Like Being Home Again . . .

Orsono – Frutilla, Chile

Super tired. I think from yesterday. I guess that’s what 94 miles will do to you . . . Upshot: another quick update type post . . .

So our errands were kind of a mixed bag. The big news: the camping gear was actually waiting for us at the Corello Chile – that is, the post office. And everything seems to be in order – even though it looks like the packing box had been to hell and back – and had been opened and re-packed about 40 times since we last saw it. No matter. All’s well that ends well . . .

We hit a few bike shops as well. Managed to secure new chains – which is good, because the current chains are, I think, the fifth chains we’ve used with this drive train so don’t want to push our luck.

Sadly, they had no bigger tire options for us. We’ll check in Peurto Montt tomorrow . . .

A few more thoughts on the tire size discussion. There are a few of you out there who can attest to the fact that I’m not normally one to fuss over equipment type stuff. Whether skis, bikes, cars or whatever – my normal m.o. is just to deal with whatever I have. But there are a few additional factors at work in this case. First off, the tires that we’re currently riding have more than 3,500 miles on them now. Wouldn’t hurt to change them out before they start getting flats anyhow. Second, this road is going to be a challenge for us with our fully loaded bikes and fully old bodies. If we can make it a little easier on ourselves I think that would be a good idea. Third, Diana in particular has really not enjoyed the gravel we have done on this trip. I really want this to be an amazing part of the journey for both of us – not a death march. Finally, I’ll say that I am a pretty big believer in the great benefits of riding a mountain bike with low pressure; just makes it easier to negotiate all the bumps and undulations. Pretty sure that we would have a better experience with less air pressure here – something that you can only accomplish with bigger, tubeless, tires.

All that said, if we can’t find bigger tires we’ll make it work . . .

I was going through the errands . . . Mixed success on getting more clothes and socks – but I feel like we are pretty close on that score. No luck yet on constructing our own “pogie” things – but I did consult in a ferretería (hardware store) and I have some ideas – involving chicken wire and zip ties.

I’ve also started to think about fenders. Another thing that we don’t typically use. Too much weight – hard to justify them for the super rare occasion when they are actually useful. But I feel like cold rain is going to be our worst enemy on the Carretera. Fenders can make a big difference in keeping things dry – especially feet. On the other hand, it’s pretty easy to fashion temporary fenders on the fly. Any peanut gallery thoughts?

Okay – skipping ahead to late in the day. We really wanted to camp tonight as a dry run before we hit Peurto Montt tomorrow – the last stop before the Carretera begins.

So we loaded up in Osorno and rode to the first available campground – which turned out to be in the town of Frutilla – aout 40 miles of riding from Osorno. 

When we arrived in Frutilla we hit the grocery store – with the idea of testing out our kitchen stuff as well. And then on to the campground. Conveniently located right in town. 

As we bike up to the campground we are hungry. With all our errands we didn’t start biking until 2 in the afternoon – which meant, after shopping and everything – that we arrived at the campground around 6 . . .

When we pull up we’re a little confused. The sign says CAMPING but we’re looking at an ordinary back yard. I mean, there are a few makeshift picnic tables, but it’s otherwise just a back yard. Not even a very big one. But we inquire, and, sure enough, there is camping – right in this lady’s backyard. She even has showers and toilets set up in this shed type thing back there.

Next question . . . Is there a grill? Online it said there was a grill – which is why we purchased all this stuff to cook. Yep, there’s a little grill, but there is no charcoal and she tells us she doesn’t want us to use wood – for reasons I still don’t understand. 

So now I’m biking back to the grocery store.

This was clearly the low point of the day for me. I’m hungry. I’m tired. It feels like it’s going to start raining. 

I’m thinking all kinds of negative thoughts:

We have too much stuff; when we arrived and unpacked it just felt like everything was everywhere and we had no system. Our camping gear is too heavy. I don’t really know how to get carbon – Latin American charcoal – going in the first place. 

I don’t know about yours – but my mind can be a scary place to be once it starts driving in the wrong direction . . .

After I finally get back with the carbon I work on starting the fire. And, sure enough, I can’t get the dumb stuff lit. I finally “steal” a bunch of twigs from the bushes in the back of the back yard (campground) and eventually make it work. 

It was at this point that things started to come around. Diana has the potatoes ready to go on the grill, and within twenty minutes we’re eating dinner. Grilled potatoes and onions, grilled asparagus, and this marinated pork that they sell down here – which we love. Excellent dinner. 

Made better by Diana’s first baked apples of the trip. (You’ll have to look back into our blog posts from our Toronto trip last year for the recipe.)

And now we’re all snuggled up in our own home away from home – our own tent, with our own sleeping pad, and our own sleeping bag – which is, by the way, much warmer than the Holly Hobby version. We’re busy planning our first few days on the Carretera Austral, and the demons in my mind have been exorcised – helped a little by the nice and helpful comments from all of you readers. 

Tomorrow – quick ride (hopefully) to Puerto Montt – finish our errands – and then head to an Airbnb a few miles out of town so we can do our laundry and start out fresh. From there, it’s sixteen days to go about 700 hopefully beautiful miles to the ferry in Caleta Tortel.