RUTA CH 265, PATAGONIA, CHILE:

THE ROUGH ROUTE.

    Unpredictable, grueling, unsafe and tough, but yet captivating, charming and strikingly beautiful! That’s how I would describe the Ruta CH 265 (route-265) this particular route in Patagonia. I could have broken my arm, leg or some other parts of my body easily on this route as I fell down many times downhill. This route has some parts kind a like a roller coaster where it is always up and down up and down. And when I say up and down, I mean it is really stiff up and stiff down where you’ll have to use your break at all times coming down because of the excessive dirt, stone and sand which throws your back tire off-balance and takes you down on to the ground.  And add bad gravel on top of this road, now you have yourself an intense challenge. But all these roughness, all these hard time and all these misery for the bicyclists who goes through Ruta CH 265 to the end to the town of Chile Chico, still falls in love with this road. Stunning and fascinating views just completely takes you over and really make you forget the roughness.

  There are very dangerous curves on this road and as you coming downhill to a sharp curve. Do you think it is easy to control your speed with bicycle loaded with weights stiff downhill?

     I can’t say the entire route was rough; there were parts where it was smooth and good gravel. However, most part was cruel and in intense condition. When you’re cycling Chilean Patagonia and if you’re coming down to south direction from north on route Carretera Austral-7, then you will come to the corner where Route 265 and Carreterra Austral-7 comes together and it separates. Route-265 goes toward east to Chile Chico for 120 km. Austral-7 goes down to Villa O’Higgins. When you take a look at Google Earth map, you can clearly see where these both roads come together.  Hahahaha, it makes me laugh so hard as I look back when I came to the beginning part of this route Ruta CH 265.

On my last blog I explained the reason why I was going to take this route-265 instead of continuing with Austral-7. It was the elderly people especially a 75 year old Chilean man Raul who inspired me about Ruta CH 265. He told me that 265 had some of the most beautiful views and some of the best part of the Lake General Carrera. He said instead of taking Carretera Austral-7 route or instead of taking ferry boat to Chile Chico, take the long road around and circle the south-west to towards east side of the Lago (lake) General Carrera to get to Chile Chico. Of course he never told me how rough it was going to be cycling the route 265 (hahaha).   

 Try coming downhill on this one. Or try going up ascending.

  It was late in the afternoon in fact it was evening time and it was getting darker. I was still on Carrettera Austral-7 route and I was cycling very hard, fast and blazing through as I saw the route sign clearly indicating Ruta CH 265: 10 km away. I got very excited about this route. I was already tired, hungry and the shirt I was wearing soaked wet from sweating. But the evening temperatures were very cold already, however, I never cared about it and continued cycling fast to get to this route 265.  But I knew I was getting colder now. On the side of the road over the hill I can see large and wide wooden cabinets burning woods to heat up and many tourists from Europe and America were all having dinner and wine in front of the these large cabins. I can hear them speak English all the way down on the route as I cycled. A few minutes later, I saw the road sign again showing me the arrow to the direction of left to the Ruta-265 and route Austral 7 to the right. I took the left and the sign said x265. Not too far after I turned to the left, perhaps it was 30 meters into the 265, this road became horrible, terrible and unsafe. WELCOME TO THE NIGHTMARE ROAD! I thought about going back to route Austral-7, but I said to myself “no way” And I continued on nightmare road 265.

     By now it was dark, 9:00 at night and I was still cycling. I was cold, hungry and tired from cycling all day. But what are you going to do in the middle of nowhere. I looked at my GPS and I can see about 12 kilometers away there was a small town called Puerto Guadal. But now these 12 kilometers were about to become so long for me. All of a sudden I was ascending the beginning part of this route and the wind was coming from every direction. It wasn’t the hills; it was actually strong winds which slowed me down terribly. It took me so long to get to this town. By the time I got there, everything was closed and it was very late around 11:30 at night. I finally found this building with a cover on the side which was preventing the rain water coming down. I locked my bicycle, I had a quick dinner from my food bags and then I slept next to my bicycle in my sleeping bag. I really didn’t want to open and assemble my tent. It was too late and I was very tired. I finally figured it out that I was sleeping in front of the Kindergarten building. I set my alarm for 6:00 in the morning and went to sleep. Waking up was very hard in the morning, but it was a great morning as I woke up to a beautiful sunny day.

   Early in the morning I began looking for a breakfast place or a market to get some food. I saw this little restaurant and I locked my bicycle in front where I can see my stuff. I went inside and there was this young girl by herself, but she didn’t look Chilean at all. I was right! She was a Dutch national from Venlo, Holland. We talked English! She was a waitress and a cook both. It was kind a strange seeing this young Dutch girl in Patagonia, Chile working alone at a restaurant at 7:00 in the morning. We talked a lot actually and she said she is in medical school in Belgium, but she was taking a long break to travel and work. She also said she was interested in learning Spanish language. She was really a great person, very talented and skillful cook. We talked so much history and politics while we were having a breakfast together. There was no one at this restaurant early in the morning. 

By 9:00 in the morning I was on the road again. Next town was Mallin Grande which was about 35 km away from Puerto Guadal. On the way to MG, again road was up and down up and down, but now it was sunny and light which I can see better. Road and the views were getting much better. There were beautiful trees and place really smelled amazing. Of course at some parts right after leaving PG town, Lake General Carrera had the most amazing views. I had to stop often on the side of the road and take some photos do some filming. Because of the road conditions, it took me so long to get to the town of Mallin Grande. It was a very small town. I arrived there in the afternoon and had the best lunch. I was just getting ready to leave Mallin Grande and all of a sudden I saw two young cyclists coming down from an opposite direction. We said hello to each other and began talking. They were coming from Argentina and Chile Chico the Chilean border town. They were from Northern California. I asked them about the conditions of the route-265, they looked at each other and stared to the ground. I said well, is there anything wrong with this route? They smiled at me and told me that I’d have to see it with my own eyes. I knew then, there were a few surprises waiting for me up ahead. We talked for an half an hour and then it was time to split.  It was a partly cloudy day as sun would appear at times to shine on me and on this road. It was much cooler than yesterday, but I still wore short sleeve and shorts to avoid sweating. About 10 minutes after I left MG town, road conditions became horrible that at some parts it was impossible to cycle, but I still continued. And now there were waves of many stiff hills coming on my way. And then waves of different downhill. It wasn’t the stiff hills I was afraid of; it was the type of dirt, stone and gravel on this road which was making it a lot harder. Of course stiff hills plays its role when ascending with all those weights I was carrying on my back and in front rack. Yes, it can be very hard to ascend some of these stiff hills, but here on ruta CH 265 main problem was; descending and coming downhill. Over the years, as an experienced bicyclist, I’ve learned that going downhill on a gravel road with pot holes and excessive sand, stones, and dirt; you’ll have to know how to control your speed. Speed is the scariest thing on these types of steep hills on route-265. Why? It is because you’re on a long distance tour and you’re carrying so much weight on your bicycle. Weight that you’re carrying on your bicycle is an issue I mean it’s a major issue. Can you imagine carrying that much weight and coming down fast on a terrible gravel road full of pot holes? That’s it! You will definitely break your bones! Steep hills on route-265 are some of the steepest hills I’ve cycled before.  But CH-265, perhaps not the steepest route I’ve cycled before. I am sure there are roads around the world steeper than 265. On this tour, the only place comes closer to that was Peru’s El Fiscal town. Descending and ascending to the town of El Fiscal, Arequipa, Peru is not every cyclist’s cup of tea. Not many people can take that chance to ride that route ascending and descending. Perhaps they can do it by using their breaks at all times when coming downhill. But after coming downhill to the town, ascending is the major problem as you will be facing some of the steepest hills. And that route in Peru is asphalt and pavement. If you look at my you tube account’s Peru section you will see me coming downhill an intense hills speed reaching up to 50 km and later up to 68 km an hour with all those weights I had on my bicycle.  But now you’re in Chile and you’re on Ruta CH 265 which is completely different. You’re on a terrible gravel road and it is steeper than Peru’s El Fiscal!  And the radius of the turns is ridiculous. It is very hard to do as these stiff hills are so sharp and down grade may have been some ridiculous high degrees. I may be wrong and I never measured it but it had to be somewhere around top numbers. Very hard to come downhill from stiff hill, especially when there is an excessive dirt and stone on the road. This is where the back tire begins having problems as it dips into the excessive dirt and stone. And next thing you know you’re falling on to the ground scraping your arms and your legs and at times you’re bleeding. Coming downhill from these steep hills on gravel road, took me forever. Under the normal circumstances this route-265 (120 km in distance) for me, should have ended just over a half day, but this is an abnormal route and it’s an unusual area. However, still, despite the frustration, I was still laughing and getting so much pleasure out of cycling this route-265 by watching beauty of this road and its endless views. As I follow and circle the Lago (lake) General Carrera’s south-west side, there was so much to do on this road. Earlier while in the city of Coyhaique, I saw the photos of cars that had accidents on this very particular road and there were some deaths in the past. Because of its dangerous cliffs and curves visibility at times was terrible. I was being very careful as I took the blind curves and turns. 

    The very next day I arrived to the city of Chile Chico which is located right by the Argentinean border. The hostel I checked into in Chile Chico had many European, American, and Canadian backpackers and travelers. When they saw all the scrapes on my arms and on my legs, they thought something happened really badly. I explained to them about cycling this rough gravel route-265. And these backpackers who were going to take the bus tomorrow on ruta CH 265 were very happy that they weren’t cycling. They said “it’s good thing we’re not cycling “Most of them jokingly said “cycling is waste of time “   I just smiled at them and said” good Luck! And have a nice bust trip tomorrow”. For me the attraction on Ruta CH 265 was spectacular combinations of mountains, hills, Lake General Carrera, forest, creeks and of course terrain is being rugged which put me face to face with wild nature. On an adventure style cycling or traveling, what else I can ask for? I was grateful that I met with Ruta CH 265.

PATAGONIA, CHILE:

FASCINATING CHILEAN PATAGONIA AND THE CARRETERA AUSTRAL -7

There are regions around the world that you may never see anything like it elsewhere. You just won’t see anything comes closer to it even when you compare it to in any other continents. Every region has its own intriguing side that will keep you on your toes at all times. Every region has its own beauty and they’re all different. It will give you excitement, it will give you an adrenalin rush and it will make you wonder: how the landscape will change tomorrow and what’s coming up next. Being able to taste many different things at the same region and what its landscape offers you eventually will capture your interest and your love. Whether it’s Mountains, lakes, rivers, fjords, forests, glaciers or a desert, whether weather is rainy, cold, or hot, whether the road conditions are muddy, terrible gravel or a pavement that makes the conditions extreme and hard, it really doesn’t matter: you won’t lose that interest and your love won’t fade away. You will continue in those hard conditions because basically, this area physically talks to you as you cycle this beautiful land in middle of nowhere.  This is Patagonia in Chile! Such a diverse landscape that will leave you sleepless and what a stunning region this is!

    Human population density will show you how Patagonia is sparsely populated area that stretched all the way down to Magellan Straight. This rugged and fantastic landscape will bring you face to face with wild nature alone for so many hours at times which will leave you scratching your hair: Am I the only one left around the world? Seriously, an amazing feeling takes you over and it is quite hard for me to describe it: especially if you are bicycling or traveling this region solo. But over the years, most of my long distance bicycle tours have been solo and I got so used to it. I just love traveling solo! Very seldom, I have partners cycling with me. Cycling Patagonia wasn’t any different for me: I was solo again! However, this time I was facing a region with hardly any towns, cities or villages and hardly any population. Yes, there were towns, but the distance was far from each other and I was on a bicycle. Drinking water wasn’t a problem this time I filled my water bottles every day from melting snow water coming down from mountains which was creating creeks and rivers. I loved that water! It was very clean and healthy as I found out later from local farmers. So every time I saw grocery markets or local farms, I bought so much food to last me for a long time as I cycled great distance every day. Earlier a few weeks ago, I learned my lesson while crossing the Atacama Desert in 14 days where I couldn’t find super markets or stations for a long time and I went hungry and thirsty for days. But just to let you have an idea how rugged, how empty and how you are alone face to face with wild nature in Patagonia, one early afternoon as I cycled this heavily forested area where the trees were so high up, I decided to take a nap. I loved that fresh air and smell of the forest. It was about 1:00 in the afternoon and I pulled my bicycle to the side of the gravel road and took my super light, but yet extremely comfortable Therma-Rest air cushion out of back pannier along with my sleeping bag. I just blew air into it and put it on the ground, opened my sleeping bag and went to sleep out in the open next to my bicycle. I can only hear this creek on the side of the road. There were no cars or anything else, but it was only me. Breathing that fresh air in the middle of the forest with the noise of water coming from the creek gave me so much peace that I fell asleep right-a-way and that little nap turned out to be a 3 hours solid sleep. When I woke up I just couldn’t believe the time. Because of the long nap, that evening I ended up riding my bicycle until it was midnight. And what was amazing about that day and evening was: I neither saw any person nor any car going by. I was just alone together with the wild nature. I finally went to sleep again outside in the nature and out in the open without opening my tent. I just didn’t want to set up my tent to close myself in. I just loved fresh air and this quiet nature so much. This was a good get away from crowded and noisy New York City streets. I just loved this. This time all night, I can only hear the frogs from a distance, but still I had the best sleep. Again no one passed by and I was alone. Next morning, since there were still no one around, I checked my GPS and I just wanted to make sure I am on Carretera Austral-7 route. And I was on right road.

                                                                                                                                                                            

       Carretera Austral Ruta-7 (route) begins in the city of Puerto Montt which I talked about this German city 1000 km south of Santiago in my last blog. But Puerto Montt is not part of the Patagonia and Patagonia actually begins in the town of Chaiten. However, if anyone is coming down south to Patagonia from north, then one must go through Puerto Montt. And this Carretera Austral route is 1240 km in distance all the way down to the village of Villa O’Higgins. And this is where this route ends. Most part of Carretera Austral route is gravel and dirt and at times very rough for bicyclists. It gets terrible on the hills or around the mountains. Some parts of this route are pavement. And now in 2015, Chilean Government is spending so much money to turn this route all pavement. They had already begun this processing as I witnessed it on the road; construction crews were improving the conditions. In reality, I really don’t like this idea. They should keep Patagonia natural and they should leave it alone let it be rugged let it be gravel and wild nature. That’s what makes Patagonia a great region with an amazing landscape. I just do not want a region to become a tourist trap and thousands of cars traveling on this route. It’s a shame! I’ve written a few letters and e-mails to the Chilean Government and I’ve been begging them to keep this route gravel and natural. I just hope they will realize what makes Patagonia special.

     Both on my last blog and on this blog, I’ve already said Patagonia begins in Chaiten. And on my Puerto Montt blog, I mentioned how you’ll have to take a few ferryboat trips and some heavy duty cycling on gravel road to get to the town of Chaiten. That is if you like to see the area. However, there is another ferryboat from Puerto Montt to Chaiten comes directly non-stop. This boat is a overnight trip. Anyways, so you have two option. But once you are in Chaiten, you are in Patagonia. I arrived to Chaiten early in the afternoon. It’s a small town and every house is one story high with gardens. Chaiten is surrounded by the mountains by the east and north side. Gulf of Corcovado on the west side and the south side will take you deep into Patagonia. The afternoon I arrived to Chaiten I stared at those mountain tops to see the volcano ashes which buried this little town 7 years ago in May, 2008. But mountains weren’t the only place I can see the ashes. Despite the fact this volcano erupted 7 years ago, as I bicycled around the town, I can still clearly see the ashes from abandon houses which were heavily damaged. It was an intense eruption that ashes could be seen 17 kilometers high in the sky which not only blanketed the town of Chaiten, but it went as far as neighboring country to Argentina. Even in Argentina, schools, airports and most of the touristic spots closed for business. And because of its heights were up in the sky 17 km, this entire disaster was being able to seen and visible on satellite images for hundreds of kilometers. The entire afternoon in Chaiten, I talked to many local people about the volcano disaster and also about Patagonia. That evening while having a dinner at the Brisas Del Mar on Avenida Corcovado, I felt an intense excitement hitting to its maximum level in regards to an early wake up and begin cycling deep into Patagonia. I was really excited and I was looking forward to cycling this challenging gravel route to experience the Chilean Patagonia.

       It was about 11:00 at night I left the restaurant Brisas Del Mar and I walked around the streets with my bicycle in Chaiten, but I just did not feel tired at all to fall asleep. I was very hyper and feeling excited like a little boy who refuses to go to sleep. And finally around 1:30 in the morning I went to the bed. But I was wide awake again at 4:30 in the morning.  This was really strange for me because I only had 2 hours sleep the night before and now I should have been very tired and sleep until late in the morning. But that wasn’t the case! I knew what the reason was and I knew what was really preventing me from falling asleep again: It was Patagonia. I was very hyper to sleep and Patagonia was whispering into my ears: We’re here! I was hallucinating naturally. Seriously I really thought without drugs I was hallucinating. I got out of the bed quickly, showered and shaved and now I wanted a hot cup of coffee badly. But where can I really find a cup of coffee this early in the morning in a small town like Chaiten? I had some tea bags in my bicycle panniers, fresh lemon and some honey. Now, all I needed was hot water. Quietly I left my room and slowly without making any noise, I sneaked into motel’s kitchen. Everybody was asleep in this small hotel and there were no doors leading into the kitchen.  Hahaha, like an operating smooth spy, using my little flash light, I spotted the kettle to boil the water. While waiting kettle to warm up, I looked around, and luckily I found some instant coffee in a jar. I finally poured the hot water into my metal coffee cup with a closed top on. I took out some money out of my pocket and I left it on the table hoping they would find it in the morning. They would probably wonder “where did this money come from?” hahahaha I was laughing quietly. I left the kitchen in a hurry to back to my room. I got my panniers and bags outside first, then bringing my bicycle and then I poured some honey into my cup of coffee and then left Chaiten.

           Despite the fact I hardly had any sleep, I was still feeling excited, energetic and enthusiastic. I was staring at Patagonia’s natural beauty.  Riding my bicycle, with one hand holding cup of coffee and the other hand holding the bicycle handlebar, still dark, early in the morning, I was enjoying the crisp cold air hitting on my face while listening music my favorites from 1970s and 80s.  Coyhaique is a city over 400 kilometers away south of Chaiten is the capital city of Aysen Region. I knew I had to get to the capital city to continue on Carretera Austral-7 route. I’ve already ridden my bicycle over 4,000 kilometers since I began this journey in Lima, Peru. There were rugged landscape and hard conditions I’ve been through before, in Peru on the mountains, Sechura Desert and also Atacama Desert in Chile, but now, I was staring at extreme rugged landscape, rough and hard conditions in middle of nowhere. Just to remind everyone that, in Peru and Chile people who are driving on the roads usually pulls to the side and stops in front of you with their pickup trucks or utility trucks to give you a lift or a ride to your destination. Especially when they see you climbing and ascending the mountain hills with your bicycle. Some of the bicyclists accept their offer and they get on to their trucks and ride with them hundreds of kilometers. I’ve seen many cyclists from different nations who do this. I’ve had many opportunities, but I refused this offers! Simple fact is: I came to South America to cycle and to explore and to see places closer up, bicycle is the best way to do it. I despise some of the cyclists who tell everyone that they cycled the entire area, yet mostly, they were in a pickup truck hopping place to place. I have nothing against this, but please be honest with others and be honest with yourself. There is nothing wrong with catching a ride or a lift with a pickup truck if you’re really tired or if you want to get somewhere quicker. The reason I’m bringing this up has a lot to do with how nice the people are driving around Patagonia or in South America in general. At least once a day someone would stop by next to me and would want me to ride with them in their pickup trucks, but I refused them at all times. I would simply and nicely tell them that I am here to cycle not to drive.

               There are a few little towns between Chaiten and Coyhaique. After Chaiten there is the Villa Santa Lucia, La Junta, Puyuhuapi, and Villa Maniguales.  This route all the way down to Coyhaique is very green, lots of forest, creeks, rivers and mountains all the way down south to Coyhaique. This early part of Chilean Patagonia does have some pavement road, however, still mostly gravel. Of course after Coyhaique, Carreterra Austral-7 route is about 120 km more pavement and asphalt up until Cerro Castillo National Park Reserve and the village of Cerro Castillo. But from that village, all the way down to south is gravel. And some part of this gravel is smooth, but other times gravel road becomes terrible and hard, not to mention very difficult for bicyclists at times.  I stopped by in these every little town and camped out at nights between. But of course Coyhaique is being the capital city of Aysen region was much bigger and much more populated than any of these towns in the area. When I got to the Coyhaique, I just couldn’t believe my eyes and I couldn’t believe what language my ears were hearing. There were more American and Canadian tourists all over in Coyhaique than the locals. Because it was right before the Christmas, most of these tourists got away for the holidays. About 80% percent of them were families, and I also met a few bicyclists from California, Arizona, Alberta and the city of Montreal. Some of the bicyclists were heading to opposite directions to north to Peru and Bolivia; some were heading toward to west to Argentina and Brazil. We had great conversations at cafes and most of them were talking about their tours. It was really awesome meeting with many other cyclists. One young bicyclist, Brandon from Calgary, Alberta, Canada who was only 22 years old who didn’t know how to change his old chains to a new set of chains, asked me to show him how and help him to replace it. He basically didn’t have that many tools to achieve this. I came to South America well prepared just in case something went wrong. I had every tool for any bicycle part and I also had so many spare parts. Brandon had a spare new chain and he had already put thousands of kilometers on his bike’s chain. It really needed to be changed. I slowly showed Brandon how to take his chain off and how to put the new set on. We did this in a few times until he really learned and got it down. And at the end, he was ready to change his own chains. I felt great about helping others and other cyclists. I knew there were still long roads ahead of everyone of us. Of course, next day, most of us split up to different directions. We still keep in touch with each others. 

      Earlier, in the beginning of this blog, I talked about how Patagonia possesses such a diverse landscape. And now after leaving the city of Coyhaique, down south to Cerro (mountain) Castilla reserve national park, and then right after the town of Cerro Castilla, mark the beginning of a terrain steep and rugged. I was ready and I was very excited. But first I had to make it to the Cerro Castilla. The route Carreterra Austral-7 is about 30 years old. And it had to be one of the most interesting routes around the world. But yet, I found another route which splits off from Carreterra Austral route later at the buttom of the Lago (lake) General Carrera, was the hardest terrain, yet mostly it had one of the best views of any route I’ve ever seen. That route was Ruta-CH-265. I’ve never seen that many steep hills rugged and the entire way to town of Chile Chico is gravel. Yes, part of this route does have some smooth gravel, however, mostly; it was difficult gravel which was in terrible condition and very hard to cycle. Before I go any further about the Ruta-CH-265, I’d like to inform readers that I will have a separate blog about this route next week.

 I left Coyhaique late in the morning and it was a beautiful day. I knew to the mountains and the national park of Cerro Castilla, route was pavement.  I was cycling pretty fast and blazing at times to get to the Cerro Castilla before it got dark. It was Christmas Eve and the next day was Christmas. But whenever you’re on a long tour, you really didn’t care what day it was: Every day was same for me. As I got closer to the mountains range and the national reserve park, scenery was becoming stunning. It was just amazing to watch my left and my right while cycling. While approaching to Cerro Castilla, about 40 kilometers, before, there is this river or huge creek on my right which put an intense spice to this wild landscape. Colors were fantastic! I was getting so much pleasure just staring at this beautiful nature as I cycled. But the big surprise was yet to come. And now it was getting darker late at in the afternoon. Clouds were taking over slowly. It was still partly cloudy, but not heavy enough to block the sun light. I think there was only 15 kilometers left to the mountains of the Cerro Castillo; all of a sudden I was descending deep lower and lower down hill. As soon as I turned the corner I just couldn’t believe my eyes. I was in the middle of a mountain range which was mostly covered by snow and from a distance I can see 5 different tops of mountain hills. If any of you who know my you tube channel, should take a look at these films I captured from my head cam and of course photos from my camera.

      When I got to this point, still on my bicycle descending downhill, weather changed immediately. All of a sudden I was freezing! It was very cold and I knew soon or later I had to stop to put on my snow gloves and change my wet t-shirts from riding my bicycle all day. But because I was facing and staring at a beautiful view, I forgot about the weather and just didn’t care. I began taking photos, filming the entire area. And then cycling closer to the other parts of the mountains and getting closer to it. It was really getting darker now as the evening was taking over the day. I bicycled to the end and arrived to the tiny Village Cerro Castillo. Now the road was gravel! By now it was so dark that I couldn’t see the mountains anymore. This little village was so quiet. I knew tomorrow was Christmas and perhaps most people left the town to go visit relatives elsewhere. I already had enough food in my panniers and I really didn’t need to go to a market. But they were all closed anyways. I found a corner to camp. Immediately, I changed my wet t-shirt and I put on something warmer then my winter coat on top. And then I began setting up my tent. Quickly I took off my panniers from my bicycle and placed them into the tent. Then taking my front tire off and placing my bicycle in the tent as well. Now I was ready to eat then sleep. I was very hungry from a long day cycling. But at the same time, I was smiling, still exciting and eagerly waiting for tomorrow to see what was waiting for me in Patagonia. While I was next to my tent having my dinner, I could tell a few people were watching me from their windows of the house. But I really didn’t care and after the dinner I went to the bed.

     Christmas morning I woke up about 8:00 in the morning, but I decided to sleep in little longer. I went back to sleep and this time when I woke up, it was 10:30. I just didn’t realize how tired I was. As I disassemble my tent, a woman and a man approached to me and began speaking to me in Spanish. I can understand them. They were asking me if I was hungry and if I wanted to join their family Christmas lunch.  I smiled at them, but it was a hard decision. I wanted to hurry up and be on the road, and at the same time, I didn’t want to refuse this nice family who were inviting me to their house for lunch. I finally said yes, I will join you. They smiled and waited for me to finish packing my bicycle. It was the house from last night who were watching me while I was setting up my tent. I told them I didn’t have that much time and I can only be with them for 2 hours. When I entered in to their house I can see the older man and a woman who were already sitting on the table and drinking tea. They were the grandparents. We actually talked a lot about traveling, about Patagonia and about Chile. For Christmas lunch, Pablo’s wife had three different main dishes which were delicious. I loved the way she cooked these items. Grandparents were always smiling and talking to the kids. They were great family and I loved every minute of this Christmas Lunch with them. They really wanted me to stay longer, but I knew I had to be on the road. Pablo asked me if I wanted to stay with them for the night, but I told him that I had to be on the road. And promised him next time I pass by this village, I will knock on their door. I had two brand-new New York T-shirts and I took them out of my panniers and gave them to the kids as Christmas present and thanked them a lot for the delicious meal.  I left their house about 1:00 in the afternoon.

     It was a Christmas day in Patagonia and it was cold and windy. This is the summer season for this area (Southern Hemisphere), but it really didn’t matter for Patagonia. Its weather can change at any time at any day without any warning. And now the road was gravel. I began cycling, however I wasn’t able to speed that much. Wind was head on and it was preventing my speed. Still, when I got on to my first hill and from a distance I can see the magnificent Cerro Castilla. But clouds were covering most part of it. However, I was able to film and photograph most part of it which took me a good hour. You can hear the wind whisper very loud. I continued to cycle and as I ascend another few high hills, I began to fall from my bicycle several times. It was combination of the strong winds and excessive terrible gravel  at different spots which was completely taking over my back tire which was causing for me to fall down on to the ground. And when I fall down on to the ground, I scrape my arms and legs up against the stones which was causing for me to bleed a little.  But I continued cycling. I knew there was a famous huge lake in south of here Lago General Carrera. I was very excited about this lake and surrounding mountains.

     Lago (Lake) General Carrera is a huge lake. It’s also located by the border of Argentina. And this lake is shared by both Chile and Argentina. In Chile it’s called Lago General Carrera and in Argentina it’s called Lake Buenos Aires.  The Chilean Patagonia side of General Carrera, possesses some of the most beautiful and breathe taking views. But at the same time it has some of the hardest terrain rugged and rough gravel roads for bicyclists. Most people take the route Carreterra Austral-7 all the way down to the end to the Villa O’Higgins. And they do miss the most beautiful route Ruta CH 265. I took the ruta 265. Ruta CH 265 actually also takes the south side of the Lake General Carrera and continues to the east coming from west all the way to town Chile Chico (Argentinian Border)

    First, I was also going to take the other route all the way down to Villa O’Higgins. Earlier,when I was in the city of Coyhaique I met several local Chileans who were around 75 year old. They were all experienced people who have been in Patagonia all their life. One of the older Patagonian local whom I met while exchanging currency was Raul.  Raul was a great man who knew Patagonia inch by inch. And Raul is the one who inspired me about the route 265. He told me it is one of the roughest in Chile, but yet, it possessed some of the best views around the Patagonia. I trusted Raul, I listened him and I took advise because there were 3 other elderly people who told me the same thing. I am going to have another blog next week which will cover the Ruta CH 265. I strongly believe I will return back to Chilean Patagonia take the other route to Villa O’Higgins to enter into Argentinean Patagonia after I complete the Silk Road in Asia either end of this year or next year. I did go into Argentinean Patagonia briefly and then to Buenos Aires to catch my flight back to the United States. But I’m destined to return this region soon to complete the entire journey before I began publishing my travel book.

    After passing Cerro Castillo national reserve park and mountains, Patagonia south gets really intense and rough. Winds are very strong, it rains and at times it gets very cold. At least half of the day you’ll have to play against the elements.  What about the road conditions?  Yes, there are parts of Chilean Patagonia where the pedaling gets harder and harder up against hills and mountains and not to mention terrible gravel. But because of the physical beauty and the beautiful views, you kind of forget about the roughness you go through. You just begin to learn how to sacrifice. When you get around the lake Carrera views even get much better. The color of this beautiful lake is indescribable. What an amazing blue!  Here in Patagonia, people of Chile don’t like being called Chileans and in Argentinean Patagonia they do not like being called Argentineans. They like being called Patagonians.

My next blog will cover Ruta CH 265 and later it will be Buenos Aires, Argentina blog. Please enjoy the photos and videos.

PUERTO MONTT, CHILE: A GERMAN TOWN IN SOUTH AMERICA

   Puerto Montt was established in 1853 mostly by German Immigrants who came here to colonize. Following the revolution of 1848 in the German States, up to 30,000 German Immigrants arrived to Chile. And mostly they settled around the southern section of Chile. Since the middle of 19^th Century, German immigrants in Chile played a major role in political, cultural and in economic development. Of course Germans just didn’t arrive to Puerto Montt, but there were many other towns, cities and areas they’ve settled. Settlement, apart from Santiago, mostly went down to south. Osorno, Temuco, and some of them even went down further south to Puyuhuapi, Aysen and deep into Patagonia.

                                      Ferryboat to Hornopiren

                                Beautiful scenery near Puerto Montt

                             Puerto Montt. Near the port

                              Puerto Montt City Center Area

  Puerto, Montt now, these days had mixture of German and Chileans, but after Puerto Montt as I arrived to Patagonia region, I remember very well cycling on gravel road for long time in the morning, and then arriving to Puyuhuapi, Patagonia at approximately 11:00 in the morning, actually shocked me right away. I was scratching my head and my hair; I really thought all of a sudden I thought I was in Germany. Up until then I had no idea about German immigrants coming down south this deep and this far into Patagonia almost 170 years ago. The way they built the town of Puyuhuapi reminded me of a skiing resort in Switzerland or something. Houses and 2 story buildings were all same as any in any German small villages. I talked to locals and residents which most of them had blue eyes and European descend. And surprisingly they were still able to speak German and Spanish. How do I know this with details? First I was there talking to them and asking them when and how their great grandparents arrived and built this beautiful town. And second, there were two German couples who were traveling with a camper van. And these couples, whom I met earlier, a few days ago in Puerto Montt, were traveling slowly staying at hotels, fishing and enjoying other adventures. In three days, on the gravel road, they passed me many times and they would always wave at me. They were in their 60s. So by the time I arrived to Puyuhuapi, they were there. We sat down at a café and began on a long conversation in regards to German immigrants in the area. I knew there was a fascinating true story was behind all these.

    Ruta (route) Carretera Austral-7.This is where all begins. Road to Patagonia and all the way deep into Patagonia. One of the roughest roads for bicyclists.

                                       Puerto Montt

              German Freiburg University backpacker girls visiting the Puerto Montt fish market. We had great conversation, coffee and lunch together. 

                                  Puerto Montt Fish Market

          One of the couple finally told me that, well, his great grandparents were some of the first ones to arrive here to Puyuhuapi.  Yes, according to official reports, first Germans arrived here in 1935. Of course that is only true since it was reported. But what about the unreported events which took place almost 20 years earlier?  I was so interested in this subject and continue to ask them so many questions. And he finally explained to me his great grandfather’s older brother was one of the sailors who escaped from SMS Dresden warship which was hiding in Chile. People, who aren’t familiar with SMS Dresden ship, first should know this was during the World War-I (1914-1918) SMS Dresden was built in 1906-1907 at the Blohm & Voss Shipyard in Hamburg. And it was completed in 1908. SMS Dresden spent much of her time in foreign lands, oceans, seas. Just like the Koninsberg –Class cruisers. But now as its own Dresden class, it had also intense speed. Dresden was due to return back to Germany in 1914, but because of the start of World War-I, SMS Dresden directed to the South American waters as a Commerce Raider. First it was in Atlantic Ocean then it moved to the Pacific Ocean. I’m not going to go to the deep details of this ship, but at the end it was under fire in Chilean waters from 3 different ships and some of the crew members were able to escape in Patagonia region. Well, his great grandfather’s older brother was one of them. And then years later his younger brother moved to the Chile to re-unite with his brother. Of course they’re both dead now. But what an intense story I had to listen from these German tourists in a camper van who were exploring Patagonia and visiting their grandparents’ graveyard. I was fascinated by the entire German immigrants’ arrivals to this region. The way they came, arrived, and changed the entire economic and development outlook. Entire my life, I’ve always said, if they left Germany alone after the World War-2, Germany would have been the real super power.

                 I filmed this from a ferryboat. Spectacular views.

I cycled to this port Horno Piren  all night on a gravel road to make it to the ferryboat ontime. I finally made it here at 3:30 in the morning and slept til 6:00 in the morning on the pier waiting for the ferry. There are no roads to connect with Caleta Gonzalo. You must take ferry.

 Puerto Montt was the same. It was mostly built by German Immigrants. The main reason I came to this town was because it was a getaway to Patagonia. Everything started from here to get down to Patagonia. The main road which leads to Patagonia Carretera Austral-7 began right here in Puerto Montt and of course later you have no choice, but take two different ferry boat.  Town of Chaiten was the beginning site of Patagonia. And to get to Chaiten from Puerto Montt, you can do two things: take the overnight ferryboat straight from here and arrive to Chaiten in the morning, or take the Carretera Austral-7 route from here cycle to La Arena to take the short ferryboat route to cross and then cycle again for 70 kilometers to get to the Hornopiren, and then take another ferryboat for 5 hours to get to Caleta Gonzola. But these are the only two options you have to get to the beginning part of Patagonia which is Chaiten. The problem with the first option ferry, straight to Chaiten with overnight ferry: it is only two nights out of the week. But second option was every day. So I took the second option and first cycled down south to La Arena. And that was the first time I also got onto Carretera Austral 7 route.

                                   Puerto Montt

                                       Puerto Montt

    Carretera Austral-7 route begins in Puerto Montt and runs 1240 km down to Villa O’Higgins, south of Patagonia. One of the roughest routes for bicyclists, but of course later down in south of Patagonia I ended up finding  another route Ruta-265 which was the roughest and hardest route I’ve ever ridden with a bicycle. Ruta-265 is bicyclists’ nightmare! It’s scary and it’s one of a kind! I bled all over my body with the scrapes from the falls I took on this horrible route with excessive gravel stones, rocks and sand covering it. However, this route -265 also the best routes with its amazing breath taking views. If you are in Patagonia, and if you miss this route, then you missed everything about the Patagonia. I couldn’t put my camera and film camera away. It is one of the best adventurous route for bicyclists. I thought I was in a different planet. I will have a blog about Ruta-265 next week most likely. But of course Carretera Austral-7 route is very hard to cycle as well. It will be on my next blog. Patagonia area may take up to 3 different blog. It’s a huge area, but still, it’s one of my favorite and I will always go back.

SANTIAGO, CHILE: A CITY WITH A BRIGHT FUTURE.

     When you take a long tour of any city with an intense detail look, study its history, analyze its urban planning, look at its economy and look at its population and then making your decision becomes easy. It’s most likely and it’s guaranteed that you can tell so much about that city and you already have so many incredible ideas even if you knew what to expect. However, it may still boggle your mind. When I cycled the city of Santiago, Chile in and out so many times over and over, leaving no parts of the city untouched, I knew this city already had it all.

                                  Plaza De Armas- Santiago, Chile

             This is the Santiago metro (subway) University of Chile stop.

 Santiago has an amazing future! This city is situated between the Pacific Ocean and Andes mountains makes it everyone’s desire come through. On a same day, you can ski on the mountains and then come down head to the west to ocean for swimming. Since many years, its durable and constant growing economy brought many jobs and growth in population to the city of Santiago. This city has also built and has South America’s widest subway system.

                   Can you locate my bicycle in front of the museum?

             Bellas Artes Neighborhood not to far from the museum and Carlos' bicycle shop.

                    Museum of Bellas Artes.  Intriguing place indeed!

When it comes to architecture, Santiago has more European and American than Spanish build buildings. Both tradition and contemporary architecture gives this city an intense look.  And you can clearly see this both architecture types at Santiago’s business and financial center. I just loved watching and staring at this section while cycling between these beautiful buildings, streets and wide avenues. It gives you an incredible eye bathing that you really get an amazing pleasure. Once you step out of the financial center, some of the neighborhoods you enter you witness a French architecture in most of the mansions which were built in early 20 th Century. Santiago’s Yungay neighborhood near downtown area played and plays an important role in city’s past and contemporary architecture as some of the other areas of the city.

 Santiago, Chile from my headcam. While cycling the city.

           Plaza De Armas- Santiago, Chile. I filmed this on a lazy Sunday.

 And this video which I filmed at Carlos'Bicycle Shop in Santiago, Chile. My bicycle needed a few things. And he was there like an angel.

They’re pouring so much money into this city that they‘re constantly building, building and building. Motorway and highways which connects the city with its suburban areas clearly indicates how Chileans are looking ahead to the future. It was very entertaining and intriguing for me to visit, explore and cruise the Santiago’s neighborhoods. Chileans call neighborhoods as Barrio. Of course bicycle always makes this happen much better if you’d like to see everything closer up and visit most of the city’s neighborhoods.

  Right around and not too far from downtown, there is the neighborhood of Plaza de Armas which is the heartland of Santiago. It has historical buildings such as colonial city hall, neoclassic cathedral and the museum. This is the area where everything begins and from here anyone can begin moving to other directions and discovering this beautiful city. Barrio (neighborhood) Bellavista located in Northern Santiago, is a bohemian area great cafes, restaurants and bars. This barrio is also known with its fantastic night life. To the Eastern Santiago, I visited barrio La Reina Barrio and this district mostly quiet residential area with beautiful mansions and big houses. Another barrio to the east is one of the most popular and it is called Las Condes. Las Condes is mostly for upper class area with a great transportation system. This residential area is one of the biggest Barrio in Santiago and it also has office buildings, domestic and international companies. There are also many luxurious condominiums which makes Las Condes the most expensive area of this city. Barrio Brazil is located in western Santiago and it’s famous with many private universities. Downtown and central part of Santiago’s most attractive barrio is Bellas Artes. It just has beautiful streets, fabulous cafes, galleries, fascinating museums and friendly people. This is also the place where you can get so much pleasure from contemporary art exhibitions at the galleries. I really enjoyed discovering Bellas Artes area. Providencia has many expensive houses for Santiago’s elite class. There are also many high rise condominiums here in this area.  I was mainly using and cycling the Avenida Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins to find my direction around the city. This was right around the city center and mainly east to west. Some of the other Barrios worth mentioning Vitacura and Lastarria is really must see neighborhoods. Vitacura is a beautiful residential area with fabulous restaurants, cafes and great shopping places. I just wrote some of the must see neighborhoods in Santiago. But there are many other areas in Santiago must see. Of course I just don’t have an enough space to mention them all (hopefully in my book next year). 

    9:00 o'clock on a Monday morning Santiago, Chile is going to work

I’ve stayed total of 4 days in Santiago! And every day I learned many new things about this spectacular city. The more I learned the more I wanted to learn. One of my professors from my old school used to tell us “learning never ends” and he is right! Over the decades, as I travel around the world to new regions new countries and new continents I discover many new things about people, cultures, places and many other things. Just when you think you know it all, just when you think you’ve seen them all, all of a sudden, something new appears in your life. Hahaha, don’t be an arrogant!

        Chileans just like Peruvians are very honest people. Mostly you can trust them. They’re friendly and they like helping others. Santiago is a very safe city both day and night. Sure, you will hear a few petty crimes here and there, but mostly there is hardly any crime here. Of course this has a lot to do with culture, how you were raised and how you grow up. But most of the time it is all respect and manners which is a part of some of the nations’ customs and culture as well as their way of life. It doesn’t matter how educated you are! If you haven’t learned anything about respect and manners, you’re bound to commit crime. There are many poor but less homeless people in some of these third world countries which they do not commit any crimes. Hardly any! And no, they do not! It’s because their culture thought them so much in regards to how important to respect to others. Because I know here in Western world, many think that if a person is poor and uneducated they’re bound to commit crime, but that saying is completely wrong. And you can’t compare this with other nations. Yes, they do have crimes in third world countries, but just take a look at the numbers and statistics how low this rate is. And which you’ll find how cultures have impacts on people. And this can vary regions to regions. One thing we know globally is; Cultural differences influences interaction. There is no doubt about it some of South America’s and Chile’s cultural ways have some similarity to most of those Mediterranean countries. Having a background from that region, I was able to understand and see this with my own eyes in South America. I wouldn’t say the entire culture is similar, but rather a few things. I was able to adapt myself easily and very quickly to the South America’s culture. Many Europeans and Americans think Central America’s countries and the Hispanic population’s culture in the United States of America same as in South America. No, it is not! South Americans are very different compare to the Central Americans. I think this is enough about cultures right now, but I will get back to this subject extensively in the future.

       Main Road or avenue in Central Santiago: Avenida Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins on the right.

 I can never forget the friendship, closeness, warmth, and hospitality was shown to me by the people of Santiago city. I mean Chileans over all are very helpful people and they welcome anyone to their country with an open arm. And this is all over in Chile. I’ve experienced this in every part of Chile. But Santiago is really a special place for me. It takes about 3500 km between Lima, Peru and Santiago, Chile to cycle your bicycle. By the time I got to Santiago, I wanted to look at my bicycle closely before I moved on down south to Patagonia. A few months before I arrived to Santiago, I met hundreds of bicyclists in face book and we usually kept in touch. One of those face book friend was Carlos who has a bicycle shop (Carlos Touring Bike Rental Carvolla) in Santiago right by the city center.  Carlos knew I was on my way down to Santiago and he was following my bicycle tour on face book. While I was in Santiago, I wanted to stop by visit him and also visit his bicycle shop to repair a few things as well as purchase a new saddle or a new bicycle seat. I had his address and sure enough, one morning around 11:00 I stopped by his shop and met him personally. Carlos was a great guy we sat down and talk for a long time. And then without for me to mention anything about my bicycle, Carlos took my bicycle and he worked on it more than an hour to fix and upgrade a few things. I also mentioned him about the seat which he had a spare one. And he also replaced my seat with a new one. I couldn’t help but give Carlos one of my polar jackets as a present. Carlos had many bicycles for rent for touring and for the city. But his bicycle repair shop also had everything. He knew so much about bicycles and he was kind a like a bicycle doctor. Up to this date we still keep in touch and I will visit him again in Santiago. There were many more people I met in Santiago and I still keep in touch with them and I can’t go further without mentioning this clean hearted people. They were all nice and amazing people.

 Of course this was after the city of La Serena on the way to Santiago, but right after Santiago, Puerto Montt was my destination which brings you much closer to Chilean Patagonia.

    Carlos working on my Surly bicycle which needed a few things. It completely gave me a boost before I began the Patagonia adventure.

          Santiago is really an intense city with so many things to offer. Earlier I said that this city has an amazing future and so much potential. When I look ahead in 7 years time, I see Santiago will become one of the most popular destinations. Basically it will take Buenos Aires’s place. Yes, at the moment Buenos Aires is the most visited city in South American continent, however, from what I’ve seen so far in Santiago, this city will take over the number one spot. The amount of money they’re pouring into this city is enormous, the extent of development of Santiago that is taking place is incredible and the modernization as well as building and extending some of the suburbs is unheard of. At the end, the entire world will witness how this city became phenomenal. Meanwhile, I know I will return back to Santiago soon enough after my Silk Road Tour in Asia. I know I just can’t stay away from South America. I just love that continent