sign it. Get to the other side for a small descent – put a sign up. It’s cute really. You can’t say you weren’t warned!

Same goes for the bridges. Every bridge gets name and a prominent sign – no matter how small or grand, each bridge is proudly introduced. I’m only about halfway, but I started to suspect that they are running out of names when I came across Salmon Creek Bridge 1 and Salmon Creek Bridge 2. It’s endearing to me for some reason. It shows pride in the work that went into this amazing engineering feat that was constructed to showcase the prettiest parts of the country.

I had a great rest at the hostel and rolled out after a late breakfast the next day at 8:30. I rode thirty miles to a small town called Puyuhuapi for a coffee and supermercado resupply and then to a thermal bath resort called Termas Ventisquero. It is an amazing natural hot spring along the fjord and I spent the next few hours alternating between the hot mineral water and the cold salty fjord. My sore legs and back relaxed and I napped in the lounge chair next to the pool. I’m too far from the next town so I picked a spot on the iOverlander app called “Hidden Spot Next To The River” for my overnight stay. It looked like a pretty good stealth camp spot and I found it easily and set up my gear.

It seemed like a pretty good spot – nothing spectacular but it had a nice flowing river and just enough space for my small tent. I settled in and made dinner and read for an hour or so. I peaked out of the tent to wash my dishes and I couldn’t believe what I saw. The clouds had cleared and I realized that I was camped underneath two enormous hanging glaciers tucked in between impossibly jagged snow-capped spires. The pictures don’t do it justice but it was everything that I imagined and hoped to see on this trip. I felt so lucky to be here right now – having a great time on a long hard ride in such a beautiful place.

I had a bit of apprehension about this trip at the beginning but I am settling in nicely and enjoying the uncertainty that each day brings. It reminds me of how I felt on the Appalachian Trail. I fell into a peaceful routine of hard work during the day but knowing that I would be rewarded by natural beauty. Both places were planned to showcase their best views and friendly locals enjoy serving the travelers that come through to rubberneck at their incredible home. This is a special place that I am so happy I got to see.