March 7, 2018
Parque Nacional Puyehue: A lovely quiet campsite in the forest
We started off the morning by getting some grocery shopping done for the next few days. The plan is to head eastwards across towards Paso Cardinal Samore and over the border to Argentina. It also means crossing the Andes, albeit at a very low point. We expect to take three days to get to Villa La Angostura in Argentina so we need a good supply of food for the way.
The first part of the ride, which started at around midday, was under cloudy skies and mostly flat. We had a few hills to contend as we approached the eastern shores of Lago Puyehue, the steepest of these as we climbed to the Puyehue Hot Springs, a fancy hotel at the top of a climb that was at least a 10% gradient. Here we found a very good bus stop - it seems that the shelter is maintained by the hotel - and we had a long stop for lunch.
The long downhill from there presented us with a bit of a surprise - a church that appeared to be open! From the outside the Church of Saint Theresa of the Andes seemed quite rundown but inside it appeared to be newly renovated. Although Chile is socially conservative and is strewn with churches (mostly Roman Catholic but also other denominations) all those we had seen previously seemed to be closed when not in use.
After that it was an easy ride up to the national park where we settled into a lovely campsite which is in a forested environment and near a small but vigorous waterfall. There are four other waterfalls close by but with a long climb over the Andes on the cards for tomorrow it is unlikely we will see them.
Today's ride: 46 km (29 miles)
Total: 2,065 km (1,282 miles)
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