I've been rather lazy lately and haven't put anything new on the blog. Now I don't really want to write what I've done in the last month, so will just put some pictures and describe some of them a bit more thoroughly. So, off we go.
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| Carretera Austral in its central part - the only section with tarmac; I was pretty lucky with the weather - it was only raining for a few days in Chile on Carretera Austral (and before it had been raining for almost a month - pretty much whole February - as I was told) |
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| one of the houses/farms by Carretera Austral, quite far from any real village |
Then I had a few rainy days in Queulat National Park when my camera stayed all the time in its case. It was a great section of the Patagonian temperate rain forest which in a way resembles a proper jungle. There even are humming birds there, quite a lot of them actually.
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| Lago Yelcho on the way to the border Chile-Argentina (already off Carretera Austral but only around 15km from it) |
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| Rio Futaleufu in Puerto Ramirez, still Chile |
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| on the way to Futaleufu; dead forest in some sort of a lake; not far from Futaleufu |
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| ripio road to Futaleufu - great views included free of charge |
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| a farm by the road to Futaleufu |
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| I'm back in Argentina but still pretty close to the border; the day was cloudy, windy and dark, I felt a bit strange and lonely |
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| on the way from Trevelin to Los Alerces National Park |
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| entrance to Parque Nacional Los Alerces |
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| cementerio historico close to Futaleufquen, Los Alerces |
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| late afternoon view from the beach where I was wild* camping in Los Alerces National Park (* - the camping site was designated but there was nothing there apart from flies - no toilets, no water); Lago Futaleufquen |
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| my tent and my mess; this is a night spent on the beach by Lago Futaleufquen, the campsite was just above the beach; this was the day when I clocked 2000km on my bike so I did a fire, warmed up/baked empanadas on the fire and drank a local cherry liqueur I bought to celebrate this special occasion; at first it felt weird to camp alone on the beach by a lake but it was one of my best nights |
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| breakfast (porridge exactly) by the Lago Futaleufquen; I'm almost ready to jump on my bike and cycle 30km to another lake where I will spend the next night |
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| the same lake, the same morning, the same model (quite hot actually) |
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| Lago Rivadavia; next 'lago' in the area and my next campsite, still in Parque Nacional Los Alerces |
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| El Bolson, a town known for its chilled-out atmosphere; loads of trekking in the area but in the end I just rested there as my body was shouting for it; the mountains at the background are some 2000m above the town |
I was camping in El Bolson and my bike was just standing next to my tent. One morning I noticed it had a flat rear tyre (though I had not used it the previous day). What happened was as it was standing the whole day in the sun a patch on the inner tube (which I patched in London and left for the trip) simply unglued itself because of the heat. I don't count it as a puncture but in the end I had to change a tube.
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| main square in Bariloche, school kids gathering and protesting against something; Argentinean flag perfectly blending in the background |
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| Bariloche, hostel, lounge, view from a sofa - Lago Nahuel Huapi; I had the same view from my dorm room |
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| Circuito Chico in Bariloche - a bike tour around 60km long around the lakes close to Bariloche; view from the Llao Llao hotel to the South-East |
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| Llao Llao - view to the North; Hotel Llao Llao is one of the poshest in Argentina; great views but hotel itself far from my dreams |
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| Bahia Lopez on Curcuito Chico; the water was crystal clear |
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| my bike getting some suntan by the Bahia Lopez |
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| Bahia Lopez and a remote hotel |
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| Bahia Lopez |
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| Colonia Suiza (a tiny settlement of Swiss origin close to Bariloche on Curcuito Chico); I had lunch there - quite possibly the best trout in my life |
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| chocolate mousse for dessert - taking picture of food in OKish light is actually pretty cool |
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| lakes around Bariloche - somewhere at the very far end of this photo starts the Route of the Seven Lakes which I will start in a few days |
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| the same lakes |
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| Bariloche (well, to be honest the town has its uglier face too but who cares now) |
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| Parque Nacional Los Arrayanes - located on a tiny Quetrihue Peninsula one of the smallest parks in Argentina; I took my bike and visited it in a few hours; this is the very tip of the peninsula; this is also Lago Nahuel Huapi but I am now in Villa La Angosture some 100km away from Bariloche, on the other side of the lake |
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| Bosque Los Arrayanes (the arrayanes forest) in the national park; arrayan trees (Chilean Myrtle) are really cool; its bark peels a bit like of a plane tree (platanus) and has an orange/cinnamon colour |
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| los arrayanes |
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| the tip of the Quetrihue Peninsula |
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| sheer beauty of Los Arrayanes NP simply overwhelmed me and I needed to sit down |
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| Lago Nahuel Huapi seen from the Quetrihue Peninsula |
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| the world seen from the upper part of Parque Nacional Los Arrayanes; white stuff on top of the mountains is not snow but volcanic ash from the eruption of Puyehue volcano in Chile that started almost a year ago; the area is still covered in a layer of ash up to 20cm thick (on the side of the local roads etc); the volcano is still producing some ash and sending across the border |
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| la Ruta de los Siete Lagos (the route of the seven lakes) starts close to Villa La Angostura and finishes some 100km further north in San Martin de los Andes; this is one of the rivers on this route; the water was so clear that I could see trouts in the river from the bridge |
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| Lago Traful and Villa Traful - a detour from the 7 lakes route; 26km that was definitely worth backtracking the next day; the town is so tranquil that your heart rate slows down automatically; plus in the town there is a tiny bakery and its owner can read in my mind - when I entered panaderia she straight away asked me if I was looking for facturas and of course I was; wait 10 minutes, she said, they are in the oven now; so I waited outside on a bench and watched a man mowing the grass in front of la panaderia |
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| another picture of un hombre y su bici - this time in Villa Traful |
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| a feast in Villa Traful; I cooked dinner for two but it was just me alone; it's nice to be able to eat two plates of pasta and drink 1l of beer! |
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| 5 o'clock tea by Lago Falkner; my last night on the route of 7 lakes |
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| the sun is about to set by Lago Falkner |
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| my little green house by the lake (Lago Falkner) and my long dark legs |
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| a tent with a view |
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| I went for a wine tour around wineries of Maipu with 4 other tourists I met in hostel and on that day I clocked 3000km. 5km further I got a puncture - my first and only so far (a thorn)! Luckily I was almost in the centre of Maipu and there was a bike shop on the main square and they fixed it in 15 minutes (that was one of the very few days when I travelled light - my bags stayed in the hostel and I didn't have any repair kit on me) |
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| here grows a bottle of malbec |
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| immortal liquid soul of the grapes is already in tanks fermenting or even maturing in oak barrels and this is what's left of the earthly existence of the grapes - dry and lifeless (though it still has a variety of uses) |
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| delivery of fresh grapes |
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| wine tasting in bodega La Rural |
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| wine tasting in bodega Tempus Alba (amazing for many reasons) - in front of me Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and Malbec |
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| Tempus Alba, delicious malbec |
However sadly but I had to leave Mendoza. I wanted to reach La Rioja or Catamarca by hitchhiking so waited for a day on the outskirts of Mendoza but had absolutely no luck. I got very frustrated and then I met a Czech cyclist going the other direction who told me he had just cycled from La Rioja. I turned back to the hostel, spend an extra night in Mendoza and the next day fresh and happy headed north on the bike.
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| the longest day on my trip - 169km from Mendoza to Caucete (close to San Juan); luckily it was flat (but also hot and dry) |
I set my mind for cycling but then did some calculations and noticed that if I cycle all the way I will have little time for the very north of Argentina so I tried again asking for a lift, this time not standing by the road but talking to truck drivers. I was lucky! I covered some 450km in one day with two nice truckers (told them some stories, heard some stories from them, drank mate, spoke Polish on the phone to a wife of one of them). Eventually I reached Chilecito, slightly off my original planned route but only because it was too far to cycle to. I was back on la Ruta 40!
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| riding north from Chilecito, Ruta 40; the road was pretty flat but all around me there were mountains |
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| my bike wanted some rest |
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| Salicas, an old-school room in a 'hostel'. golden rule: your girlfriend in your bed, bike never more than 2m from it |
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| mountains, thorny shrubs, sand, rocks - simply the north of Argentina |
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| on the way to Belen; on that day I passed through Londres (London), actually the only town I passed during the whole day and 98km |
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| my last (I suppose) 30km of ripio road |
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| some sort of chili getting dried in Santa Maria |
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| the ruins of Quilmes (around 800AD); somehow I failed to be impressed but... |
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| ... a llama (or a goat, or a chair) was amazing |
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| Cafayate and its wineries - wine maturing in oak in Finca Las Nubes (Bodega Jose L Mounier) |
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| wine tasting in Finca Las Nubes (Bodega Jose L Mounier) |
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| Bodega Yacochuya at just over 2000m asl |
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| Bodega Domingo Molina overlooking the valley (it is located at 2000m, some 300m above Cafayate) |
I'm now about to visit yet another bodega and will leave Cafayate tomorrow and head towards Salta through Quebrada de las Conchas (it will take me 2 days to get there).
