March 3, 2018
Ensenada: Slowly back into the bike thing
Yesterday was our first day back on the bicycles after ten days of waiting in Puerto Natales and sailing on the ferry. Even so, it hardly felt as if we were cycling yesterday. It was hardly different today.
Puerto Varas is a lot more genteel than the rather gritty Puerto Montt and I am glad we had decided to stay there.Our night at Mama's Hostal in Puerto Varas was very comfortable. The lady who ran the place was very pleasant and had a good command of English so was very easy to speak to. The internet connection was the best we have had so far this year and we made use of it to catch up on various matters that needed a good connection. Consequently, we only got going after ten thirty this morning. Even then it was a stop-start affair. We started off by cycling down to the lake front to take in the view and then carrying on eastwards along the water's edge. The route itself was mostly on a segregated cycle path and seemed very safe, civilized and rather busy but somewhat boring. I guess we will have to get used to the fact that we are now in a very different part of Chile.
The strong German influence in the area is hard to miss and many of the buildings look as if they could be from that country. It abounds with coffee shops advertising kuchen and strudel. Even so, any coffee you get served will be Nescafe instant - Patricia at Mama's Hostal was apologetic about the poor choice of coffee available in Chile but confessed to drinking instant coffee, albeit a more expensive brand, herself.
We headed for a campsite called Barlovente which I had picked up from iOverlander. It's Saturday on what seems to be the last weekend of the South American summer holidays so we expected things to be quite busy. They are but not too bad - yet! The campsite is on the lake's edge below Volcano Orsono and slightly off the road so there is no traffic noise to contend with. At five thousand pesos a person in what is technically still the high season it is not too bad.
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Volcano Orsono rises up to two thousand six hundred and fifty two meters and provides an imposing backdrop to Lago Llanquihue. It has a ski slop and hiking trails and is a popular outdoor destination in the area.
Today's ride: 48 km (30 miles)
Total: 1,895 km (1,177 miles)
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