Camping Doña Dora - The thirteenth step ... Six months in South America - CycleBlaze

December 18, 2022

Camping Doña Dora

Our wildcamp next to the orange bridge was a nice find and a nice ending to a tough day.  Yesterday's ride hadn't been as physically tiring as much as an unpleasant experience but even so, we both felt it was simply part of the experience,  possibly an essential part.

Crossing the suspension bridge on our way back to the Carretera Austral.
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Just starting the cliand looking back at the orange bridge.
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Today's ride started with the climb out of the Rio Ibáñez valley  followed by a gentle climb until dropping down to the Rio Murto.  Even though the staff at the tourist office in Villa Cerro Castillo were adamant that no road works were taking place, we were stopped for a short while at the twenty kilometer marl while some maintenance was being done.

A few kilometers later we started the descent down to the Rio Murto.  The first abandoned house is at the bottom of the descent  and we stopped here for an extended lunch.  We camped here three years ago because the second abandoned house a few kilometers further on, where we had camped five years ago, had become out of bounds.  The first abandoned house has become an informal casa de ciclistas and successive cycle tourists seem to have continued to spruce it up  and make it more pleasant for the cyclists that come after them. 

The abandoned house is right on the roadside with the Rio Murta just a few meters passed it.
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Firing up the stove to boil water for coffee and mate.
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After lunch the last seventeen kilometers to Camping Dona Dora passed quickly and easily, helped by the westerly wind being funneled southwards down the valley and so becoming  a tailwind for us.

We are the only two folk in the campground tonight and so we have taken the liberty of storing the bicycles in the quincho for the night to give them a break from the light rain that has been falling since early afternoon.

A short ride to Puerto Tranqillo is on the cards for tomorrow. 

Today's ride: 47 km (29 miles)
Total: 4,778 km (2,967 miles)

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