Crossing the Island of Chiloe.

Things went quite straight after leaving Metri in the tip of the carretera austral, south of Puerto Montt. Camila went there to pick me up so we could leave from the city of Puerto Montt towards Chiloe. It took us a while to leave the city, as we took it easy the first day, nontheless, the road to reach Quellón, the southernmost city of the Island of Chiloe, wasn't as easy as we thought.

The amount of cyclist we have been meeting on the road noticeable increased, Chiloe is a huge touristic place during summer months, specially for young backpackers who hitchhike their way through the Island. The place gets full during summer months and it's almost impossible to find a place where to sleep in the cities if you don't book before coming here, so together with the backpackers, several cyclists were also pedaling through the Island. The pedaling took us 4 days to reach Quellón and it didn't lack ups and downs.

Puerto Montt and entering the Island.

After some minor issues with Camila's bike we managed to leave the city nearly at 1 pm. Gladly, for that day the goal was to reach the island and advance just a little bit more. On the way out, we met two other cyclists who were also going to the island but didn't know the way. We joined forces and kept on out of the city.

On the way to the ferry we met several other cyclists coming from the island stating the place was packed with people. After a little while of pedaling we lost the guys who had joined us on the way and reached the ferry.

With the other guys pedaling towards the ferry.

The ferry.

Reaching the ferry was quite straight and at 6 pm we were already crossing the Chacao channel and entering the island. Our final push would be through a gravel road. I knew it would be way slower than on pavement but never though the road would be in such bad shape that it would be really slow to pedal through it.

After 10 kilometers I called it to a stop. Good thing is, nobody really cares where you mount the tent. There is so much free space all around the island that the tent can be mounted almost anywhere with no fences. Stories also tell that asking people is fairly common here so we wouldn't have any issue asking to people if we could camp at their lands. We chose the easy option and camped in front of a church a cemetery and next to a black cat who later tried to steal some of our food.

Camila riding a good portion of the gravel road.

Camping right in front of the church!

The cemetery and the landscape.

Quemchi, Dalcahue, Castro.

On the second day rain woke us up. Good thing was that we weren't forced to move as soon as dawn showed up. So we took it slow and had a nice breakfast while hearing the rain hitting the tent. Soon the morning rain was over and we managed to move again. The goal for the day was to reach Castro, the main city of the Island.

We expected the road to be bad, but never thought it would be bad AND hilly. There are soooo many hills on this island. Damn, it was a constant up and down up and down. I think we never had a flat stretch longer than a couple of kilometers. It was always to go up and then go down. Problem was that the ground was too loose that it was nearly impossible to climb with the bike and such a load. This made the advancing even slower. Couple of hours after noon we hadn't reached Quemchi yet, which we thought we would reach at noon. With more slopes coming we decided we would reach Quemchi and call it a day. We would meet Daniel and Pamela there who were also in the Island but the universe didn't want us to stay at Quemchi.

After having lunch some road workers who had seen us before showed up in their pick up truck and made us a signal for a ride. Heck yes, we were about to start the walking of the Climb of the Donkey, as some people had called it before. They said buses had issues doing the climb and that there were several accidents during winter. Gladly, the road provided with a ride that took us several kilometers ahead of Quemchi. The road workers were going to some small town on the way to Dalcahue, around 20 kilometers from Castro. We still could reach Castro and were really thankful for that ride.

Camila and a small climb.

The sea and some islands in front.

The climb of the Donkey.

Camila covering from the dust.

Tales would say pavement was near us, about 7 kilometers ahead, then to reach Castro we still had 40 kilometers left. We kept on, but the road got even worse than before, with more climbs to come, the advancing was down to an average of 4 kilometers per hour. Too slow to reach Castro again, I decided to sit down for a while to wait for something to happen. Right when I was trying to find a way to get some motivation Camila asked for a ride in an attempt to check what would happen if we did that. A pick up truck stopped and asked if we needed a ride or anything. Luck was with us. Bikes on the pick up truck and here we go again. Second ride of the day this time towards Dalcahue and pavement.

From Dalcahue to Castro there are only 20 kilometers, this time with pavement. In no time we managed to cover the 20 kilometers. When in pavement the average distance is nearly 20 kilometers per hour, add to this the climbs so in a bit more of an hour we were in Castro. Right before sunset.

Castro and Quellón.

We deserved a nice meal in Castro, so we headed to a place that Camila knew. A nice sushi restaurant to fill our bellies after having only small things during the day. After 60 pieces of sushi I felt full but we needed a place where to sleep. I called to several hostals, B&Bs and such, but nobody had room for at least 4 days. After asking for options in the sushi place, somebody recalled a shelter for backpackers which was close to the sushi place. Camila rushed to the place to check if it had room and came back with a positive answer. Almost nobody was using the shelter.

Camila outside the shelter. (Albergue)

The shelter was meant for backpackers who had no place where to go and needed a night of rest. If you wanted to get drunk, smoke, party, you could go and camp in the beach, if you needed to sleep and a shower, you could go to the shelter. The night at the shelter was ok with few people sleeping there. This meant no noises during the night and a safe place where to stay at the city.

Next day we left the shelter at 10 am. We headed to downtown and did our businesses in the city. At noon we headed towards Quellón, our destination where my friend Yovi was expecting us at the other day. We didn't spend that much time in Castro because it was packed with people and had not much to show for a couple of bicycle tourers. It is much better to be outside the cities, enjoying the landscape and what the road has to offer than spend the time in the cities where is full of people and nobody really pay mind to each other.

We left the city and encountered more bicycle tourers on the way. All of them Chileans with heavy backpacks instead of panniers, certainly not experienced bicycle tourers as the rider must have nothing on the body. We had lunch on the road and spent the evening taking the nice and mild sun. At night we managed to find another church were we spent the night.

Getting to Quellón the next day was fast, we enjoyed the way during the whole day and managed to reach the town in the evening. More climbs on the way, and what climbs, but climbing that much also pays off. Landscapes you get to see when you reach the top of the hills are breathtaking.

Another church to camp.

Landscapes

More landscapes.

More Landscapes!!

We reached Quellón last thursday and I will spend my time here until next thursday when I take a ferry that will cross me back to the continent in Chaiten, the town that got destroyed some years ago when the volcano exploded. Camila left last Sunday, as she has to keep on with her thesis and finish the law practice.

Time here in Quellón has been good, a lot of chillin and a bit of cycling. Several nice places to visit and still more to get to know. I think I'll do a brief post before taking the ferry. So until then.

For more pictures, check this link.

Cheers!.