3 months gone......

We have been away for 3 months now and all is well! We really enjoyed Argentina and most of Chile so far - some of it is too built up, I suppose we are used to the remoteness of Argentina.

The Carretera Austral was a lovely route, especially the Quelat pass, a very twisty ripio gravel road with some very tight, narrow and bumpy hairpins (J&J - yes, just like the Stelvio)! But with great temperate rainforest scenery!

We camped in the Quelat National Park to hike to the 'hanging glacier'. We woke early the next morning to the roar of ice breaking and falling into the lake below!

Below is the tranquil village of Puyuhapi for a stop over.

Puerto Cisnes, below was a small fishing village we were based in before catching a ferry.

The ferry to Chilloe was very calm and we saw dolphins :-) Chiloe was bit of a culture shock - lots of people, traffic and traffic jams!!

We are now back in the mountains in a lovely quiet area full of volcanoes. Really great hiking here, only met one person on a 8hr hike yesterday :-)

So, 3 months and how are we getting on? All good, not missing much or wishing we hadn't came! Dee really fancies fishfingers, mash and beans and Phil the same but with sausages!

Speaking and understanding Spanish is sort of coming on ok but since we got to Chile it is more difficult as they speak lots of slang and quickly. We know loads of words now so that is good.

Bike wise again all good. The seat is really comfortable. Its a great bike for this trip and riding at no more than 60 mph we get about 50 mpg so we get a good tank range for when petrol is scarce! Its power delivery is ideal for the ripio tracks and large front wheel skips over the bad road surfaces. We recently had an oil change and new Heidenau K60 Scouts fitted after about 9000 miles (inc. UK riding) so very pleased with them. There was still some more miles left in them!

Dee recently bought a new pair of walking boots and sent her bike boots back because they were so hot. However, on day 2 we realised her heels were melting on the exhaust, even if not touching it! So i have made up a double skin heat shield from some roof tin at our campsite and we hope this will work!!

Before:

After:

We have also been having some issues with the Scottoiler not working and a problem filling the reservoir - i didn't bring the original bottle! However, a shampoo bottle with a nozzle has done the trick!

We are looking forward to the next 9 months on the road.....

Mas Perros - more dogs!

In Argentina we loved meeting all the friendly dogs on the street - we have been told most do have owners who feed them, although some 'live' at places like outside petrol stations and particular restaurants etc. A lot are very plump, must be because they lead a free range life but also get fed at home! The dogs in Chile are not quite so friendly and confident; we think they don't have such a good life and more of them are proper strays.

We met this guy below in Argentina who had his little puppy travelling in a rucksack on his front. He had recently bought the pup and was heading home on his motorbike, which was a long journey. The pup was very happy!
Remind you of another little dog, Jo?!!

We have also had the odd friendly cat with us too....!

This dog was a particularly lovely boy!

And this one was huge.....

Ahhhhhhh! Who does this remind you of? :-)

This cheeky girl shared our picnic, she sat so well behaved we gave her some little bits of cheese!

A photogenic pair!

We recently met a Dutch couple touring on their bicycles. A friendly dog had tagged along with them for a day, and never left! So he is now part of their trip, trotting along with the bikes. Their trip has changed now - where they can go, and the speed they travel, and especially when they go home...they said they will have to move as have no garden! He is a Border Collie type - called Sir!
Good job we are on a motorbike.........

Back in Chile

We have now travelled about 11000 km. On the way we met up with a crazy cyclist, Rodrigo, who we first met and spent the evening with at Las Lenas a few weeks ago. He was still travelling south along Ruta 40 and we were now heading back north.

Whilst we have been in Patagonia we have been making the most of the wind with the little pocket kite that we took.

After camping at a beautiful estancia (farm) we had a minor problem with the key breaking off in our top box. The temperature was just above freezing which may have been why it snapped. The box had our camping gear and money inside! At the next town we found a small diy shop, a bit like Fram DIY, except it had key cutting and a clever bloke that got the broken part out and made a new one from a car blank using the original we had hidden on the bike. All for £8.00!!

We crossed into Chile for the second time at Chile Chico, where there was a rodeo on.

We took a small ferry over Lago General Carrera in Argentina to Puerto Ibanez in Chile. It just pulls up on the beach!

We camped at Villa Cerro Castillo on the Carretera Austral. Another very beautiful location!

The farm specialises in horse riding and delicious asados - lamb roasted over a fire! Phil had to try one!

The next day we went on a horse trek / hike to the Lago and glacier on Cerro Castillo. We rode the horses about 3 hours to the edge of the tree line. A dog from the village tagged along all the way!

And then hiked the rest of the way to the top. The views were amazing.

And then down to the lago below where Phil went for a quick swim in the very cold blue glacial water!