Adventure Patagonia APA2501

Greetings to all from Osorno, in the south of Chile! Today we got to know each other, somebody visited the town, in the afternoon we met for the welcome briefing and some paperwork... and now we can't wait to leave, Patagonia is waiting for us!
A beautiful sunny day is what you need to start the tour in the best possible way! After a hearty breakfast and the morning briefing, we headed to the depot where we finally took delivery of the bikes. We then left Osorno and headed north, towards the beautiful region of lakes (and volcanoes!). We had lunch in Coñaripe and then headed towards Villarrica. The view of the snow-capped peak of the Villarrica volcano reflecting in the clear waters of the lake is breathtaking, after every turn we could have stopped for a photo.,.. but the great weather today may have attracted a lot of people to the region, so we faced quite a bit of traffic! Well, here it's summer, after all. Finally we arrived in Pucón, certainly one of the most beautiful tourist centers in Chile. Here a walk on the shore of the lake is absolutely not to be missed, before dinner!
Yesterday was a fairly easy riding day so we could get used to the bikes, but today we started to get a taste of the real adventure! Starting from Pucón, we headed towards Villarrica National Park where the beautiful Araucaria trees accompanied us towards the Mamuil Malal pass, overlooked by the imposing (perfectly conical and almost 4000 meters or 12000 feet high) Lanin volcano. Once we reached the top of the pass, we crossed the border and entered Argentina, where the first few kilometers of the road are not yet paved and the landscape also changes drastically! After kicking up quite a bit of dust on the dirt road, we arrived in Junín de los Andes where we had lunch and then, to digest (the portions here are very generous!), we decided to ride "a few" more kilometers on dirt to pass by Lake Lolog before heading down to San Martín de los Andes, our destination for today!
Today we headed south on the famous Ruta 40 which in this stretch is also called "Ruta de los siete lagos" (route of the seven lakes) Mountains, lakes, crystalline rivers and spectacular forests are the essence of this route, a 110 km stretch of the RN 40, crossing the Lanín and Nahuel Huapi parks. After a lot of photo stops we arrived for a coffee in Villa La Angostura and then we headed towards Bariloche, the most important city in the region and one of the most famous tourist centers in all of Argentina. I forgot to mention that the weather today was very beautiful, and this attracted a lot of people to the beaches of Lake Nahuel Huapi, so we had to deal with quite a bit of traffic. But that didn't stop us from admiring the beautiful landscapes all around! And tonight dinner with a view! See you tomorrow :)
Another beautiful sunny day, Patagonia is treating us well! Leaving Bariloche, we returned to the famous Ruta 40 which in this stretch passes through spectacular landscapes and, before reaching El Bolson, we found ourselves in thick smoke due to a large fire nearby. Luckily we were able to continue without problems! Near Cholila we then stopped to see the cabin where the outlaw Butch Cassidy lived after fleeing the United States to come to Argentina, what a long journey over a century ago! And finally, before reaching Esquel, we crossed the beautiful Los Alerces National Park, where in addition to the breathtaking landscapes there are some of the oldest trees on the planet! What a beautiful day!
The weather was beautiful today too, we are getting used to it and (touch wood) we hope we will be as lucky in the next few days too! After leaving Esquel, we headed towards the border with Chile and the procedure was quite quick, so we arrived in Futalefu in time for a "late coffee - early lunch" break. Today we spent many hours next to the rushing Futalefu river, also famous for rafting, before reaching Villa Santa Lucia and joining the Carretera Austral (route 7), strongly desired by the former Chilean dictator Pinochet in the 70s and which is now a great tourist attraction for the south of this country. Before arriving in La Junta, why not take advantage of the good weather and do a few more kilometers of dirt road in the beautiful Valle Mirta?
The temperatures are slowly dropping as we continue our journey south and it was quite cold when we left this morning. Passing through Puyuhuapi, we couldn't help but stop for a coffee break on the shore of the fjord, what a beautiful landscape! In the fjord we also saw dolphins swimming! Then Ruta 7 became spectacular but also more challenging and we climbed the beautiful Queulat pass (dirt road!) before arriving in Villa Amengual where we had another pleasant break. The last stop in Villa Mañihuales for a quick lunch and then another forty kilometers of dirt road before arriving at our destination. What magnificent day!
Finally some rain, to have the full experience of Patagonia! The temperature this morning was also quite cold, but we have to get used to it because the deep south is getting closer and closer. Today we spent the whole day on the legendary Carretera Austral. After a first break in Villa Cierro Castillo, the road became a dirt road and with the rain we had to proceed with more caution but we still arrived in Puerto Rio Tranquilo in time for a light lunch. This town is located on the shore of Lake General Carrera, one of the largest (and most beautiful) lakes in all of South America and, after lunch, we boarded a boat to go and admire up close a beautiful natural monument, the Marble Cathedral, where the rock has been eroded by the lake taking on incredible shapes! The road that runs along the lake is spectacular and after every bend we could have stopped to take pictures, so despite the uncertain weather it was a beautiful day!
We are in one of the most challenging parts of our journey, now in any direction we want to go, we have to face a lot of kilometers of dirt road. So, hoping for good weather, we are ready to ride again! After an initial stop to admire the confluence of the two rivers Baker and Neff, where the waters of different colors (one river comes from Lake General Carrera and the other from a glacier) mix, we left the Carretera Austral to enter the Patagonia National Park and reach the border at Paso Roballos, one of the least busy border passes. The landscape around is indescribable and, after entering Argentina, it became much more arid and, if possible, even more interesting! Finally we arrived at Lago Posadas, a very simple place but the important thing is to have a nice bed to rest well!
Lake Posadas, which gives its name to the village, is just a few kilometers away, so we decided to go and admire the impressive rock arch that emerges from the cold waters of the lake. What an incredible sight! Then, back in the village, after a coffee break, we got back in the saddle to ride the other seventy kilometers of dirt road that separated us from Ruta 40. The landscape is still breathtakingly beautiful, but the Patagonian wind is starting to make itself felt, fortunately not too strong! After a stop in Bajo Caracoles, we got back on Ruta 40 and, paying attention to the many potholes, we quickly moved south. Tonight we're sleeping in an "estancia", a farm of about twenty thousand hectares, a very rustic place, it will be a different experience!
Even to leave the estancia you have to face a lot of dirt road, this will be the last real challenge of the tour because then the roads will be almost all well paved. After about 150 km we reached the village of Tres Lagos, where fortunately they have recently opened a nice cafeteria and we were able to relax a bit. Then we set off again towards El Chalten, where we arrived quite early, today we can rest a bit more before going to dinner all together!
This morning we had one of the last chances of the tour to do a lot of dirt road to Lago del Desierto, a place that was for many decades the subject of a territorial dispute between Argentina and Chile. So after having had enough fun we went back to El Chalten and met the rest of the group to leave all together for El Calafate. We only made one stop in the only possible place, halfway in fact is the parador La Leona, a historical site where many years ago it was possible to rest and cross the river on a raft. We arrived in El Calafate in time to rest a bit and admire the view of the lake from our hotel, before going out again for dinner. Tonight Parrilla Argentina!
Today we saw one of the most incredible places in South America, the famous Perito Moreno Glacier. To think that it is not even the largest glacier in this area (the Southern Patagonian Ice Field) is almost impossible, given its magnificence, and the photos do not do justice to the incredible spectacle we saw today. We left from El Calafate and in about an hour and a half we reached the glacier. As soon as we arrived we took a boat tour to get closer to this wonder of Nature and then we went through the various paths and viewpoints to observe it in all its grandeur. On the way back to the hotel, a visit to the ice museum is always a great idea to complete the visit!
The distance as the crow flies between El Calafate and Puerto Natales is not that long, but to go there by motorbike you have to take a fairly long route, so today we traveled about 350 km. The morning weather was cool and with very little wind, luckily, so we got on our motorbikes and went towards La Esperanza, the only place where we could stop for a coffee and rest a bit. Then towards Rio Turbio where, after lunch, we crossed the border once again. Puerto Natales was now just a few kilometres away... and tonight we tried the authentic pizza in the southernmost Neapolitan pizzeria in the world!
Puerto Natales is the gateway to Torres del Paine National Park, one of the most beautiful and famous in the country. This park has the particularity of concentrating in one place the main ecosystems of Patagonia: pampas, forests, glaciers, mountains, lakes and rivers, characteristics that allowed UNESCO to declare it a World Biosphere Reserve in 1978. So today we set off to discover this beautiful corner of paradise! The weather was perfect and we traveled about two hundred kilometers (not a day of rest!), a good part of which on the beautiful dirt roads inside the park. The photos do not do justice to the beauty of the place, what a great day it was!
The beautiful sunny and warm days seem like a vague memory, this morning the temperature was quite low and during the day it didn't rise much. The beautiful mountain landscapes soon abandoned us and we headed quickly (stopping for a couple of breaks) towards the Strait of Magellan, which separates the continent from Tierra del Fuego. Due to the strong wind, the ferries couldn't dock and so we had to wait a while, but in the end we managed to board and arrive on time at our destination. Riding the motorbike in this strong wind was not easy, so tonight we deserved a toast!
What can we say about today? We crossed the entire island of Tierra del Fuego, from north to south, we crossed the border and traveled over four hundred kilometers. The feeling of having reached a mythical destination, after a day of cold and wind (and even a little snow!) is very strong! We finally arrived in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world!
One of the most interesting things to do in Ushuaia is certainly a mini-cruise in the Beagle Channel, to admire the local fauna (many sea lions and cormorants) and the famous Les Eclaireurs ( the Explorers) lighthouse built in 1920. But surely all those who take this cruise mainly want to see penguins, in fact on Martillo Island there is a large colony of these cute birds! The tour lasted about six hours and on the way back we had time to walk around the center of Ushuaia, buy souvenirs and so on! See you tomorrow!