Wednesday, March 18, 2009


12 Mar – Puerto Varas, Chile
A rest day for me and a couple of others. The majority went off to visit Chiloe Island to see what it offered. We had originally intended to ride up the island having crossed by ferry from Chaiten in the south. You might recall that we had to cut out the Austral highway and Chiloe Island would have been part of the route. A casualty of riding Chiloe island would have been the northern reaches of the Austral that we attempted yesterday. Staying here at Puerto Varas gave us the opportunity to rectify a little of the problem. Frankly I think most are a little relieved at not doing all the Austral if yesterdays experience was anything to go by. Despite enjoying gravel roads I add myself to the list.
The LOB's walked the local town today, a male version of shopping where you ignore all the shops and just walk around aimlessly. We were really looking for a special oil for one of the bikes but couldn't find it so settled for lunch and a glass of wine.
This is a nice town with clean streets, well dressed people and a delightful feel about it. I get the grand vista of the town, the lake and the Mt Egmont lookalike from the window of our digs.
We had wild blackberries and ice cream for tea; I don't know how I can stand the pace.

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