La Junta

December 28, 2019

Villa Santa Lucia was enveloped in mist when we woke this morning. Or were we just up in the clouds ? Anyhow, it was pretty cold but we knew it was going to warm up. Sure enough, by nine the mist had lifted and the rest of the day we enjoyed bright, warm sunshine.

Leigh getting ready to hit the road from the Santa Lucia campsite.

The great weather mean that Patragonia could display itself properly today and for almost seventy kilometers we rode in awe of the beauty around us.

The road was mostly downhill but incredibly hilly because the beautiful valley was quite narrow meaning that the road had to hug the mountain sides. When we reached Rio Palena the valley widened for the next ten kilometers or so and road consequently flattened. In exchange, a fresh southerly wind picked up. The Great Cycle Tourist of the Universe giveth and taketh away.

The valley through which we cycled from Raul Marin two years ago.

The first campsite we checked out in La Junta was closed so we made our way to Vientos del Sur. Here we found Alejandro, a Brazilian guy who had camped with us at Santa Lucia and Henny and Henri, the Dutch couple whom we met on our first day out of Puerto Montt.

We ended up going out to a local restaurant with Henny and Henri. Some typical Chilean burgers and too much beer and wine made for a great evening out. When we got back to the campsite it was packed to overflowing with masses of other cycle tourist including the threesome from the parada outside Yelcho and a young Chilean lady whom we have played leapfrog since Chaiten. Hopefully it will quieten down andf we can get a good night's sleep.

Today's ride: 69 km (43 miles)
Total: 345 km (214 miles)

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