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The end of the World

APOLOGIES AGAIN FOR FORMAT. THE PROBLEM WITH THE JOOMLA EDITOR ARE STILLNOT RESOLVED.I’m at the“end of the world” – Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world.Two yearsand 8 months ago I returned from a bicycle tour of New Brunswick and my friend Puranasked me “so what’s next?” I said “maybeI’ll ride my bike around the world”. Hesaid “what about from North to South?”  That’s when the light bulb went off inside my head and I decided thatnight to ride from northern Canada to the tip of South América. When I looked at a map it turned out thesouthernmost city in South America and in fact in the world was Ushuaia (ushwhy a). Now after travelling 12, 600km’s by bike and the rest by boat (6 or 7), 1 train, 1 plane and many busesover a period of 1 year and 8 months, I’m at the end of the world. We arrivedby bus around 7:30 PM and it had already been dark for an hour. I met a couple from Scotland on their bikesat the bus station in Rio Gallegos. Turned out they were staying at the same hostel as me and so we rode the8 blocks from the bus station together and had a beer to celebrate ourarrival. I awoke this morning to a viewof the harbor and a vivid red sky surrounded by snow capped mountains, the lastof the Andes.There aremany treks right from town and in the National Park and a boat tour of theBeagle Channel that I did on Saturday. We saw 2 hump backed whales. There’s also lots of good bike riding and hiking here and in thenational park. I had lunch on Sunday with Ines and her family,the sister of a woman who lives in Cambridge, who contacted me after reading anewspaper article about me published by Lauren Gihula. After lunch they drove me around town showingme where the trails are and generally orienting me to the city.I will stayhere at least a week and maybe longer; then fly to Buenos Aires just in time tocatch my May 1st flight home. April 7-8,2013I arrived in El Chalten Argentina after doingprobably the toughest section of my journey. There is no road from Chile. Sowe took a boat for 2 hours down Lago O’Higgins, then we rode on a poor excusefor a dirt track to the Argentina border, which was just a sign and then 7 km’sof a very poor hiking trail. It took us3.5 hours to do the trail. I went with 2fellows from France, Juan from Spain and Hiro a Japanese man (31 km’s in 5 hours) – my whole body was sore. The guys helped me push my bike up some ofthe hills on the trail and through some of the streams we had to ford. I could not have done it on my own withoutmaking three trips. The scenery wasspectacular. We camped at the Argentinaborder post on the shore of Lago del Desierto with an occasional glimpse of themajestic Mont Fitz Roy, which towers 100 meters above the other spectacularmountains. Today wasalso very difficult as we had to wait until 2 to get a ferry to take us downthe lake and then ride 37 km’s in to town. We arrived in total darkness to welcome pavement and lights and a warmhostel.April 9thI am restingtoday and have booked my return flight to Toronto on May 1st.April 3 – wetook a bus to Cochrane, a nice little village and second to last outpost on theCarretera Austral. When we went to takeout our baggage and Juan’s bike out of the luggage compartment everything wascovered in a fine layer of dust. Therewas a little café there with espresso coffee. It was one of the best cortado coffees I have had anywhere.April 4 – Wetravelled by bus to Villa O’Higgins. Itwas necessary to take a ferry to cross a lake to get to the final 100 kmstretch of the CA. Villa O’Higgins isthe final outpost and definitely has the feel of a frontier town. The road goes another 8 km’s to a dock andthen one can take a boat to cross over to Candelario and cross over in toArgentina by a combination of gravel roads and a 7-8 km stretch of hiking trailwhere it is necessary to carry the bikes in places. When wearrived in Villa O’Higgins we went to visit the General Manager for RobinsonCrusoe Lodge, who knows Juan. Cost for asingle room is close to $200 a night, a little bit beyond our budget. We asked Daniel where we could stay. He said come with me in my truck and we’lllook for a place. He took us to thestaff quarters and gave us a separate suite to use for free. The suite is a typical Patagonia structuremade of wood. They heat with woodburning stoves, which seems to me to be a very inefficient way of heating andenvironmentally not good as they are chopping down a lot of trees and creatinga lot of air pollution.April6 – Wewere interviewed by a television crew from Santiago. They are doing a documentary on travelling onthe Carretera Austral. We are now veryfamous, at least in Chile.April 9-13I did severalspectacular hikes in the El Chalten area. This is one of the best places anywhere to hike and trek as most of thetrailheads are within walking distance of town. Mont Fitz Roy is the most beautiful mountain I think I have everseen. It is a sharp spear that towersabove Cerro Poincenot and Cerro Torre. Thescenery is breath taking. I did threehikes. Laguna Torre has a glacier at theend of its lake with beautiful clear icebergs and blue light filtering through. The day I went it was sunny but cloudobscured the view of the peak of Torre.  I also hiked to the Mirador Fitz Roy withamazing clear skies and views of Fitz Roy and Poincenot. Both of these hikeswere well over 20 km’s on very well maintained trails. There are many places to camp to do overnighttrekking, but I opted for day hikes and a warm bed at night. My bikingtrip is now finished. I sold the frontrack to Juan, the front panniers to a bike shop, and the tent to a young man. I met a young man Frank from Chicago who wasin need of a sleeping pad and left it by his pack because he was too proud totake anything for free.After El Chalten,I went by bus to El Calafate. The nextday I headed to the Perito Moreno glacier. The glacier is 5 km’s wide and 30 km’s long and is one of the fewremaing glaciers in the world that is growing - at a rate of 2 meters perday. Its long tongue is now sticking wayout in to Lago Argentino and is 60 meters high or shall we say 30-40 stories ofa high rise building. When you see aboat nearby you get some idea of the scale. It is constantly grunting and groaning and throwing off huge chunks ofice in to the lake.   I spent 4 hoursjust walking, sitting and watching and listening to this incrediblephenomenon. It is awe inspiring.UnfortunatelyI did not get to say goodbye to Juan in person. He had opted to bike to the glacier and did not return until 2 dayslater. We talked on the phone and I amsure our paths will cross again.Photos:Argentina: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDq6xXxChile: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDbNgHx
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The last outpost

Glacier walking March 26 – 56 km The ride from Coihaique was delayed as I had to buy a new tire to change a bad rear one. As I rode along I thought my wheel was out of true, but it was the tire. I also had to buy a new dry sack for my sleeping bag and pad. As a result we did not get started until around 1 in the afternoon. It was a tough ride, with a lot of climbing. We were trying to get to a campsite but couldn’t make it as it was getting dark and I was so tired I could hardly think. We ended up wild camping for the first time since I camped with Moe in British Colombia. Turned out we were only 3 km’s from the campsite, but it would have been difficult to get there the night before, given how tired we were, the tough climbs and encroaching darkness. We had just a little water left and decided to save it for a hot drink in the morning, just eating nuts and a little bread before going to sleep very early. We were very happy to find water at the campsite the next day and actually stopped long enough to cook breakfast and have a hot drink. March 27 – Cerro Castillo - 40 km. Juan had a broken spoke. We used a special tool to take off the cassette, installed the spoke and reinstalled the cassette. I had learned about the tool from a Swiss rider I met in San Diego California – Lukas. It was the first time using it. It’s very easy to use and to get the cassette off the wheel. It’s called the NBT2 tool – http://www.m-gineering.nl/nbtg.htm.   It is very light and compact and beats having to carry a chain whip and large wrench. Every cyclist who is touring should have one. It was a tough 40 km’s climbing to an altitude of 1100 meters and then descent past Cerro Castillo to Villa Cerro Castillo. It was an incredible sight with many glaciers and snowy peaks, but the Cerro is black unlike the other nearby mountains. This marked the end of over 200 km’s of pavement. The rest of the CA is gravel – yuk! March 28 – 50km This was the hardest day of my whole tour. The quality of the Ripio (gravel) was very bad and there was a lot of climbing. My average speed was only 9 km. When I thought it was hard having to walk so much I remembered meeting a Polish man on the CA who was walking on average 45 km’s a day. I thought I can average more biking and walking. We were looking for a place to camp when we came across a house and the man let us stay there for the night. We went to sleep as the full moon rose over the distant peaks. We awoke to everything covered with frost including our bikes, which were now completely white. But once the sun came up everything melted quickly and we were off to Bahia Murta. We saw a lot of glaciers today. This is the beginning of the Campo de Hielo Norte – this is a huge area of many square kilometers of glaciers. Then there is Campo de Hielo Sur. This is the third largest ice field in the world and largest on a continent. It stretches several hundred kilometers. March 29 – 52 km to Bahia Murta I was very tired as this was the 4th day in a row of riding, but easier than yesterday. We had been told the bay was very beautiful, but were a little disappointed. The high light, was a wonderful dinner prepared by our Hospedaje host Sylvia, who had prepared fresh salsa, cucumbers, salad, potatoes and Mariscos – a variety of shell fish cooked in a broth with onions and some spices. March 30 – 32 km Although this was the 5th day in a row of riding and we both were very tired, we decided we had to get to Puerto Tranquillo. It was a short ride and relatively flat, meaning no major climbs. It was a very beautiful ride along Lago Carrera – known in Argentina as Lago Buenos Aires. It’s the largest lake in Chile/Argentina and second largest after Titicaca in South America. The views were spectacular as we were high above the lake looking across at mountains with glaciers and snow. The settlement is lovely. It was the first time we had seen a lot of tourists and travelers. There were lots of restaurants and places to stay and the view of the lake with the mountain backdrop was beautiful. We found a lovely Hospedaje/camping place about 1 km up the hill just on the edge of town and met 3 other Spaniards and a French woman staying there. March 31 – Silvia one of the Spanish women, Juan and I went by boat to the marble caves. The marble has been carved and shaped by the water and wind over thousands if not millions of years into beautiful sculptures and caves. The boats take you right inside the caves. The texture of the marble is quite amazing. Lino was celebrating his birthday and we all pitched in to buy food and wine for a feast fit for a king, including an ice cream birthday cake. Clara the French woman and I were the “ensalada team”, cutting up vegetables to make a salsa. She wants to become a yoga teacher and I was impressed by her dedication to self practice as she did a beautiful practice on the lawn for over an hour. April 1 – I taught a spontaneous impromptu yoga class out on the lawn with Clara and Eva. Then the two of them were off hitchhiking to Coihaique. Lino took a bus and Juan, Silvia and I went off to walk on a glacier. We hired a guide to drive us over 50 km’s on yet another ripio to the national park - Exploradores Glacier.I have never walked on a glacier before and had no idea how difficult it would be or how beautiful it was. Huge rocks were piled up for part of the walk and we had to climb up and down twice, scrambling over and around these large boulders. Then we had to walk on loose Scree. In some places the bare ice made it difficult to maintain our footing. Finally after about an hour or an hour and a half we reached the snow/ice part and put on crampons. The texture of the “snow” was much like our snow would be in late Winter or early Spring after it has thawed and refrozen once or twice. The sun was very intense. t took quite a bit of getting used to walking with crampons and also trusting when going up steep slopes and more so down slopes that one would not slip. You have to firmly plant your feet to make sure the teeth are engaged. Walking down, you need to keep your knees bent and lean backwards slightly. Climbing you dig the front teeth in walking like a ballet dancer. And the most amazing part of the glacier was the glacier itself. From a distance it just looks like this ugly mass of rocks and dirt, but as you begin to get to know it you realize this is a whole other landscape. There are amazing caves carved out by the melt, the color is hard to describe - an azure blue and turquoise. There are fissures, some very small with blue light filtering through the ice and then crevasses that are very deep and again have this incredible blue light. It is a whole micro environment that is indescribably beautiful. At times we lay down and drank water that is so pure, having been frozen before Man began to pollute the Planet. Getting to and from the glacier was an adventure in and of itself. Our guide has an old 4 x 4 truck and was late picking us up because the battery was dead. When he stopped to get gas he had to turn the engine off and then the truck would not start. So we all hopped out and pushed it to get it going; same thing at the end of the trek. After the glacier Silvia and Juan camped overnight by a nearby lake. So I went back alone with the guide. Well because we were late, it was starting to get dark and we still had over 15 kilometers to go. The lights would come on but very faintly, just enough to get a glimpse of the road. I had vision of our having to stop and sleep in the truck overnight and then wondered where we would find anyone to give us a push in the morning. Luckily he knew the road really well and turning the lights on and off, we finally arrived in town with shouts of hallelujah. Along with the ride along Lago Carrera and the glacier, this has been the highlight of my time in Patagonia and the Carretera Austral. It was wonderful to share it with Silvia and Juan as we were constantly astounded, gasping and wowing and pleasantly surprised by the beauty of this place. There are many photos for you to see of us and the glacier at Flickr. April 2 – Today I rode up to Lago Tranquillo a beautiful lake on the way to the glacier. I stopped to eat lunch at a family cemetery plot and to take pictures. The cemetery is very interesting as the graves were all miniature replicas of the houses they had lived in, so that they would feel “at home” in the grave. One could look inside through the windows and see the earthen graves with flowers on top. April 3 – we took a bus to Cochrane, a nice little village and second to last outpost on the Carretera Austral. When we went to take out our baggage and Juan’s bike out of the luggage compartment everything was covered in a fine layer of dust. There was a little café there with espresso coffee. It was one of the best cortado coffees I have had anywhere. April 4 – We travelled by bus to Villa O’Higgins. It was necessary to take a ferry to cross a lake to get to the final 100 km stretch of the CA. Villa O’Higgins is the final outpost and definitely has the feel of a frontier town. The road goes another 8 km’s to a dock and then one can take a boat to cross over to Candelaria and cross over in to Argentina by a combination of gravel roads and a 7-8 km stretch of hiking trail where it is necessary to carry the bikes in places. We will go there on Sunday. Peter’s Location: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0TegrE30vKlr0QgoZbgKg1A8KVzabhFyu Photos: Argentina: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDq6xXx Chile: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDbNgHx
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The last outpost

Glacier walking March 26 – 56 km The ride from Coihaique was delayed as I had to buy a new tire to change a bad rear one. As I rode along I thought my wheel was out of true, but it was the tire. I also had to buy a new dry sack for my sleeping bag and pad. As a result we did not get started until around 1 in the afternoon. It was a tough ride, with a lot of climbing. We were trying to get to a campsite but couldn’t make it as it was getting dark and I was so tired I could hardly think. We ended up wild camping for the first time since I camped with Moe in British Colombia. Turned out we were only 3 km’s from the campsite, but it would have been difficult to get there the night before, given how tired we were, the tough climbs and encroaching darkness. We had just a little water left and decided to save it for a hot drink in the morning, just eating nuts and a little bread before going to sleep very early. We were very happy to find water at the campsite the next day and actually stopped long enough to cook breakfast and have a hot drink. March 27 – Cerro Castillo - 40 km. Juan had a broken spoke. We used a special tool to take off the cassette, installed the spoke and reinstalled the cassette. I had learned about the tool from a Swiss rider I met in San Diego California – Lukas. It was the first time using it. It’s very easy to use and to get the cassette off the wheel. It’s called the NBT2 tool – http://www.m-gineering.nl/nbtg.htm.   It is very light and compact and beats having to carry a chain whip and large wrench. Every cyclist who is touring should have one. It was a tough 40 km’s climbing to an altitude of 1100 meters and then descent past Cerro Castillo to Villa Cerro Castillo. It was an incredible sight with many glaciers and snowy peaks, but the Cerro is black unlike the other nearby mountains. This marked the end of over 200 km’s of pavement. The rest of the CA is gravel – yuk! March 28 – 50km This was the hardest day of my whole tour. The quality of the Ripio (gravel) was very bad and there was a lot of climbing. My average speed was only 9 km. When I thought it was hard having to walk so much I remembered meeting a Polish man on the CA who was walking on average 45 km’s a day. I thought I can average more biking and walking. We were looking for a place to camp when we came across a house and the man let us stay there for the night. We went to sleep as the full moon rose over the distant peaks. We awoke to everything covered with frost including our bikes, which were now completely white. But once the sun came up everything melted quickly and we were off to Bahia Murta. We saw a lot of glaciers today. This is the beginning of the Campo de Hielo Norte – this is a huge area of many square kilometers of glaciers. Then there is Campo de Hielo Sur. This is the third largest ice field in the world and largest on a continent. It stretches several hundred kilometers. March 29 – 52 km to Bahia Murta I was very tired as this was the 4th day in a row of riding, but easier than yesterday. We had been told the bay was very beautiful, but were a little disappointed. The high light, was a wonderful dinner prepared by our Hospedaje host Sylvia, who had prepared fresh salsa, cucumbers, salad, potatoes and Mariscos – a variety of shell fish cooked in a broth with onions and some spices. March 30 – 32 km Although this was the 5th day in a row of riding and we both were very tired, we decided we had to get to Puerto Tranquillo. It was a short ride and relatively flat, meaning no major climbs. It was a very beautiful ride along Lago Carrera – known in Argentina as Lago Buenos Aires. It’s the largest lake in Chile/Argentina and second largest after Titicaca in South America. The views were spectacular as we were high above the lake looking across at mountains with glaciers and snow. The settlement is lovely. It was the first time we had seen a lot of tourists and travelers. There were lots of restaurants and places to stay and the view of the lake with the mountain backdrop was beautiful. We found a lovely Hospedaje/camping place about 1 km up the hill just on the edge of town and met 3 other Spaniards and a French woman staying there. March 31 – Silvia one of the Spanish women, Juan and I went by boat to the marble caves. The marble has been carved and shaped by the water and wind over thousands if not millions of years into beautiful sculptures and caves. The boats take you right inside the caves. The texture of the marble is quite amazing. Lino was celebrating his birthday and we all pitched in to buy food and wine for a feast fit for a king, including an ice cream birthday cake. Clara the French woman and I were the “ensalada team”, cutting up vegetables to make a salsa. She wants to become a yoga teacher and I was impressed by her dedication to self practice as she did a beautiful practice on the lawn for over an hour. April 1 – I taught a spontaneous impromptu yoga class out on the lawn with Clara and Eva. Then the two of them were off hitchhiking to Coihaique. Lino took a bus and Juan, Silvia and I went off to walk on a glacier. We hired a guide to drive us over 50 km’s on yet another ripio to the national park - Exploradores Glacier.I have never walked on a glacier before and had no idea how difficult it would be or how beautiful it was. Huge rocks were piled up for part of the walk and we had to climb up and down twice, scrambling over and around these large boulders. Then we had to walk on loose Scree. In some places the bare ice made it difficult to maintain our footing. Finally after about an hour or an hour and a half we reached the snow/ice part and put on crampons. The texture of the “snow” was much like our snow would be in late Winter or early Spring after it has thawed and refrozen once or twice. The sun was very intense. t took quite a bit of getting used to walking with crampons and also trusting when going up steep slopes and more so down slopes that one would not slip. You have to firmly plant your feet to make sure the teeth are engaged. Walking down, you need to keep your knees bent and lean backwards slightly. Climbing you dig the front teeth in walking like a ballet dancer. And the most amazing part of the glacier was the glacier itself. From a distance it just looks like this ugly mass of rocks and dirt, but as you begin to get to know it you realize this is a whole other landscape. There are amazing caves carved out by the melt, the color is hard to describe - an azure blue and turquoise. There are fissures, some very small with blue light filtering through the ice and then crevasses that are very deep and again have this incredible blue light. It is a whole micro environment that is indescribably beautiful. At times we lay down and drank water that is so pure, having been frozen before Man began to pollute the Planet. Getting to and from the glacier was an adventure in and of itself. Our guide has an old 4 x 4 truck and was late picking us up because the battery was dead. When he stopped to get gas he had to turn the engine off and then the truck would not start. So we all hopped out and pushed it to get it going; same thing at the end of the trek. After the glacier Silvia and Juan camped overnight by a nearby lake. So I went back alone with the guide. Well because we were late, it was starting to get dark and we still had over 15 kilometers to go. The lights would come on but very faintly, just enough to get a glimpse of the road. I had vision of our having to stop and sleep in the truck overnight and then wondered where we would find anyone to give us a push in the morning. Luckily he knew the road really well and turning the lights on and off, we finally arrived in town with shouts of hallelujah. Along with the ride along Lago Carrera and the glacier, this has been the highlight of my time in Patagonia and the Carretera Austral. It was wonderful to share it with Silvia and Juan as we were constantly astounded, gasping and wowing and pleasantly surprised by the beauty of this place. There are many photos for you to see of us and the glacier at Flickr. April 2 – Today I rode up to Lago Tranquillo a beautiful lake on the way to the glacier. I stopped to eat lunch at a family cemetery plot and to take pictures. The cemetery is very interesting as the graves were all miniature replicas of the houses they had lived in, so that they would feel “at home” in the grave. One could look inside through the windows and see the earthen graves with flowers on top. April 3 – we took a bus to Cochrane, a nice little village and second to last outpost on the Carretera Austral. When we went to take out our baggage and Juan’s bike out of the luggage compartment everything was covered in a fine layer of dust. There was a little café there with espresso coffee. It was one of the best cortado coffees I have had anywhere. April 4 – We travelled by bus to Villa O’Higgins. It was necessary to take a ferry to cross a lake to get to the final 100 km stretch of the CA. Villa O’Higgins is the final outpost and definitely has the feel of a frontier town. The road goes another 8 km’s to a dock and then one can take a boat to cross over to Candelaria and cross over in to Argentina by a combination of gravel roads and a 7-8 km stretch of hiking trail where it is necessary to carry the bikes in places. We will go there on Sunday. Peter’s Location: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0TegrE30vKlr0QgoZbgKg1A8KVzabhFyu Photos: Argentina: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDq6xXx Chile: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDbNgHx
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The last outpost

Glacier walking March 26 – 56 km The ride from Coihaique was delayed as I had to buy a new tire to change a bad rear one. As I rode along I thought my wheel was out of true, but it was the tire. I also had to buy a new dry sack for my sleeping bag and pad. As a result we did not get started until around 1 in the afternoon. It was a tough ride, with a lot of climbing. We were trying to get to a campsite but couldn’t make it as it was getting dark and I was so tired I could hardly think. We ended up wild camping for the first time since I camped with Moe in British Colombia. Turned out we were only 3 km’s from the campsite, but it would have been difficult to get there the night before, given how tired we were, the tough climbs and encroaching darkness. We had just a little water left and decided to save it for a hot drink in the morning, just eating nuts and a little bread before going to sleep very early. We were very happy to find water at the campsite the next day and actually stopped long enough to cook breakfast and have a hot drink. March 27 – Cerro Castillo - 40 km. Juan had a broken spoke. We used a special tool to take off the cassette, installed the spoke and reinstalled the cassette. I had learned about the tool from a Swiss rider I met in San Diego California – Lukas. It was the first time using it. It’s very easy to use and to get the cassette off the wheel. It’s called the NBT2 tool – http://www.m-gineering.nl/nbtg.htm.   It is very light and compact and beats having to carry a chain whip and large wrench. Every cyclist who is touring should have one. It was a tough 40 km’s climbing to an altitude of 1100 meters and then descent past Cerro Castillo to Villa Cerro Castillo. It was an incredible sight with many glaciers and snowy peaks, but the Cerro is black unlike the other nearby mountains. This marked the end of over 200 km’s of pavement. The rest of the CA is gravel – yuk! March 28 – 50km This was the hardest day of my whole tour. The quality of the Ripio (gravel) was very bad and there was a lot of climbing. My average speed was only 9 km. When I thought it was hard having to walk so much I remembered meeting a Polish man on the CA who was walking on average 45 km’s a day. I thought I can average more biking and walking. We were looking for a place to camp when we came across a house and the man let us stay there for the night. We went to sleep as the full moon rose over the distant peaks. We awoke to everything covered with frost including our bikes, which were now completely white. But once the sun came up everything melted quickly and we were off to Bahia Murta. We saw a lot of glaciers today. This is the beginning of the Campo de Hielo Norte – this is a huge area of many square kilometers of glaciers. Then there is Campo de Hielo Sur. This is the third largest ice field in the world and largest on a continent. It stretches several hundred kilometers. March 29 – 52 km to Bahia Murta I was very tired as this was the 4th day in a row of riding, but easier than yesterday. We had been told the bay was very beautiful, but were a little disappointed. The high light, was a wonderful dinner prepared by our Hospedaje host Sylvia, who had prepared fresh salsa, cucumbers, salad, potatoes and Mariscos – a variety of shell fish cooked in a broth with onions and some spices. March 30 – 32 km Although this was the 5th day in a row of riding and we both were very tired, we decided we had to get to Puerto Tranquillo. It was a short ride and relatively flat, meaning no major climbs. It was a very beautiful ride along Lago Carrera – known in Argentina as Lago Buenos Aires. It’s the largest lake in Chile/Argentina and second largest after Titicaca in South America. The views were spectacular as we were high above the lake looking across at mountains with glaciers and snow. The settlement is lovely. It was the first time we had seen a lot of tourists and travelers. There were lots of restaurants and places to stay and the view of the lake with the mountain backdrop was beautiful. We found a lovely Hospedaje/camping place about 1 km up the hill just on the edge of town and met 3 other Spaniards and a French woman staying there. March 31 – Silvia one of the Spanish women, Juan and I went by boat to the marble caves. The marble has been carved and shaped by the water and wind over thousands if not millions of years into beautiful sculptures and caves. The boats take you right inside the caves. The texture of the marble is quite amazing. Lino was celebrating his birthday and we all pitched in to buy food and wine for a feast fit for a king, including an ice cream birthday cake. Clara the French woman and I were the “ensalada team”, cutting up vegetables to make a salsa. She wants to become a yoga teacher and I was impressed by her dedication to self practice as she did a beautiful practice on the lawn for over an hour. April 1 – I taught a spontaneous impromptu yoga class out on the lawn with Clara and Eva. Then the two of them were off hitchhiking to Coihaique. Lino took a bus and Juan, Silvia and I went off to walk on a glacier. We hired a guide to drive us over 50 km’s on yet another ripio to the national park - Exploradores Glacier.I have never walked on a glacier before and had no idea how difficult it would be or how beautiful it was. Huge rocks were piled up for part of the walk and we had to climb up and down twice, scrambling over and around these large boulders. Then we had to walk on loose Scree. In some places the bare ice made it difficult to maintain our footing. Finally after about an hour or an hour and a half we reached the snow/ice part and put on crampons. The texture of the “snow” was much like our snow would be in late Winter or early Spring after it has thawed and refrozen once or twice. The sun was very intense. t took quite a bit of getting used to walking with crampons and also trusting when going up steep slopes and more so down slopes that one would not slip. You have to firmly plant your feet to make sure the teeth are engaged. Walking down, you need to keep your knees bent and lean backwards slightly. Climbing you dig the front teeth in walking like a ballet dancer. And the most amazing part of the glacier was the glacier itself. From a distance it just looks like this ugly mass of rocks and dirt, but as you begin to get to know it you realize this is a whole other landscape. There are amazing caves carved out by the melt, the color is hard to describe - an azure blue and turquoise. There are fissures, some very small with blue light filtering through the ice and then crevasses that are very deep and again have this incredible blue light. It is a whole micro environment that is indescribably beautiful. At times we lay down and drank water that is so pure, having been frozen before Man began to pollute the Planet. Getting to and from the glacier was an adventure in and of itself. Our guide has an old 4 x 4 truck and was late picking us up because the battery was dead. When he stopped to get gas he had to turn the engine off and then the truck would not start. So we all hopped out and pushed it to get it going; same thing at the end of the trek. After the glacier Silvia and Juan camped overnight by a nearby lake. So I went back alone with the guide. Well because we were late, it was starting to get dark and we still had over 15 kilometers to go. The lights would come on but very faintly, just enough to get a glimpse of the road. I had vision of our having to stop and sleep in the truck overnight and then wondered where we would find anyone to give us a push in the morning. Luckily he knew the road really well and turning the lights on and off, we finally arrived in town with shouts of hallelujah. Along with the ride along Lago Carrera and the glacier, this has been the highlight of my time in Patagonia and the Carretera Austral. It was wonderful to share it with Silvia and Juan as we were constantly astounded, gasping and wowing and pleasantly surprised by the beauty of this place. There are many photos for you to see of us and the glacier at Flickr. April 2 – Today I rode up to Lago Tranquillo a beautiful lake on the way to the glacier. I stopped to eat lunch at a family cemetery plot and to take pictures. The cemetery is very interesting as the graves were all miniature replicas of the houses they had lived in, so that they would feel “at home” in the grave. One could look inside through the windows and see the earthen graves with flowers on top. April 3 – we took a bus to Cochrane, a nice little village and second to last outpost on the Carretera Austral. When we went to take out our baggage and Juan’s bike out of the luggage compartment everything was covered in a fine layer of dust. There was a little café there with espresso coffee. It was one of the best cortado coffees I have had anywhere. April 4 – We travelled by bus to Villa O’Higgins. It was necessary to take a ferry to cross a lake to get to the final 100 km stretch of the CA. Villa O’Higgins is the final outpost and definitely has the feel of a frontier town. The road goes another 8 km’s to a dock and then one can take a boat to cross over to Candelaria and cross over in to Argentina by a combination of gravel roads and a 7-8 km stretch of hiking trail where it is necessary to carry the bikes in places. We will go there on Sunday. Peter’s Location: http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0TegrE30vKlr0QgoZbgKg1A8KVzabhFyu Photos: Argentina: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDq6xXx Chile: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDbNgHx
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On to Cochrane

March 24-25I needed 2 rest days after 4 days of riding. We also needed time to plan the stage of our journey and of course everything was closed on Sunday. Well I am on the final stages of my journey.  I am now in Coyaihique, having travelled over 355 km's on the CA (Carrertera Austral),mostly gravel and a lot of climbing.  Tomorrow I will leave after 2 days of rest for Cochrane – 334 km's from here.  The first 100 km's will be on pavement and then the rest will be on gravel, poor quality I am told. I will have a travel companion in Juan Sisto from Spain, who has been living in Chile for 2 years.  He has been down the CA by car and has contacts in Villa O'Higgins the terminus of the CA.  We will be on a fairly tight time frame as the last chance to take the boat from O'Higgins across the lake to Argentina is April 6th.  We plan to ride to Cochrane and then take a bus next Thursday to VO.   If we run out of time we can catch a bus to Cochrane on Wednesday.  This will give us one day in VO and then the boat on Saturday April 6th.  The same day we will have to cross the border from Chile to Argentina to go to El Chalten. Part of the way there is no road, only a cow path or footpath and it will be necessary to carry the bikes in places, which means at least 2 or 3 trips in those sections. After arriving in El Chalten I hope to spend a few days visiting the Perito Moreno Glacier and trekking at the base of Mont Fitz Roy then go to El Calafate, about another 200 km's where I will finish my biking.  Then I will fly to Ushuaia on Lade Airlines, spend a few days there then fly to Buenos Aires to spend a few days there, teach a meditation workshop and fly home, hopefully arriving on May 1st in Toronto.March 23 – 90km'sIt was another hard day to Coihaique. I met up with Juan and we went to Casina de Bomberos restaurant for supper. It is actually at the fire station. Juan's father had come here from Spain to fish and had eaten at the café. When Juanwent there the woman recognized him as the son. Pretty amazing. We went there to celebrate our making it on the first part of the Carrertera Austral. Coihaique is a very confusing town as it has a pentagonal square which leads to strange directions for a lot of the streets. However, it has a lot of charm and some lovely old wooden houses, friendly people and good coffee.March 22  It was 56 km'sto Villa Manihueles. I stayed at a casa cyclista. The owner Jorge, sometimes chases down cyclists on the road to invite them to stay. As I rode around I asked people for directions and everyone seemed to know about it. There was Juan to greet me. We had dinner together. The place is not very impressive as there is a lot of squalor. It doesn't look like it has been cleaned in years and there is junk lying around everywhere. I do not understand how people can live like this. I just wanted to get out of thereas fast as possible. However Jorge and his wife Diana and two children were lovely people.March 21  This was the hardest day of my whole journey – 90 km, 60 on ripio – 2 passes from sea level- one 580 meters the other 400 meters. It was a total of over 1100 meters of climbing in 10 hours. I just got into villa Amengual, a small settlement of 100 people before dark.  I met 3 Israelis travelling together and one of them was a young woman Shir, who had served 3 years in the military. She was quite taken with me and my 19 months on the road. My bike computer died at bottom of the descent,but fortunately have my Garmin GPS, although not sure it will last for 3 days without charging.March 20 - La Junta –Puyuhaupi – 45.8 km'sA little rain, but not much until after I safely arrived in Puyuhaupi. The ripio was somewhat better quality today,but many hills made it another slow day. Scenery was not all that interesting primarily because visibility was nil. After supper, the rain had stopped and I could see fresh snow on the mountain tops.Peter'sLocation:http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0TegrE30vKlr0QgoZbgKg1A8KVzabhFyu Photos:Argentina: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDq6xXxChile: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDbNgHx
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Carretera Austral

March15I had amemorable dining experience today. I had seen a bistro as I was wandering around town and dropped in in the afternoon tocheck it out. I was warmly received anddecided to return for dinner. Well thedinner was outstanding. I started withsoup with tons of vegetables, which I was craving. Then the trout came with a home made chutney,consisting of apple, elderberry and some sharp flavors. It really enhanced the fish withoutoverpowering it. However the mostmemorable aspect to the evening was engaging in good conversation with the server Oma and the chef Paula. They were very warm and creative and found ways to explain words to me by writing them down. Oma is from Brazil and must be a teacher because she was very patient in teaching me the meaning of some of the Spanish words. My first impressions ofTrevelin, which were not altogether positive were magically transformed as I discovered there is a lot happening in the local music scene, definitely some good food and great company.March16Todaywas the first time since I left home that the ride was easier than expected.  There was no pass between Argentina and Chile, just a long dusty road along the river with a few small hills.  At one point I couldsee a glacier in the distance. As I left the tourist nformation office I heard a voice calling "Peter". There was Juan sitting in the park snacking. The same thing had happened two days before In Travelin as I was searching for a place to stay there was Juan calling me. He is now about 1 or 2days ahead of me as we are riding at different paces. We agreed to meet in Coyhaique for dinner. Futaleufu was very beautiful nestled in a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains. March17 Thiswas a hard 80 km day on fairly good gravel for the first 50 km, but the last 30 was in terrible condition. While I was riding through Alerces National Park a dog had followed me for about 15km's. Today a dog joined me in the plaza and ran alongside me for 30 km's. I was amazed at the endurance of these amazing animals and wonderful companions. At one point after 3 or 4 km's another dog joined my companion and all 3 of us travelled together. I finally arrived in a tiny settlement at the famous Carrertera Austral. I was very excited to finally have arrived and to continue the next day. I got a room in the only hospadaje in town. It was kind of like a boarding house. There were 3 other men staying there all with trucks who left by 8 in the morning off to work. We all ate a communal meal consisting of soup and bread around 9 o'clock.March 18-19The ride on the Carrertera Austral to La Junta was very challenging. There was a lot of construction and big hills, some of which I could have ridden if pavement, but too difficult. Imagine riding on the flat at a nice steady 20 km pace on pavement. That same flat on this gravel you are lucky to go much more than 12 km. Even the down hills are slow, you can't really go very fast because of all the potholes,washboard and loose gravel. I arrived in La Junta, to discover that it is quite a large village with many places to stay. Not many restaurants were open,but the Cassita de Te, was open and I had a wonderful espresso followed by a lovely stew for dinner. Needless to say I visited Eliana's place again today March 19th. After 3 days of riding I am having a rest day. Tomorrow I plan to have a "shortride" 0f 45 km's to Puyuhaupi. The road is supposedly fairly flat so I hope to make good time. It looks like rain is in the making, so it could prove to be an interesting few days before arriving in Coyhaique, the largest town on the Carrertera. There is about 200 km's of pavement before and after Coyhaique. That will be quite a treat. I picked up a free copy of a book at the tourist info centre today on the CarreteraAustral. It has a lot detailed information. If any of you are planning to ride the CA, write to the Chilean tourist information bureau. It is free.Peter'sLocation:http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0TegrE30vKlr0QgoZbgKg1A8KVzabhFyu Photos:Argentina: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDq6xXxChile: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDbNgHx 
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Carretera Austral

March15I had amemorable dining experience today. I had seen a bistro as I was wandering around town and dropped in in the afternoon tocheck it out. I was warmly received anddecided to return for dinner. Well thedinner was outstanding. I started withsoup with tons of vegetables, which I was craving. Then the trout came with a home made chutney,consisting of apple, elderberry and some sharp flavors. It really enhanced the fish withoutoverpowering it. However the mostmemorable aspect to the evening was engaging in good conversation with the server Oma and the chef Paula. They were very warm and creative and found ways to explain words to me by writing them down. Oma is from Brazil and must be a teacher because she was very patient in teaching me the meaning of some of the Spanish words. My first impressions ofTrevelin, which were not altogether positive were magically transformed as I discovered there is a lot happening in the local music scene, definitely some good food and great company.March16Todaywas the first time since I left home that the ride was easier than expected.  There was no pass between Argentina and Chile, just a long dusty road along the river with a few small hills.  At one point I couldsee a glacier in the distance. As I left the tourist nformation office I heard a voice calling "Peter". There was Juan sitting in the park snacking. The same thing had happened two days before In Travelin as I was searching for a place to stay there was Juan calling me. He is now about 1 or 2days ahead of me as we are riding at different paces. We agreed to meet in Coyhaique for dinner. Futaleufu was very beautiful nestled in a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains. March17 Thiswas a hard 80 km day on fairly good gravel for the first 50 km, but the last 30 was in terrible condition. While I was riding through Alerces National Park a dog had followed me for about 15km's. Today a dog joined me in the plaza and ran alongside me for 30 km's. I was amazed at the endurance of these amazing animals and wonderful companions. At one point after 3 or 4 km's another dog joined my companion and all 3 of us travelled together. I finally arrived in a tiny settlement at the famous Carrertera Austral. I was very excited to finally have arrived and to continue the next day. I got a room in the only hospadaje in town. It was kind of like a boarding house. There were 3 other men staying there all with trucks who left by 8 in the morning off to work. We all ate a communal meal consisting of soup and bread around 9 o'clock.March 18-19The ride on the Carrertera Austral to La Junta was very challenging. There was a lot of construction and big hills, some of which I could have ridden if pavement, but too difficult. Imagine riding on the flat at a nice steady 20 km pace on pavement. That same flat on this gravel you are lucky to go much more than 12 km. Even the down hills are slow, you can't really go very fast because of all the potholes,washboard and loose gravel. I arrived in La Junta, to discover that it is quite a large village with many places to stay. Not many restaurants were open,but the Cassita de Te, was open and I had a wonderful espresso followed by a lovely stew for dinner. Needless to say I visited Eliana's place again today March 19th. After 3 days of riding I am having a rest day. Tomorrow I plan to have a "shortride" 0f 45 km's to Puyuhaupi. The road is supposedly fairly flat so I hope to make good time. It looks like rain is in the making, so it could prove to be an interesting few days before arriving in Coyhaique, the largest town on the Carrertera. There is about 200 km's of pavement before and after Coyhaique. That will be quite a treat. I picked up a free copy of a book at the tourist info centre today on the CarreteraAustral. It has a lot detailed information. If any of you are planning to ride the CA, write to the Chilean tourist information bureau. It is free.Peter'sLocation:http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0TegrE30vKlr0QgoZbgKg1A8KVzabhFyu Photos:Argentina: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDq6xXxChile: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjDbNgHx 
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Futaleufu

March15I had amemorable dining experience today. I had seen a bistro as I was wandering around town and dropped in in the afternoon to check it out. I was warmly received and decided to return for dinner. Well the dinner was outstanding. I started with soup with tons of vegetables, which I was craving. Then the trout came with a home made chutney,consisting of apple, elderberry and some sharp flavors. It really enhanced the fish without overpowering it. However the most memorable aspect to the evening was engaging in good conversation with the server Oma and the chef Paula. They were very warm and creative and found ways to explain words to me by writing themdown. Oma is from Brazil and must be a teacher because she was very patient in teaching me the meaning of some of the Spanish words. My first impressions of Trevelin, which were not altogether positive were magically transformed as I discovered there is a lot happening in the local music scene, definitely some good food and great company.March16Today was the first time since I left home that the ride was easier than expected.  There was no pass between Argentina and Chile, just a long dusty road along the river with a few small hills.  At one point I could see a glacier in the distance. I’m now settling down for the night in Futaleufu, nestled in a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains.
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