Feb 26 2015

The seven lakes route Patagonia

After yesterday’s beautiful border crossing, we have decided to meander down towards San Carlos de Bariloche. Between San Martin de Los Andes and Bariloche are seven lakes linked by part of Ruta 40. As we ride down this section of road, it is hard to find words to describe the vistas as they unfold before us. The muted browns and greys of the mountains, the green hues of the trees and the unbelievable blues of the lakes, pictures will have to suffice.

Lácar lago outside San Martin de los Andes

Rolling pastures of Patagonia near Lácar lago

Looking west towards the Andes near Lácar lago

Lácar lago

Another bend and the scenery changes again along the Camino de los Siete Lagos through the Nahuel Huapi national park

Camping spots abound at the lake shores, and if we had more time, this section of some 150km should be a journey of a few days not hours. At one location we stop at a campsite leads directly onto a beach of golden sand. The location reminds me of Fraser Island at home in Queensland, with sand dunes replaced by mountains. The water is a pleasant temperature, surprising for a mountain lake and make the location all the more appealing to camp at, but onward we must go.

At one lakeside campsite, we meet up with Heinrich again. He joins us as we talk to a Columbian rider who is travelling for 10 months on a bike that is literally covered in stickers. This is definitely bike country, both pedal and motorised, we have seen more travellers, most from Chile and Argentina, in one day than in six months and while I have a great admiration for those pedalling given the mountainous nature of the road, I have no desire to emulate their exertions.

Lago Villarino

We had expected more ripio or dirt and gravel on this but road upgrades are reducing the remaining sections un-tarred road by the day, it is less than 10km now, and I would not be surprised if all the ripio is gone by next summer. It should be noted that as road sections are upgraded, the authorities have made some changes to road numbering to designate the better sections as Ruta 40, so some maps and online information may conflict.

I have talked before about smell, and how it is an integral part of our travels that are hard to convey to our readers. From time to time on this journey, strong scents have reminded me that the sense of smell can both create and bring back strong memories. Here the wind as we ride brings us a whiff of pine as we pass the lumber yards, eucalyptus as the sun warms the leaves on the trees, and logs on fires, all add to the immense pleasure from this under-utilised, in my view, sense.

Nahuel Huapi south of Villa la Angostura

Back onto the Ruta 40 looking back towards the lake district

Baraloche has turned out to be the southern most point we will reach on this journey with our departure for Easter Island on the 4th of March looming . We have decided that our return north will be on the Argentinian side following the famous and scenic Ruta 40 as far as Mendoza.

San Carlos de Bariloche at dusk

– Anthony

Feb 25 2015

From Coñaripe to San Martin de los Andes

We had a great dinner last night, beside our tent – back to our tuna and chips and it was delicious. Sitting outside, under a starry sky is one of my greatest pleasures – I am happy. Tomorrow will be a longish day, with a border crossing, so we had better get some sleep…

Sleep? What sleep?!… It is the last week of the summer holidays and the partying at the beach beside our Rucahue campground goes on until 4am… Bad choice on my part…

Today as we leave Coñaripe, it is partly cloudy so we think it will be a perfect riding temperature for us on our way to San Martin de los Andes, 250kms away. We head back towards Villarrica and Pucon, by which time the sky cleared. Once again I admire the lush variety of trees and foliage and the hydrangeas that line the road. It is the end of the season for hydrangeas here but we are lucky to still see massive hedges of them. Another treat is that Villarrica volcano is gently smoking today.

Villarrica volcano is definitely smoking today

Enjoying the gorgeous scenery, lush and varied foliage and more volcanos

Leaving Pucón and smoking Villarrica behind us as we head towards Chile

As we head towards the border along route 199CH, the Pucon-Curarrehue road, the traffic gradually dies out. I am amazed how every single little bridge in Chile is named. Our road runs along the snaky Rio Trancura and leads us to the Mamuil Mamal national park. We pass some interesting looking churches – you could be in Austria or Germany. We have definitely felt the German influence in Villarrica and Pucon, from the numerous German immigrants. From the local Chilean beer advertisements on the roadside billboards with ladies dressed in lederhosen to restaurants selling bratwurst and spetzle. Apparently, Patagonia resisted Spanish and then Chilean and Argentinian settlement but national pride and competition between Chile and Argentinia in the mid 19th century fuelled immigration push from Welsh and Scottish settlers for their sheep and wool in Argentinia, and from Europeans, mostly German settlers in Chile.

After 2.5 hours, we get to the dirt road I had been expecting as I had seen photos of this stretch of road taken back in December, then suddenly a newly tarred section. This is glorious and totally unexpected. Then back to dirt and road works. They have very kindly wet the road to keep the amount of dust down. The scenery is stunning and I am loving this gorgeous ride.

The road to the border follows Rio Trancura

Then the biggest surprise, the road is tarred again. We are now in the vicinity of Lanin Volcano. The sight of the monkey puzzle trees and the snow clad volcano is magical. We stop to enjoy it – the photos do not do justice to the area but the sight and feel of the area will remain with me.

Volcán Lanin

Paso Mamuil Malal-Curarrehue has just been tarred – so glad they kept this tree

Volcán Lanin and monkey puzzle trees

Monkey puzzle trees in Lanin National Park

The Chilean border post is built to cater for snowy conditions. We park under cover and proceed to the customs and immigration counters inside this large building. In the queue, we meet our first biker, Heindrich from Munich who has just started a 12 month tour of South America on his own and like us is headed for San Martin de los Andes today. The border process is easy and very quick considering there are 30 people in front of us.

Mamuil Malal Chilean border crossing

An hour later and we are off and greeted with a welcome sign and gravel road. The forest of monkey puzzle trees is fantastic. After a 10′ ride, we arrive at the Argentinian border post. A very different set up, small building, a couple of counters to go to for immigration and bike papers and we are good to go. We went through the 2 border posts in under 2 hours.

Argentinian border post at Mamuil Mamal

It is about 120kms to San Martin de los Andes, via Junin de los Andes. Shortly after leaving the border post, we get our first taste of ripio, corrugated gravel road. It is a little unnerving at first but thankfully only lasts about 20kms. I will have to build up my confidence on this surface though…(the photo I take while riding is on the smoother part)

After we leave the Lanin national park and its monkey puzzle trees, the scenery changes dramatically. We are still surrounded by mountains, but gentle, rounded and imposing mountain ranges. It is farmland here and a really enjoyable ride on Ruta 40.

Ruta 40 south towards San Martin de los Andes

An hour and 3/4 later, we are in San Martin de los Andes. We stop at the first hotel we see in town, but it is ridiculously expensive. We continue our ride around town, spot and try another and it will do for the night. It also has underground parking which perfect, albeit down an extremely steep short ramp to a gravel floor cellar. On our ride looking for a hotel, I spot an Argentinian steak house, just 2 blocks away. We are ready for a good feed tonight!! We choose a small 350g steak with malbec jus. Delicious.

Searching for a place to spend the night at San Martin de los Andes

San Martin de los Andes is a very pleasant little town, on the edge of Lake Lácar. A road sign with distances to various cities around the world reminds us how far we are from family and friends but also how far we have travelled.

Anne

Feb 24 2015

Chile’s Lake District

We are finally “back on the road again”, something Anne sings from time to time when she is happy to be back on the motorbike. We spend two half days riding down ‘Route 5’ which is the main dual highway road spine of Chile. Easy riding, but the tolls every 50km or so are a pain to pay the 1400 pesos for two bikes – fumbling with notes and coins in gloves is not the easiest. I have resorted to small envelopes pre-packed with one 1000 peso note and four 100 peso coins. Apart from this minor irritant, weather is good, not too hot, traffic is light and follows road rules, something we have not been used to for quite a while. Our first destination is Talca, a town some 250km south of Santiago, we overnight and then push on to Temuco, our jumping off point for the Chilean Lake District, our first area to explore in our southward meander. Temuco has an unusual statue in the town’s main square which is dedicated to all the peoples, including indigenous Mapuche, who contributed to the area’s development.

Monumento a la Araucania, Plaza de Armas, Temuco

We are slowly adjusting to the the local timings, such as late breakfast, lunch and dinner. Here this pizza restaurant was open at 7pm, with one member of staff when we arrived, we were the only customers. I think we had finished dinner before all the staff arrived!

The backdrop to the main counter at Lola restaurant, Temuco, Chile

Thinking of the Cab Sav we are about to enjoy.

In Temuco, we visit the railway museum, which while they have retained some impressive buildings such as the coaling tower and roundhouse for locomotives, the level of carriage and engine maintenance is non existent with rusty coaches and deteriorating steam engines, a pity really as it could be a wonderful historic tourist attraction. We travelled parallel to a railway line down route 5 and while bridges and other infastructure appeared intact the track, catenary and signalling had a disused air about it, plus we saw no trains running. It appears some sections are no longer in use, probably due to the highway running parallel to the railway offering faster transportation options for people and goods.

Steam crane and coaling station at the railway museum, Temuco

Museo Nacional Ferroviario at Temuco, Engine Roundhouse

We turn west heading for lago or lake Villarrica, traffic is heavy coming back as it is the end of the school holidays, every property we pass seems to offer Cabañas or camping of various quality. As we start to skirt the lake, we get our first glimpse of Mt Villarrica as we head towards Pucón.

Our first glimpse of Villarrica volcano, Chile

Mt Villarrica dominates that landscape at 2,840m with a wisp of smoke coming from the top, we understand that the last volcanic activity started in December 2014 and has not finished yet! Each day at 12:00 they test the emergency alarm, which covers volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis on the coast. Warning signs give evacuation routes for the volcanic activity, we will be happy to avoid such potential excitement.

This sign was found in many places we went to in Chile

Pucón is a charming, if somewhat touristy, village at the eastern edge of Lake Villarrica under the watchful gaze of Mt Villarrica, seems everything is named after the volcano. We spend a relaxing afternoon and enjoy the long summer twilight, which lasts till about 9:30pm even at this time of the year.

In Pucón with Villarrica volcano in the background

South brings us to lake Calafquen in search of hot springs, mentionned in other travel blogs which can be a good source of current information. Our chosen hot springs destination is Termas Geometricas some 20 kilometers towards the Villarrica volcano, which I presume is the source of the warming waters. This beautifully developed hot springs is laid out above the stream that cuts through a verdant green gorge. We spend a relaxing afternoon testing various pools, which range between 36 and 45 degrees (and make us wonder how hot a couple of pools closed for being too hot were) and take a walk in the forest above the hot springs before returning to our campground in Coñaripe, on the edge of Calafquen lake.

Termas Geometricas, Coñaripe

Wildlife spotted at Termas Geometricas, Coñaripe, Chile

Enjoying a soak in one of the many pools at Termas Geometricas, Coñaripe, Chile

Small lizard spotted during our forest walk

Termas Geometricas viewed from our forest walk

Anne is excited at camping again.

Anthony

Feb 20 2015

Breaking out of the bubble…..

As we descended into Santiago last week, I gazed out of the window contemplating how being in an aeroplane seeing the world laid out below me, but not feeling part of it, is a little like being in a bubble. Since we left Streak and Storm in Kuala Lumpur at the end of 2014, it has seemed we have been separated from our world of Adventure Riding, enjoyable as that has been both back in Australia and here in Santiago, we are only half way around the world and the desire to complete the journey and keep our loyal followers sated with new and interesting blog entries, we are keen start travelling again.

Anne has provided an excellent and detailed blog on our stay in Santiago and the surrounds, plus the generosity of Carlos and Jessica, and I can only say I concur wholeheartedly with her views and wish to add my appreciation of the city and its people. As the following photo shows, last night we have been well insulated in our bubble from the rigours of motorcycle travel.

Adventure riding in Santiago!

As we are packing the bikes to depart Santiago, a well dressed elderly couple sit watching us, what are they discussing? Something they would like to have done in their youth or reflecting on a trip they once did like us, we will never know, but it makes me think that we all have memories and dreams and I believe we should try as far as possible in our lives to turn the latter into the former.

We are packed and ready to leave Santiago

We set off, out of Santiago heading south, “Al Sur” the signs say. The weather is fine and the road dual highway, within a hour or so, they skies become dark grey, jagged lightening slashes across the sky, thunder rumbles and rain pelts down soaking our dry weather gloves, so we slow to 100km per hour, Yes the bubble has broken, and we are loving it!

– Anthony

Feb 19 2015

A week in Santiago

After our record breaking bike clearance time at the airport, we have the rest of the week end before we can go to BMW. Sunday is spent walking and walking. First around Bellavista to see some interesting street art. Not all streets in that area feel quite safe, so it was good Anthony came with me. He has been feeling very dizzy and we are not sure why – we suspect it’s his ears as he has had a blocked nose. So we wonder the streets together before he heads back for a snooze.

Bellavista street art, Santiago, Chile

Wealthy people and businesses pay for street art, Bellavista,, Santiago, Chile

Then I wonder off to other areas and find the most exquisite square.

Plaza Libertad de Prenza, Santiago

Time to head back into the centre of Santiago.

Barrio Brasil, Santiago, Chile

Palacio de la Moneda, Santiago, Chile

Basilica de la Merced, Santiago, Chile

We have been eating sandwiches for lunch and dinner for the last few days, we decide to go out to dinner tonight and find a great lively area with all sorts of restaurants. Great spot for people watching.

Jose Victorino Lastarria street, Santiago

Monday morning, we head off to BMW. We meet the guy I emailed but as I suspected, his English is no better than my Spanish, ie non-existent, but he gets someone who speaks English for us and promptly disappears. Ricardo, who was a flight attendant for 15 years, speaks perfect English and understands customer service. He is lovely. So over our 5 hours waiting to hear anything from the service guys, we ask him to give us an update, passes my not-so-subtle suggestions such as try the bike first, then use either Anthony’s DME or the one belonging to the brand new F700GS in their show room, so we can be out of their hair as soon as possible. While we wait, we enjoy the outrageous cafe service they provide customers. We go out to the local mall for lunch, come back for another coffee and cakes.

BMW Santiago waiting area

BMW Santiago cafe

Free cakes at BMW Santiago!

Streak waiting to be fixed at BMW Motorrad Santiago, Chile

After 5 hours we leave after Ricardo promises to call us back with news the next day. The next morning, Ricardo calls, they have identified the problem and the bike will be ready at the end of the day! Really, so quick? I keep asking whether they actually took the bike for a test ride before reprogramming the DME but I never really get a satisfactory answer. Despite usually being positive, I am a little dubious that they have actually fixed my throttle problem with a simple DME software calibration. We’ll find out tomorrow, because today, Tuesday, we are being taken out.

We take the metro to meet Carlos and his family after having a morning coffee at one of the “coffee with legs” places, as they are called here…

Coffee with legs, Santiago, Chile

For $2.50, I get a coffee, pastry and glass of sparkling water and Anthony a great view…

We stumbled upon D’Angelo Botas – making crocodile skin boots, Santiago

We love these types of creative businesses – fresh juice on the go – Santiago

Carlos and Jessica have taken the day off to take us to one of the wine growing areas called Casablanca, just over an hour out of Santiago. We are treated to a fantastic lunch with superb red wine, at the Indómita winery, overlooking the valley. What a wonderful way to spend a few hours.

With Carlos, Jessica and Sebastian

Casablanca valley from Indómita winery, Chile

Then they take us to Valparaiso harbour which is buzzing with life, small colourful wooden boats, a few ex Royal Navy ships in the distance, and people simply enjoying their afternoon in the great sunshine we are having here. We see the various hills around Valparaiso dotted with quaint colourful houses. It will be fun to explore this town again when we return on our own. Because now, it is time to drive to Viña del Mar, the next town up the coast, for ice cream. It is interesting how two little towns so close to each other can have such different feels. Viña del Mar is obviously more affluent, with lovely promenades, lush gardens and great white buildings. It is very pleasant, but we both love the feel of working ports, so Valparaiso is where we will return. What a great day, with our new friends.

Valparaiso port, Chile

Sebastian, Carlos and Jessica at Valparaiso, Chile

Wednesday after doing a spot of repacking, getting our next 6 months’ worth of medication into our kitchen/bathroom pannier, we head off to BMW. I take Streak for a test ride with Anthony following to give me directions or I would get lost!! It doesn’t take long to notice the sluggish accelaration. I want to be quite sure, so we take the freeway so that I can give it a good go. No good. Back to BMW. Ricardo is on leave but we meet Michel from France who is waiting to get his bike fixed and he translates for us. Once again, I insist that someone goes out on my bike and opens the throttle up as if they were overtaking or going accelerating out of a bend. We are told to come back in 3 hours. While they work on both our bikes, we go to the mall and have lunch together. It is the first time we have met a fellow rider going in the opposite ditection who can give us a few tips on some roads to avoid. We return to find out that they did test Streak, felt the problem and found two software upgrades. Time for another tests ride. Instant difference! It feels like I have a brand new bike. So Santiago were right, we didn’t need a new DME after all, simply software upgrades. So after another 6.5 hours today at BMW, we are finally good to go!!!!!!!!!

Back at the apartment, it is time to pack. What do we do, do we head north, do we head south first as we have an extra couple of weeks we thought would be required for my bike, do we have another look for tickets to Easter Island? There are a few seats available to Easter Island over the next few days but the first available flight back from Easter Island is the 9th March!!! That’s too late says Anthony. But I have another idea: we could spend a couple of weeks to explore the Lake District south of Santiago, which also means time to make sure Streak is fully recovered, come back on the 3rd March, if we have bike issues, we can take the bikes back to BMW while we are on Easter Island, and head to Rapa Nui on the 4th, back on the 9th. Knowing how much I have always wanted to go there, Anthony couldn’t resist the look of excitement on my face. An hour or so later, I have booked flights and accommodation!!!!

So much to do and plan, we decide we’ll stay another day tomorrow and head off Friday 21st Feb. Time today for some shopping and more coffee with legs 🙂

Our free glasses of sparkling water to go with Anne’s coffee

We loved Santiago when we first came here and we love it even more. Still so much to see but the roads beckon. Next news will be from somewhere south of here.

Anne

2slowspeeds

Loving life – Turning Dreams into Memories

Category General

The seven lakes route Patagonia

From Coñaripe to San Martin de los Andes

Chile’s Lake District

Breaking out of the bubble…..

A week in Santiago

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