A Crazy Christmas: Puerto Natales – Punta Arenas

All trees here appear to have some kind of disease, causing them to grow more to the east.

Monday 25 December   On Christmas day I got started a bit later than usual, but so did my host. At breakfast I got a large piece of cake in addition to the usual bread. As I walked out the sun was shining and I got quite warm, so I was thinking about removing a… Continue reading A Crazy Christmas: Puerto Natales – Punta Arenas

An Aeolian Adventure: El Calafate – Puerto Natales

Some boats had seen better times.

William spent Tuesday evening and most of Wednesday in bed being ill. Thursday, the first day of summer, was our planned departure date and that morning he said he felt fit enough to ride. We left just before 10:00 the same way we had entered Calafate, heading east. We were somewhat disappointed about the absence of a strong wind this morning, which should normally help us along for the first part. There was still a little bit of a northwesterly wind, which is good.

William was having trouble riding and after 16 kilometers decided to stop for today. He would try to hitch a ride, though he didn’t know yet where to. Thus I continued alone. The first 45 km are more or less flat and I was easily averaging 20+ km/h. Then started the largest climb still left and also one of the higher ones on the whole trip. It was however a very pleasant grade and the wind was also getting a bit stronger now, pushing me uphill. On the hill I saw two bikes parked by the side of the road and two people eating down below. Since I was doing so well on the climb I decided not to stop to talk to them.

The Real Line: Villa O’Higgins – El Chaltén

My bike doesn't float on this stuff either.

The Carretera Austral is sometimes called the road at the end of the road, because it starts more or less at the end of the Pan-American Highway (depending how exactly you define that one) and continues south from there. But now we’ve reached its end too and there’s no more road to continue on. So… Continue reading The Real Line: Villa O’Higgins – El Chaltén

The End: Cochrane – Villa O’Higgins

Sunny, cloudy, windy, Patagonian!

In Cochrane I started by going to a car mechanic I had already seen when I entered town. He couldn’t weld my rack and according to him there’s no aluminium welder here. He had another bike rack out of steel, but there’s no way that will fit my bike because of the rear suspension and… Continue reading The End: Cochrane – Villa O’Higgins

Into the Wild: Coyhaique – Cochrane

Some fancy lodges sitting between two lakes.

The meetings continued in Coyhaique. When I was walking back from picking up my laundry I saw Tim and Timo entering town, who will stay here tomorrow. The fuel bottle for my camp stove was almost empty, so I’d been looking for white gas for a while, but unable to find it. Thus I went… Continue reading Into the Wild: Coyhaique – Cochrane

Cyclist Central: Puyuhuapi – Coyhaique

The ferry was already waiting and left soon after.

Monday 27 November On Monday I didn’t feel like spending a full day in Puyuhuapi, there’s not that much to see and do in town. So I got on my bike for the short ride to Parque Nacional Queulat. The road was good and easy, but some 10 km in it was blocked completely because… Continue reading Cyclist Central: Puyuhuapi – Coyhaique

Pinochet’s Prestige Project: Futaleufú – Puyuhuapi

I’m currently heading from one legendary road to the next. Just a few days ago I left Ruta 40 in Argentina behind, only to soon join the Chilean Carretera Austral, the southern highway that Pinochet started building in the 1970s with the goal of connecting remote settlements in the south to the rest of Chile… Continue reading Pinochet’s Prestige Project: Futaleufú – Puyuhuapi

Patagonia Is Hard: S.C. de Bariloche – Futaleufú

Interesting meadow full of cattle on the way to the park.

Seriously, how am I ever going to write a blog post without dumping hundreds of photos on you, each showing a landscape that is even more stunning than the last? This place is like riding through a postcard or a chocolate box, as others have called it. I can confirm this: The box of chocolate… Continue reading Patagonia Is Hard: S.C. de Bariloche – Futaleufú

South America 2017-2018: The Plan

After successfully completing my PhD I’m going on a bike tour in South America. I fly to La Paz, Bolivia on Tuesday the 19th of September and I will return from Buenos Aires on Thursday the 11th of January of 2018. This means I have almost 4 months in South America. What happens in between… Continue reading South America 2017-2018: The Plan