2007-11-27 Coyhaique
It
has only been a week and a half since we last posted but it has been
quite an interesting time. When you are on the road doing kilometres
everyday you see so many new things and meet so many friendly people
and even though the contact is brief it makes a lasting impression.
Punta
Ninfas
From
Puerto Madryn, after about 65 km of gravel road through Estancias and
barren shrub land, we arrived at Punta Ninfas, a promontory which looks
out across to peninsula Delgado on Valdez. This was going to be our
lunch stop and our chance to see sea lions up close without the
barriers and fences which usually protect them from the busloads of
tourists. The first thing we saw when we got there were however not sea
lions but leaping whales. There were about 8 of them hanging around at
the next point about 3 km along the coast. I could make out at least 2
mothers with calves and two were doing the jumping…the
males? We watched them for about thirty minutes before they
all
solemnly proceeded in a straight line out into the open ocean. Were the
nursery days in the bays of Valdez over and what we were seeing the
start of their months spent in the deeper waters?
Ruta
25
The
Route 25 follows the Chubut river valley which traverses the interior
of the Chubut province of Argentina and has its source in the Andes.
The Chubut
has carved out some impressive cliffs and canyons along the way and it
was a beautiful ride. Our first stopover was in Gaiman, a town founded
by Welsh settlers where welsh traditions are still maintained in small
ways: tea houses, cakes and place names. There were two highlights to
our stay, a visit to El desafio and at the carwash with Pablo Phillips.
Pablo, of Welsh and Portuguese heritage, was a look-alike for Tom
Cruise so Axel was a bit suspicious of our lengthy conversations while
he polished the bikes. But honestly I was just finding out a bit of the
history of the town and its residents and practicing my Spanish ;)
El
Desafio was a crazy, surreal garden of junk art which was the life work
of Don Joaquín Alonso and has been the subject of quite a
few
documentaries as well as making it into the Guinness book of world
records. The pictures speak for themselves.
The
next two
days were spent on the Ruta 25. What we thought would be another boring
ride through desolate country turned out to be surprisingly varied. The
scenery changed from wide valleys to stratified cliffs and ochre
canyons. We spent one night in Las Plumas hiding out from the wind and
drinking Quilmes in the one and only bar of the town. The next night
would be wind still and spent next to a dirt road that cuts across to
Gobernador Costa through the foothills of the Andes. We were slowly
making our way higher and closer until finally we got a glimpse of them.
Rio
Mayo and the evening’s entertainment
From
Gobernador Costa it was a quick drive down to Rio Mayo on potholed, but
nevertheless tarred roads. After setting up camp in the local municipal
camping grounds I was lured away by the sound of drumming from the
adjacent Cultural Centre. It was evening training for the Gruppo
Folklorique “Almecen Sureno” and kids of all ages
were
practicing traditional Argentinean folk dances. During their breaks
they would come over to check out our bikes and ask us a load of
questions then rush back as soon as the Maestro returned. Diana and
Ariana from the older age group invited us over to watch and we were
astounded and impressed by their footwork and agility.
Paso
Coyhaique and
arrival in Chile
At Rio Mayo we
left
the tarred roads behind and it would be gravel until we
got to Coyhaique on the other side of the border in Chile. The vegetation
was slowly changing with the kilometers and the shrub land was giving
way to bleached grassy valleys dotted with salty lakes where flamingoes
waded. In the distance we could see the snow-covered peaks of Chile.
After crossing the border and only a few kilometers into Chile the
difference was incredible as now the grassy valleys had given way to
lush forests and green pastures. We had gotten used to the bleakness of
Argentina so arriving in Chile felt like arriving at an oasis in the
desert.
River Crossings
Bad
weather was
forecasted for later in the week so we decided to leave the 5000 km
bike service for the rainy days and do a two day hike. A route was
recommended to us by the owner of the hostel which wasn’t too
far
from Coyhaique. You had to cross a river to get there but that
shouldn’t be too much of a problem as you could hike the last
bit
to the park if the water was too high. So off we set and when we got to
the river Axel took a look and decided it would be OK. We made it about
half way before losing our balance and dropping poor Perla Negra into
the freezing waters of the Rio Claro.
About forty minutes
later
Axel managed to get her started again after stripping her down and
drying everything. We returned to the hostel a tad sheepish and spent
the rest of the afternoon warming up next to the woodfire. The
important lesson was: walk the crossing before you ride it!
So,
three days later after a service for both bikes and ongoing repairs
(shock absorber on the Russian) we are still in Coyhaique. We plan to
leave tomorrow for a four day hike around the Cerro
Castillo…Inshallah!