After so many months, how are we feeling and what do we want to say?

This entry is undoubtedly more for us than anyone.  A reflection on life after moving around on two wheels for 18 months, what we really think of our experience and the impact it is had on us.

Hmm, that’s quite a bit to write about…. where to begin?   Maybe an outline of what we are doing now.

In Roland’s typical fashion, he has totally immersed himself in his current endevour.  He’s committed to teaching (and learning how to teach!) a classroom full of rambunctious boys aged nine and ten in a low socioeconomic part of our community.  He’s taken up his old volunteer position with the SPCA doing fun stuff like washing away poop!  He is also tinkering away on some second hand bicycles and becomes very lively in a game of (an old favourite) Settlers of Catan. 

In between shopping in op shops and fussing with her dready hair, Belinda has jumped feet first into mental health nursing, a new challenge in her career but one she is excited about (minus the shift work).  She is working in a residential service for people dealing with eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia.  Initially arriving home, she got into the Insanity Gym buzz (high intensity aerobics) but has now directed her spare time into a drama class, adding to her repertoire of baking and waiting patiently for Roland to finish building her very own bicycle.

Most of all we are both enjoying the daily showers, conveniences of home, reconnecting with family and friends and attending social engagements.  We also have a  holiday in Vancouver in July 2011 that we are very much looking foward to.

Having friends visit from South America and other cycle tourists has allowed us to re-engage with many fond memories in amongst our current daily grind.  Being able to talk “shop” (bicycle and touring jargon), speaking a sprinkle of Spanish and sharing stories has been medicine for the soul.

If we were to participate in a small yet useful exercise of grouping the impacts and impressions we think our trip has made on us, this is it:

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

• Increased self-awareness. Knowing each other’s and our own limits and strengths. Knowing how to achieve the best results together.
• Feeling more confident, stronger and empowered. Knowing it okay to push through perceived limitations; you won’t die!
• A sense of achievement on a personal and marital level.

OUT LOOK AND PERSPECTIVE

• Trying to keep our lives simple, focusing on what is important and manageable by taking away the many frills and distractions. We have choices.
• The notion that when you have less you utilize more. Returning home we are continuously reminded of western world living standards and attitudes of how wasteful and unappreciative we can be.
• Most people in this world are innately good. Generosity, kindness and thoughtfulness make the world go round.

THOUGHTS FOR THE FUTURE

• We hope not to be labeled in that we are defined solely by this trip.  We want to continue to have memorable experiences in all forms, including the kid part.
• Sometimes not choosing the comfortable option: taking risks and being vulnerable.
• It is not enough to be on the receiving end of so many acts of GOODNESS and to only talk about it. We are adamant about recycling goodwill and being “good neighbours.”  We will never be in a perfect position to show kindness/hospitality/volunteer and it is not important.  It’s about showing our humanity, being real and doing what you can, while you can.

On a final note we would like to acknowledge and thank you, our family and friends (old, new and virtual).

We believe a large part of our success and enjoyment of our trip was due to your support (in all different forms) being the backbone of our emotional sustenance.  We felt very blessed and fortunate to have such a supportive network of family and friends in both the Northern and Southern hemisphere.  At times we have even been brought to tears with the overwhelming knowledge and sense of love and support we have from you all.

Thank you for your listening ears, words of wisdom, your prayers, your thoughts, your interest and your enthusiasm.  To those from home: all the phone calls, skype calls, emails, facebook messages and chats, blog comments, pampering gifts, and packages in the mail ALWAYS gave us a boost and helped us to re-energise and re-focus knowing the people we loved and missed dearly were cheering us on from the sideline.  To those who took time out of their busy lives and went out of their way to make our trip extra special by showcasing some very generous local hospitality or helping us out of a tight spot or by simply encouraging us, made our experience into something more than we could have ever hoped, dreamed and imagined.   

We hope this is not the end of our adventures or our friendships with you.  Maybe we can have an adventure together?  Thank you for following our blog!  We are continuously surprised about how many people have followed us on our journey but stoked it has been some source of value (other than a record for us) in terms of inspiration, entertainment and information.

“If I ride the morning winds to the farthest oceans,
even there your hand will guide me;
your strength will support me.”
Psalm 139:9-10

Until next time……….

We were quite pleased (if we don’t say so ourselves!) that our schedule planning in Santiago was bang-on, affording us time on our last leg to really soak in the surroundings and savour the last remaining kilometres on the road.  It also meant we didn’t come barreling into Ushuaia in a mad panic but rather could mellow out for a few days before jumping on our long anticipated flight to (almost) home.

Bart and Griet also had some time up their sleeves so we enjoyed a couple of excursions together.  The maritime museum, which joined onto the old prison, had a lot going on.  Each cell had a different exhibit, ranging from the prison’s history, to famous explorers traveling by sailboat, Antarctica and sea life special to this region.

Did you know?

• The Emperor penguins are the tallest and heaviest of all living penguins in the world and can only be found on The White Continent.
• One of the bigger profile inmates at the Ushuaia penitentiary (when it was open) was Cayetano Santos Godino or commonly referred to as “big eared midget”.  He committed heinous crimes on children in Buenos Aires.  After several years in prison and beatings from fellow inmates for killing their pet cats he died of strange circumstances.

The next day we splurged and went on a cruise with Tolkeyen Patagonia through the Beagle Channel and passed the Chile town of Puerto Williams.  We got to see hundreds of Magellanic penguins as well as sea lions and the iconic Les Eclaireurs lighthouse. 

It was hard to say farewell to Bart and Griet as although in reality we had only spent a short time together we had shared some very significant moments of our trip with them.  We can’t wait to see you guys again in your country of deliciousness and once again, a big congratulations on your engagement…..hopefully everyone knows now!    

While dining with our new friends from Couchsurfing (Norma, her daughter Victoria, husband Jose and her mum too), Roland stumbled upon the perfect icebreaker.  Unaware of his faux pas, Roland politely offered in Spanish (to what he thought) was to wash the dishes.  It turns out the Mexican word for ‘dishes’ means something entirely different in Argentina.  After some astonished faces, then some snickering and finally some hearty belly laughs we soon learned that he had kindly offered to “wash their bottoms”! 

Norma and her family were very accommodating, allowing us to prepare for our flight.  Roland spent the better part of a day packaging Big Bird into a cardboard box and making him as small as possible.  Seeing the bike in pieces and then in the box was the first of many hard-hitting reality checks.  As Big Bird will be staying in Canada, it will be a very long time before he sees the light of day again.

One afternoon we joined Norma, Jose, and Victoria for an outing to Estancia Haberton and Museo Acatushun about 80kms away from Ushuaia.  We are not particularly museum people; with our eyes not taking long to glaze over but we found this small private museum excellent.  The owner’s collection of marine mammal and bird specimens started out as a hobby but when she realized she had some very rare ones, she dedicated her full attention to this endevour.  Now students go there as part of their study experience and participate in the lab work i.e. retrieving a new specimen, cleaning, preparing, and assembling the skeletons for research.

Did you know?

• Orca (killer) whales are not whales.  They belong to the dolphin family.
• Estancia Haberton is the oldest farm on the Argentine side of Tierra del Fuego.  Thomas Bridges founded this property as well as an Anglican Mission and is famous for befriending the indigenous Yamana Canoe People and learning their language.

After several days of recipe swapping and taste testing it was time to leave the far south and visit the Capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires.  Our first step homeward bound.  We would like to thank Norma and her family for having us for an extended period of time and letting us slot into daily life with no fuss and bother.  It was a pleasure to meet you all and share the last days of our trip in such a comfortable home and more importantly in friendly and easygoing company.

Although Ushuaia was officially in summer, a thermal or two didn’t go amiss.  However in a matter of a few hours we were sweating out of every pore as we got sucked into the humid, hot air of Buenos Aires. 

We have been very fortunate meeting such generous people and this didn’t end in the bustling city.  We had door-to-door service from the airport to Rocio and Gabriel’s home who we made contact with through Warmshowers.  We made an instant connection as we munched down on homemade pizzas and learnt more about this young Argentine couple.  They have cycled through New Zealand, got married the same year as us and are currently in the throws of renovating their new funky house and the best of all they had a ping pong table!

These guys have their own landscaping businesses and although they had chocka days out and about they wanted us to stay and make us feel at home.  We only had two nights in this huge city so they gave us some good suggestions of sights to see on our limited time frame.   So we checked out Tigre, the popular weekend getaway for Portenos that has many waterways and good shopping on the waterfront.  Then we spent a full day walking around the downtown area of Buenos Aires, passing through the districts of Palmero, San Telmo and La Boca.  We got to see some street tango performers, do some window-shopping, and enjoy the cool in shady parks and stroll down the famous and colourful ‘Caminito’ boulevard.

Then before we knew it, we were saying goodbye to Rocio and Gabriel (our super great hosts), Argentina, South America and our bicycle trip and we were on a plane to Vancouver, Canada where family, friends and “normality” awaited……………

Weird!

• Background information: we had a crazy flight back to Vancouver that jumped from BA to Santiago, Chile, then to Toronto, Canada and finally Vancouver.  So flying to Santiago we had clear views of Mt Aconcagua and the road we cycled on from Mendoza to Santiago.  Quite a weird feeling to look down and know we have cycled there but so cool to see perfect, unobstructed views of the tallest mountain in the Americas.

Unbelievable

• Expecting to get a package delivered way back in Salta, Argentina (like three months ago) with some new cycling gear and family love, it got stuck in Buenos Aires customs.  After many frustrating phone calls, numerous emails by both NZ mum and Belinda we reached a stalemate.  We gave up and thought we’d never see the contents of the package, however in a last ditch effort to retrieve it Belinda went to customs at the Buenos Aires airport and after handing over a horrific sum of money we were in possession of our goods.  Rather unfortunate but pleased to have something to show for all our fiddle farting around.  We would like to thank Orca very very much for donating these very stylish and good quality cycling clothes to us and although we couldn’t enjoy them on this trip we will definitely make good use of them in the future.

 

Stay tuned for our final blog entry from New Zealand with some interesting facts about our trip, insights and reflections……..

We honestly could not have scripted out our last few remaining days on the road any better if we tried.

We had excellent conditions for our final two days on the bike with little wind, a comfortable temperature and no rain.  Averaging speeds of between 20-30kms per hour meant we could afford longer breaks, munching on goodies, kicking back on the grassy verges while learning interesting facts about Belgium.  This is where our fabulous cycling companions, Bart and Griet hail from.

Did you know these things about Belgium?

• It is the Capital of the European Union.
• This small country has three official languages: German, French and Flemish with English being used at times as a common denominator.
  
• Belgium currently is in political turmoil and has not had a government for the last six months.
• This is where Belinda's favourite beer (Hoegaarden) and Roland's favourite ice cream (Haagen-Dazs) originates.  Hmmm, maybe this should be the next place we visit?

Exactly halfway between Rio Grande and Ushuaia lies a small country town, Tolhuin.  At the hub is the famous 'La Union' Panaderia owned by Emilio.  Each wall is lined with pictures of famous Argentine people that have visited the bakery and at the rear you can even find a small aviary filled with tropical birds.  Then your eyes fall upon the shelves filled with scrummy pastries and chocolates.  The four of us, didn't even flinch at polishing off several plates filled with sweet delights.  Rumour had it that if you talk nicely to Emilio, he'll put cyclists up for the night.  As we found out, this is no lie as we were ushered out the back to find a 'Casa de Amistad' (Friendship House) which had a bed for each of us and a hot shower.  The following morning we were engulfed with more delicious gifts for the road from Emilio and his staff.  It was very therapeutic and seemed fitting writing on the wall and in the guestbook (which many other cyclists had done) before leaving for our final full day of cycling.  We would like to acknowledge Emilio and his staff at La Union for so humbly and generously giving touring cyclists a sweet spot for the night.

The closer we got to Ushuaia, the greener the landscape became, with more lakes and rivers appearing and our old friend, The Andes.  After another pleasant day of riding we descended for the last time and set our sights on Ushuaia nestled in between the Beagle Canal and mountains.  Our day didn't end here as there is a little over 20kms more of road after Ushuaia, with 'Ruta 3' officially ending in Lapataia.  So we grabbed some groceries in the bustling centre of Ushuaia and went in search of our final wild camping spot of the trip.  Just before the entrance of the Tierra Del Fuego National Park (and Lapataia) was a building under construction that we got permission to sleep in which gave us protection from the elements. 

Up at the crack of dawn (to miss the crowds and the entrance fee) we set off on the final ride of our trip.  We had the road to ourselves as it wound through forest, past lakes and waking wildlife (we saw a Zorro!).  It was a beautiful morning, very peaceful and intimate.  As we rounded the last curve, Bahia Lapataia came into view and we had no choice but to come to a stop.  With all our eyes wet we embraced in some serious bear hugging, still not believing we had finally made it after 17 months on the road and our minds flashing over special memories from the 16 different countries we had visited.

We simply had a lovely morning in the park and ended up staying at Lapataia for six hours!  After multiple photos in front of the famous sign we enjoyed several quiet hours at the shore picnicking and dosing in the sun.  Once the bus loads of tourists started to arrive it was time to pack up and have an obligatory ride in the BOB trailer before heading back to Ushuaia.

Patagonia is famous for it's 'cordero' (lamb) as well as Asados (BBQ's) so it seemed fitting to have a celebration meal with Bart and Griet at a 'Tenedor Libre' (all-you-can-eat) restaurant.  Griet and Belinda watched the boys put back several platters filled with every kind of meat imaginable.  They even had room for ice cream!

It made sense to spend our first night in 'Camping La Pista Del Andino' where again many other cyclists have either finished or started their trip.  Fernando, the owner was another person that made our final days extra special.  In his quiet way, we were presented with a bottle of champagne complete with a toast.  This definitely doesn't come included and especially when he sees so many other cyclists through his campground we were quite taken aback.

Our final day of cycling was 100% PERFECT.

One resounding fact continues to penetrate our many crazy emotions and thoughts as we process and come to terms with our 17 month bicycling trip ending. Like a wedding, the day is primarily centered around the bride and groom.  But without help, support and encouragement from family, friends, other cyclists, new friends made along the way and sponsors this adventure would not have been possible.  You have made it amazing to the power of awesome. THANK YOU!

Because of YOU:         
                                                Our trip = (AMAZING) ^ AWESOME


More to come next blog including videos .............................

Not one but two nights we found refuge from the elements at police stations between Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas and were warmly received by these officials who have a history of harbouring touring cyclists. Maybe to the average backpacker having a three walled structure with a roof is a bit primitive, but for us it´s simply bliss not having to pack a wet tent and also getting a warm, dry, safe and sound sleep.  This stretch of road was only made interesting by playing cat and mouse with two other cyclists, Rene from Switzerland and Raul from Spain.

Punta Arenas marked the last volunteer opportunity on our map and we were excited at the prospect of lending a hand and learning about the needs of a community this far south. Needless to say we were hugely surprised and disappointed to learn that the 'Ejercito de Salvacion' was closed over the holiday season. If this trip has taught us something at all about volunteering, its that you don't need to visit another city or country to make a difference. You don't need to wear a uniform or allocate a specific time in your work week to assist any person. Simply spending time, valuing and respecting a fellow human being, rich or poor is often more profound and meaningful than any project. Throughout our journey we have thoroughly enjoyed meeting, learning and helping Salvation Army initiatives and would like to continue this in the future.  This experience and attitude has extended past wearing our Salvation Army cycling jerseys and given us good practice at learning to be more patient and flexible with each other, our situations and others. 

In Punta Arenas, Jaqueline (Couchsurfing), her two sons Diego and Benjamin, Abuela (Grandma) and two (very loved) dogs immediately made us feel apart of the family.  Laughter and teasing was dished out in large doses, especially at Roland's sloppy Spanish.  AND this was even after all the time Roland spent being the "Man of the House" fixing a variety of things around the place.  Ha ha!  At Jaqueline's advice, forevermore Roland will have to say "Coihaique" while pulling on his earlobes.   The timing worked out rather well, as the boys and Grandma were going to Santiago for the holidays and Jaqueline would be alone for New Years. Well we can not have that!  We changed our plans for the umpteenth time extending our visit here for an extra night and we were ever so pleased we did!  After a leisurely day and too much food we bombed over to Jacqueline's friends place to see 2011 in.  It was a family affair with traditional Fuegian music and dancing and drinks with ice from Antarctica.  Belinda keeps telling Roland there is no need to go to Antarctica now because we have Antarctica inside us!  Excellent logic and money saving!  This New Year celebration easily topped last year's one where we were camping outside a rural town in Mexico, and feel asleep by 9pm to the sound of gunfire. 

As Jacqueline so rightly said, this was no coincidence of meeting.  We have had many special occasion on this trip where things were just "meant to be" and this chunk of life with Jacqueline and her family was one such time.  Amiga, muchas gracias por todo.  

The further south we travel the more cyclists we have run into, which is surprising as this part of the world is not particularly easy.  Literally as we were saying goodbye to our new friend we were embracing Bart and Griet, the cyclists from Belgium we last saw in El Chalten.  Their plans changed and so they packed their hiking gear away and pointed their bikes towards to bottom of the world.  We couldn't have been more chuffed to see them again and the possibility of sharing our last days on the road with friends.   After a boat ride across to Porvenir (which takes 2.5 hours to get there and 4 hours to return due to wind), the pavement disappeared as did the wind (which was supposed to be with us for once) and the day, warm.  Highlights of the day included lunch in a boat and a squishy slumber party with a bottle of Chilean wine.  The following day to Rio Grande didn't prove to be so carefree but we still managed to pound out 130kms over several hours to meet our Couchsurfing host.   We are finding this really hard to write because we don't want to sound cliche or repetitive but we have been so blessed meeting such terrific human beings.  Fernando is a brilliant example of this as he is caring, down-to-earth and generous.  He left us to our own devices in the comforts of his attractively furnished apartment while he was at work.  Fernando is just finishing up his final paper in his accountancy degree and we wish him a happy holiday in El Bolson this coming week. 

Some Curious things:

• Have you ever really looked at the border between Argentina and Chile particularly in Patagonia? Argentinians living in Tierra Del Fuego need to pass through Chile in order to reach the mainland. Chilean residents shipping cargo to and from Punta Arenas need to travel through Argentina. It just seems so crazy that there is no port in Rio Grande connecting them to the coastal city Rio Gallegos and that they have to pay import tax on goods destine for their own country.
• We have been wondering why Chileans run on such a late time schedule i.e. get up late and stay up late.  This could be hearsay but we have been given a reason: when Chile was ruled by a dictatorship there was a curfew where one couldn't leave the house until 5am.  So if a social gathering went on late then people would be forced to stay there until 5am.  However this doesn't answer our question for people from Argentina as they too stay up late i.e. it's normal to eat at 10pm to 12am each night, including children.
• Tierra del Fuego (The Land of Fire) was first named when Magellan's expedition passed through the Magellan's Strait and observed fires onshore.  It is in fact an island and necessary to crossed by boat.  Both Chile and Argentina have claims on this faraway land.
  
• Only 230kms to go.
  

Besides taking refuge in either road maintenance buildings or police stations, where you are most likely to meet few fellow cyclists, the road between El Calafate, Argentina and Puerto Natales, Chile is dry, bleak and bare.  At the occasion water sourse though, we were surprised to see so much wildlife with farm animals, a wide variety of bird life (including condors, mini'ostriches, flamingos, hawks and eagles), armadillos, foxes, guanacos (the same family as alpacas) a plenty.

However, our time tramping in Torres Del Paine National Park, more than compensated for this, as we slowly strolled around crystal clear lakes and rivers, through woodlands and patiently waited for the clouds to co-operate revealing magnificent views.  The eight micro climates in the park make life unpredictable as within a span of an hour we went from basking in the sun to being pelted by freezing rain while taking in the French Valley and Glacier. At 4.00 a.m. the following day, we scrabbled up the last few hundred metres in the dark to catch the sunrise but in the process managed to loose the well marked trail and add some extra excitement to the morning.   If you´re lucky you can catch the peaks turning red as the first rays of sunlight hit the rock.  We weren´t so lucky!

Having paid a little bit of money to both enter the park and for transportation, we were all about getting our moneys worth and avoid unnecessary costs. We decided to hike to both trail heads thereby avoiding paying for the ferry and comni-bus costs, and stayed at the free campsites for three nights . This did mean we had to hike each day a little further, but there were many daylight hours, the trails were quite agreeable, we were in excellent shape, we had plenty of sweets to eat and the weather for the most part was kind. It was very easy to see why this park receives over 200,000 visitors annually even around Christmas time. Initially, we thought we might have the entire place to ourselves but boy-oh-boy we got it wrong as many other hikers must have had the same train of thought.

Prior to entering the park, we took full advantage of the free lecture at "Base Camp & Erratic Rock" (a youth hostel and rental outfitter), giving people essential information about the trail, transportation times/costs, weather conditions, required equipment, dangers  etc. We were very impressed by this fantastic service because it better prepared travelers and increased the chances of them having a positive experience on the mountain. Judging by some of the questions being asked and equipment being used, one quickly appreciates how ill prepared, miss informed and in-experienced some of these visitors can be.

What do you get when you have a Kiwi, a Canadian, two Argentineans, a Chilean, two Americans and three Polish dining together?

Besides what sounds like the opening line to a bad joke, this was our memorable Christmas. In fact we celebrated Christmas with the entire Polish community of Puerto Natales!   We learnt about several Christmas Polish traditions like the exchanging of bread and well wishing, and ensuring there are 12 food dishes (sybolising the 12 apostles).  There was a 6 year old boy with us too, Diego, and Roland wanted to share with him a Christmas activity he cherishes from his childhood.  Izabela (from Couchsurfing) made all this happen even around a busy schedule of guiding work in the National Park.  We would like to thank Izabela, her flatmate and friends for being so flexible, chill, friendly and pumped about sharing Christmas with us.  We were equally pumped!

Izabela even generously extended her hospitality to Cindy and Dave, our cycling friends we first met on the Carretera Austral.  So this festive occasion was further enhanced by being about to geek out on "bike and hike" talk.  On a trip like this it's always nice to see familiar faces especially when we have so much in common.

After six days off the bike we now prepare for our final push and try to make sense of our trip actually coming to an end. For Real!

BELINDA IS THE CHAMPION OF CRIB............................... in the Torres Del Paine tournament!

Belinda 5
Roland 2

Total score of South America is currently not available as Belinda needs to revel in her small victory.

More....................

• Quite enjoying the variety of vehicles in the traffic signs for ascents and descents.  Sometimes they are trucks, RV's, bugs, lorries or sport's cars.
• If you ever want to relive the 80´s music scene this is the place.  At any given moment you are likely to hear Whitney Houston, Rod Stewart, or Phill Collins blaring from supermarket speakers.
• Belinda's Christmas present from Roland was 25 massages lasting 10 minutes each.  She still has 21 in the bank.  They can be cashed in at any time and are non refundable.
• We've been cycling past the odd minefield of late.  Active minefields.  It's so crazy!  These are remnant of the friction between Chile and Argentina and government feel it's too costly to remove them so they just fence them and plaster them with danger signs.
• As you would expect, the supermarket was intense on Christmas Eve but we did see some curious purchases like 2 shopping trolley's full of just tomatoes and another man just bought a large box of lemons.  Would love to see these people's Christmas spread!
  
• We´ve seen some really giant bumble bees in this region sporting thick fuzzy coats.
  

Our rest day in Coihaique felt like bliss staying with Javier (Couchsurfing) in his cosy cabin that was all toasty thanks to the fire.  Javier is a Biochemical Engineer and moved down here a year ago from Valparaiso.  We were impressed by the volunteer work he was doing at a local orphanage where he was teaching a small group of girls how to play the guitar.  He is quite the musician and also plays the saxophone at any opportunity. Sometimes when in the company of such accomplished individuals, always busy doing something with skill, we marvel at their talent and how they find the time and energy to keep all these things up.  A 'big ups' to Javier for having us to stay and for teaching us how to make pasta from scratch; it was so much fun to watch!

Loaded to the brim with supplies to get us to Cochrane we set out on a sunny day.  We revelled in each paved kilometre because we knew it wasn't going to last.  Infact, we got up to our old tricks and managed to hit the 90km marker flying down some hills.  A little bit naughty!  However, once back on gravel and faced with sharp gradients 100 kilometres down the road it was back to 10kms per hour or even less at times!  With our bums bouncing on our seats like hot potatoes we made our way around Lago General Carrera, the 2nd largest lake in South America (the first being Lago Titicaca).

Not trusting the weather forecast one tiddly bit we took refuge several times overnight in abandoned lodges and bus shelters.  One perfect spot was on the shores of this famous lake (which is also shared with Argentina but called Lago Buenos Aires) where we had front row seats to rainbows materialising over the water and the calming trickle of a river flowing nearby to send us off to sleep.

One of our favourite rest stops on this stretch was in Puerto Bertrand overlooking Lago Plomo where we had two dogs keeping us company while we munched down on sandwiches and several chocolate bars.  This was the last of the good weather for us and the final two days on the Carretera Austral proved to be difficult and uncomfortable but also our favourite part!  However, we were pretty pleased with our investment of red PVC ponchos that kept us surprisingly dry and warm in rain, hail, sleet, snow and big puddles.  Not only that but they were a great distraction as we looked pretty silly with the ponchos flailing around in the wind.  At times, It could be compared to when the bonnet of a car suddenly pops up and you find yourself driving blind!

Unbeknown to us, there was four other cyclists fairing no better waiting for the ferry at Puerto Yunguy.  There is no charge for this service as there is no road alternative and has two crossings daily (and depending on who you ask, sailing times vary!).  Although the weather didn't improve there was a lot of comfort in knowing that other cyclists were out here, that they were also finding the conditions tough and that we would have some company for the remainder of our time in Chile.

Yes, it was certainly hard yakka (with even blowing out a tire and snapping our chain twice) it was an enchanting place to cycle through.  The further south we cycled, with traffic almost non existent, we were surrounded by some of the most pure and quiet landscapes we've ever encountered.  It's really hard to summarise how special it felt going through this section as it will all sound very cliche.  But basically it was damn cool!

Arriving into Villa O'Higgins (the end of the road) we found the perfect digs to spend two nights waiting for the ferry to Candelario Mansilla.  After being in the cold elements all day we went primal making our first order of business to find fire.  This was closely followed by a hot shower and locating certain food items we had been deprived of for the past three days (as all the yum food is usually devoured in the first day of a cycling stretch).  Camping Ñires was a family run business and besides being the cheapest place on offer it was probably the most inviting.  We were the only ones there the first night and so they invited us for dinner as their guests.  Asados (BBQs) are one of Patagonians favourite past times and we were presented with a mountain of cordero (lamb) and good Chilean wine to wash it down.

In addition to the four other cyclists (who we shared a night with in the ferry shelter at Rio Bravo) we were nicely surprised to see another cycle touring couple (Bart and Griet) who we first met in Copacobana, Bolivia.  It was shaping up to be quite the cycling crew to cross the horse trail over to Argentina.  All in all, there was nine of us: Dave and Linda from the USA, Michael and John Marc from France, Bart and Griet from Belguim, and Pedro from Spain.  We decided we could have had a UN meeting right then and there!  We really had a great time getting to know these guys a little bit over the next few days and hope to see them again somewhere down the line.

The morning of the ferry was a stunner and the short 7km cycle to the ferry terminal was in stark contrast to the previous cycling days.  After a pleasant crossing of Lago O'Higgins we cleared customs and set out on a 23km adventure.  On the Chile side we still at least had a road and was mostly rideable but immediately crossing the invisible border line the road vanished.  The final kilometres were a mixture of pushing, pulling, dragging, and lifting our bikes through mud, streams, fallen logs, narrow deep ditches and steep ascents and descents.  It really was a team effort with us all staying together helping each other through the most difficult bits.  We would really like to thank the other cyclists for helping us to negotiate Big Bird through a couple of really hairy parts, it really made a huge difference to us!  It was motivating and encouraging going through it together but Belinda still managed to have a little meltdown when the bike had fallen on her one too many times.  Even almost a week later she still has war wounds!  We wanted to hire a horse to carry our trailer and panniers but they were unavailable as the owner was busy skinning a cow!  So with Roland's Superman powers he carried the entire Bob trailer on his back while Belinda steered the bike with the help of Roland steadying the bike from the back.  With this kind of thing not normally being Belinda's forte it was quite emotional arriving to Lago del Desierto and clearing Argentine customs knowing the most physically demanding bit of the trip was finally finished.  Once again as we have mentioned several times before, the scenery was simply magical and that much more special knowing no vehicles can travel this route.  We also got our first glimpse of Mount Fitz Roy that stands at 3441m and is not only astounding to simply view from afar but is world famous amongst climbers.

We jumped on the Lago del Desierto ferry with 5 minutes to spare everyone wrapping up warm and shedding their wet shoes.  Forty five minutes later we were on the south end of the lake and back to a gravel road.  All weary from an action packed day we were keen to find a camp spot ASAP and settle in for the night.  In celebration Bart and Griet pulled out an instant chocolate mousse mix they had bought in Belgium and we savoured the chocolaty goodness, did a few rounds of congratulatory high fives, warmed our toes next to the fire and hit the sack.

Although we were not able to volunteer, the two days we had off in Bariloche did us a world of good, as we were more tired than we realised. Each evening we shared a meal and terrific conversation with our Warmshowers host, Julie. She is a passionate agricultural scientist tackling some challenging problems that rural communities face in farming practices, such as, economics, self sustaining and renewable resource management and empowering farmers through co-operative efforts. Pretty interesting stuff!  We would like to thank Julie for her hospitality, great coffee, the most effective washing machine we have come across in many months and speaking to us about the area, her profession and interests in English (enabling us a greater depth of conversation).

Did you know that?

• A special fine thread-like plastic material is used to make clothing such as fleece jackets, hats and vests.

We had sunshiny days from Bariloche to Trevelin, Argentina and we very much enjoyed our time on the bike with such fantastic surroundings as well as having great camping spots, playing lots of crib, reading and hoovering deli sandwiches and treats at every opportunity. 

However, it was like day and night crossing back over to Chile from Argentina at Futuleufu as almost immediately we saw the clouds roll in and our first night on the Carretera Austral we had rain.   The Wicked Witch of the West would not last five minutes in these parts and we imagine the Tin Man would be rusting and creaking from every crevice.  We had to choose between strong head winds in Argentina or rain on this side (as The Andes divide the two countries).  Kinda both sucky options but the stories of spectacular scenery won us over and so we decided to brave this famous and very remote road.  Cycling on the first half to Coyhaique (or we have come to call it, 'the land of rainbows') has reminded Roland of a great tramping trail on Vancouver Island, The West Coast Trail.  We feel like we are somewhere very magical but this bubble has been burst a couple of times due to the severe elements and the steep inclines on 'ripio' (gravel) which can sometimes resemble a river bed.  To add to this, shelter is few and far between and supermarkets (supermercados) resemble that of some old lady's kitchen cupboard. 

We have been very happy with the performance of our new 'psycho' rims as they have managed to bounce off numerous rocks, uneven pavement and sneaky potholes.  But, with all the rain and dirt we face a new challenge of keeping our chain clean and oiled as it continuously gets clogged and gritty (which several times brought us to a stand still).  Fortunately, there are many water sources to free up the mechanical bits of debris.  Therefore, we found ourselves pushing our bike up some of the nastiest climbs which is always a bit demoralising when you are on a "cycling trip".... so what.... we managed to fit in some tramping too...... or as another cyclist says "doing a bit of cross training".

It feels wonderful to be in Coyhaique, the middle of the Carretera Austral and an opportunity to warm up, dry off, recharge our batteries and get rid of our stink.  As our time on the bike draws to an end we find ourselves thinking about the past 16 months but also trying to muster up enough energy to complete this mammoth adventure and continue to absorb the charms of Patagonia.  We are getting really tired.

Extras

• To give you an indication of how wet it gets here, tent sites in campgrounds have permanent shelters to shield your tent from all forms of bad weather.
• Flip flopping back and forth between Chile and Argentina means continuously converting money and getting your head around the different exchange rates.
  
• Books being read: Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen, Shogun by James Clavell and Laguna by Barbara Kingsolver.
• Crib scores: Roland 52, Belinda 37.
• 31 pages left in our South America Lonely Planet (as we have shed the rest).
• After many weeks of humming and harring over whether to buy new shoes knowing the prospects of wet weather ahead we took the jump and are both now sporting a new pair of Salomon sneakers.  We feel so cool!
  

Ruta 5 is the major artery that runs down the centre of Chile which took us to Temuco. This was the perfect road for us to do some volunteer work, hitting Paine, Rancagua and Temuco (click here for more on this) and make a serious dent in the map.  The two lanes of traffic with the constant flow of noisy trucks really got to Belinda and coupled with six straight days of headwind we both felt exhausted.  However, there was some tranquility gazing out onto The Andes that were paralleling the highway for much of the week.  Another respite was the Copex petrol stations providing bathrooms, drinking water and a comfy place to play crib.  One night before finding a camp spot we cycled into a highway service station that offers free hot showers, a first for us and of course a service that we definitely took full advantage of.  We wished there were more!

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.

Test your knowledge:

• 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