Mount Fitzroy.
I have had to cut the trip short and return home. After a delay leaving El Chalten in Argentina for Christmas in Villa O'Higgins in Chile, I eventually made that infamous crossing on Christmas Day itself and got to Villa O'Higgins on Boxing Day. It was a beautiful ride into the valley (37km of my first proper unsealed road- yes, suspension would've been a nice relief), across the lakes and over the mountain (9km of pushing and carrying your bike up to the border and then a [very] rough 15km ride down the Chilean side to the ferry to Villa O'Higgins). A hard task, but a satisfying one. I was covered in bruises from walking into trees and shrubs, and slips into creeks. I completed it with another cyclist, Martin from Switzerland. He had the unenviable task of strapping his bike trailer to his back and pushing his foldie up and over the pass. Mind you, I doubt anyone is envious of my weakling arms that were incapable of pushing my bike with its panniers on for the first stretch, which felt like pulling a fully laden bike up a hill of 90 degrees. This instead required me to do 3 trips, running back and forth for the first few km's with my bike and bags seperately.
Martin helping me with my bike across a creek during the border crossing.
We camped half way up the first stretch of 'pushing'- I can't equate it with 'walking', and on the morning of Boxing Day we woke to see fresh snow 50 metres up the hill from our camp. We packed up and continued on to the border with much glee at the sight of the start of the track down to the Chilean immigration and ferry outta that wilderness. Snowed on again whilst getting there, it cleared up on the Chilean side and we had sunshine to come down the mountain. Completely knackered, we had a rest while waiting for the ferry to leave for Villa O'Higgins, drying out our gear too.
The ferry is essentially transport for the Immigration guys that work there and those silly enough to do the crossing. It is a really remote part of Chile and I was surprised to see a small farmstead on the shore of one of the islands we passed on the 2 hour ride. I can't comprehend how people live there, except for the obvious delights of the beautiful surrounds.
So we got to Villa O'Higgins and stayed at the lovely El Mosco hostel/campground which is a favourite of the cycle tourists and was a pleasure to stay for a couple of nights. Villa O'Higgins is the final town on the Carretera Austral, and is a teeny town. It is this area and north of here that is of interest to large companies interested in developing hydro-electric schemes in the area that would harness the water that absolutely abounds here. 'Patagonia sin Represas' (Patagonia without dams) is concerned with fighting these companies and the government's attempts to develop the region. There are huge billboards that advertise the benefits of such companies to those that live here, but the political movement has an ad hoc but pervasive advertising system of spray painting any flat surface with 'Patagonia Sin Represas' everywhere. Its a hard issue for alot of people. There is a strong local pride in rural life in Patagonia, but there is also a strong need for employment. I spoke with a Chilean who works for the group and he was conflicted on what options there are if they are to block economic development through the hydro-elec scheme. There is talk of tourism, but the region is so underdeveloped, infrastructure-wise, that it would be hard to attract money to the south unless there was more development of another kind. O the dilemna! One thing is for sure, any form of development should be wisely investigated and gently implemented- the region is so wonderfully pure that it needs serious protection. There are few places in the world where its safe to drink the water straight from the rivers, lakes and waterfalls, and that is what you can do in Chilean Patagonia. This is much appreciated by cyclists who don't like to have to carry too much water on their bike, including yours truly :)
So back to it all. I got to Villa O'Higgins safe and sound, and a little black and blue on the legs. However, the day I arrived I got the sad news of my grandma passing away back home in Australia on that same day. I was surprised and had many mixed emotions about continuing on. I was about to set off on a hard ride on the Carretera, but I was quite excited and the area was so quiet and pretty. I rode on for a few days to see how I felt. I realised after 2 days it wouldn't be worth continuing if I couldn't enjoy myself and my time there. I made the hard decision to stop the trip and return home and be with family. What had been a hard 6 months already, with other news, I came to the conclusion that I shouldn't continue on just to prove a point. I will instead return in a few years and do it properly, and I so look forward to that time. I have already learnt a few lessons and got ideas on how to make it more enjoyable and better in the future. In the meantime I hope to explore parts of Australia on my bike to make up for it.
The final week was about getting out of one of the more remote parts of South America and there was a combination of riding, hitching and bussing my way to Coyhaique where I could leave for Santiago to get home. I met a bunch more riders in this town and had a happy New Years with a couple of them. I leave you all (for now) with photos from the last few weeks of the trip and a lovely surprise I got when we flew home- scraping the edge of Antarctica. It turns out the world isn't flat, and the fastest way to get from South America to Oz is via the Antarctic!
P.S. Thank you everyone for your encouragement, it was really appreciated. A special thank you to my friend Kelly for coming along. I look forward to the next adventure...
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Photos from the last few weeks of my trip, including Torres del Paine National Park.
Kelly and I with Juan, the Police officer who let us cook lunch at the Police check-point
A little lamb whose ear's had been bit off by a bird. Tragically cute.
Valley de Frances, Torres del Paine National Park.
Glacier Grey, Torres del Paine National Park.
Torres at sunrise, Torres del Paine National Park.
Perito Moreno Glacier.
