Isla Grande de Chiloé

February 1, 2024

Suddenly we were there. The Carretera Austral (CA). A famed route in the southern tip of the Americas we had been talking about since the beginning of our trip. It passes through fantastic scenery in the heart of Patagonia, and will lead us into the final section of our trip south to the so-called "end of the world", Ushuaia. For the first time, we felt some anxiety: "Final section?! Oh that's scary... this is going too fast!" It is not that we didn't look forward to it, but we weren't ready just yet. So before we knew it, like two scared deer jumping out of the bushes on to a busy road, we hastily crossed and vanished again. Off to return a later day, because here we could still nudge in an interesting detour. A boat trip north took us to Puerto Montt, from where we crossed over to a rural island called Chiloé.

On paper, the island looked easy to travel. Mostly hilly, a mix of asphalt and gravel, and enough camp spots. Though nothing could have been further from the truth. While zigzagging over the island, we were faced with tens of dozens of relatively short, yet incredibly steep climbs. Some even over 20% incline, forcing us again to step off and push our hefty bicycles upward. On top of that, several muddy stream crossings, high humidity, crazy traffic on the highways, and a continues battle with huge mutant horse flies made for a pretty rough cocktail. But we got plenty in return. Riding over the beach. Spotting birds, penguins and dolphins. Eating clams, home-made cheese and "sopaipillas". Seeing fisherman towns with colorful wooden churches typical to the island. A wild ocean against a rocky coastline divided by vast deserted sand beaches, and camping in beautiful bays. What a nice change of scenery. Good times :) Now we are ready for the CA. Just one overnight boat trip plus a day's ride, and we are back at it!

Route: Futaleufú - Chaitén - Puerto Montt - Isla Grande de Chiloé - La Junta