We arrive totally lost in Punta Arenas city centre. The streets are crowded and we are asking ourselves: how can we meet someone who will welcome us ? We go out of the city center, when suddenly, we see a handcraft market, where we meet Claudia. At the beginning, she says that we can camp in a farm on the border of the city. Once at her home and after a lot of talking, she announces us that we can stay in her neighbour garden. We spend 4 fantastic days with her and Oscar, her partner. Thanks to them, we learn a lot about the Chilean culture and cooking. Before to cycle again, the Chilean national television and the Austral newspaper interview us on the plaza de la Armas. A funny experience which will bring us a lot of Chilean support all along the road.
We just go out of Punta Arenas and we have to front again very strong wind. Thus, we decide to cycle during night. It is quiet better and enjoyable: all is very quiet, the faun is in a constant activity and the sky is shining with its thousands of stars.
After some difficult nights and a snow storm, we finally arrive starved and tired to Puerto Natales, where we will stay for a night in the volunteer fireman place.
After a resting day, we cycle towards Cerro Castilo to start a trek of 5 days in the Torres del Paine national Park. Following the explanation of our project, Anais, the mayor of cerro Castillo welcome us warmly in offering us a good diner and some entrance tickets for the national park.
What can we say about Torres del Paine ?
We have shorted our stay to 3 days for the reason that the park looks like the Disneyland of the trekking. With other words, the hell for people looking for adventure. Inside the park: Wifi, massages etc… ALL turned into economic activity. The CONAF (Institute for the natural reserve conservancy ) mentions to protect the environment, the fauna and the flora inside the park. We do not see very well how it is possible to protect it, knowing than the park is visited by more than 200 000 tourists each year. The farmers living around the area also claim about the park management. Due to the tourist number, numerous animals as the jaguars leave the park and attack the estancieros cattle ( Estancia owner)
Back on our bicycle, we cross one more time the Chile/Argentina border. Let’s go through the road 40, which welcome us with rocks and a deep and beautiful pampa.
Once on the pavement and after some slopes, the lago Argentino give us an incredible view.
On the road, we meet Gonzales, the guardian from an old hostel, renewed in a kind of green Oasis. Before his arrival, the ground was all burned. In one month, digging a canal by hand, he brought the water until the house. Gonzales, what a guy! A very strong mind with a big hearth who teach us the tortas recipe. A very good plate, economical and rich in calories which will be useful during our trip.
Before to reach Alexis to El Chalten, we decide to spend some days in an estancia on the border of the lago Argentino. We spend three awesome days in the estancia Angostura with José and Rodriguez who teach us more about the Gaucho culture. After having eaten some Guanaco milanesas, we start the last step to El Chalten. We spend a very “good” chirstmas night, between three cement walls opened to the wind.
25 of December, 2 am in the morning, we get back on ours bikes to end the 90 km to El Chalten. This time we do not front the wind but the snow. Even if we did not eat a good diner, we have at least a taste of Christmas. This is totally wet that we arrive in the mid of the afternoon to the casa de los ciclistas. At our arrival, we notice that the luggage with all the electronic staff is full of water. Fortunately, excepted the memory card with all the pictures, all the staff is working well. For this reason, we have few pics this time. We will get all back in the next big city.
Till new year, we are enjoying Fitz Roy mountain with the Hermosa Florencia, the manager of the casa de los ciclistas.
On the schedule for the new year 2016 : BBQ and Cumbia (latina music).
It is all together, with Alexis than we go back on the road towards Chile where we are obliged to face a very hard path through the forest. As a result : 6 km covered in 5 hours pushing, as donkeys, pushing our overloaded bikes with our pack rafts.
First kilometres on the Carretera Austral ( The road 7) where the snowy mountains welcome us. Now, We are going to Tortel to start a new pack raft adventure, where we promise you a lot of adventure.
