Carretera Austral

'The Carretera Austral'

All of the cyclist we had met so far, and there have been quite a few, were heading up the Carretera Austral. And when we got there, we could see why.
Ruta 39 was the most southerly route to cross the border and that's where we started.
It was already warmer, being out of the wind, and the road, although mostly dirt, was an easier ride. But the best thing about this route is the scenery. Kilometres and kilometres of rainforest and steep valleys with glacial lakes and waterfalls. It's all good. And I can't think of any more adjectives to describe how stunning/amazing/beautiful the scenery is.
I almost want to trade in the moto for bicycle and start cycling, but being the lazy person I am, I don't.

'Mmmmm......look at that winding road!'

It's not all dirt roads so one for the guys who've ridden through the Rhayader Valley, get yourselves down here. A paved road, for a good 200km, with no traffic, no wind and twists and curves that you dream about. My rather squared off tyres (from Ruta 3 and 40) got a bit of a work out. And if you've got time to look, it's very, very pretty.
So all fun and games until you hit the road works. My now balding tyres decide they don't like the gravel roads so much anymore and we're back down to slow speeds. There is freshly laid tarmac that we're not supposed to be riding on, but the gravel on the 'Devisio' is so large and slippery, we think 'What the heck, no one's looking' and ride on it. Great until we come across a section that they're actually working on and the guy on the roller is so peeved that he aims his roller straight at Mike. Commonsense prevails and he stops at the last minute. There's a bunch of guys waving they're arms at us but then just ask us to slow down a bit. I think they can see that it is too dangerous to ride the bikes on the Devisio. We don't care, our number plates are covered in mud. I can hear the workman now, 'Bloody Foreigners!'

On a bit of bad note, the Carretera Austral may not remain as beautiful as it is now. Pinochet apparently sold the water rights to a Spanish/German company who are planning to dam the valley and build a Hydroelectricity plant. The power would be then transferred overland 2000km up to Sanitago, using the large overland pylons. I'm all up for alternative power supplies, but not at the expense of National Parks and areas of oustanding beauty. Not sure on the details but it would be an absolute tragedy to loose this area to a dam. There have been protests so hopefully it won't be going ahead and they can develop some other way to provide an environmentally friendly power source.

We turn off the Carretera Austral to head up to EL Bolson, back in the much cheaper Argentina, and a new rear tyre for me. Leaving Andreas and Kristina to head further north in search of some thermal springs.

'Another lovely view from our tent'