Bienvenido a Chile!

As expected, we did eat a LOT of chocolate in San Carlos de Bariloche: we tried to taste all the different types but had to stop...after eating over half a kilo between 4 of us! ;-) And for Mick that was after he had already scoffed half a liter of homemade ice-cream! Our cycling appetite is really ridiculous as you can well imagine!

We also took a trip to Cerro Campanario which is only 30 minutes away from town by bus. You can take a chair lift and enjoy the views from the top of the mountain...lakes, mountains, forests - absolutely stunning!!













We then headed South (!) again, cycling to El Bolson, a nice little hippy Argentinan town (with delicious beers from local micro-breweries!). This was the last bit of civilisation we were to see for the week, as for the next few days we really were in the "middle of nowhere". In this part of South America there is no shortage of water as it is spring and snow is melting fast in the sun.










The scenery is beautiful and the cycling is very enjoyable as the roads are hilly and twisty. Almost every evening we set up camp near a lake, river or waterfall which allows us to enjoy a quick dip (the water is VERY cold!).














We crossed the border and entered Chile at Futaleufu - Don´t cry for me Argentina - we´ll be back! ;-) ...and cycled on the Carretera Austral, which is quite a remote and rough road across the Chilean Andes. It´s Spring here so we enjoy the flowers - not only the nice colours (red, purple, yellow) but also their scent as we cycle along...





They are working hard on building this road (Carretera Austral), which means we see a lot of roadworks on the way: we had to wait for 3.5 hours one day as they were using explosives... Bike Dreams set up a camp alongside the road and we all took a siesta! :-)


We then cycled on to the Queulat National Park , where you can see the Queulat Hanging Glacier. Once more we were left speechless. The area is not at all touristy - if it was easier to access then it would surely be overcome with visitors. We (Mick, Edson, Bene) even set our alarm clock for 5.30am the next day to go hiking for 2 hours to watch the sunrise on the glacier. It was fabulous, and a good warm up before a tough day of biking ;-)











We are now resting in Coihaique, before we jump on the bikes again and cycle for 9 days in a row...ouch...heading south for a few more days in Chile before we take a ferry and cross the border back to Argentina. Hasta luego!