An average week of...

Rude Graffiti 

Set of from Concepcion going to Temuco. Peddled by the coast on a beautiful day. Made it to somewhere between Tres Pinos and Antiguala. A guy by the name of Francisco rode about 7 miles with me on his bmx. He shared some lunch with me. I offered him a biscuit and he put the packet in his pocket. Ach well something lost in the translation of that. Fair enough I had another packet. Camped in a new forestry plantation.

Next day the weather was turning cloudy. Made it to Canete and made an error. Again I took the wrong turning. All was fine until the road stopped and turned in to a forestry track. Checked my map and seen that I had taken the first route east instead of the second. The track actually went to the place I wanted to go and as the crow flies it was a more direct. Fatigue and bad judgment had set in and rather than turning around and undoing 10 miles I was determined to crack the 30 mile track. Eventually I ended up pushing the bike up a near vertical hill for 2 miles. It was getting dark and the mist was setting in so I camped. At about 4 in the morning I made a decision to bite the bullet head back when it was light. Best decision I’ve made although be it an obvious one.

Off I went on the right route and over some serious climbs but at least it was tarmac. Not feeling so well during the first part of the day. Made it to the top of the hill between Bio Bio region and the Araucania region then it was just magic, down hill for miles and miles. I kept thinking I was about to ascend again but no, I just kept freewheeling. Stopped off at a wee shop to buy some bread and water. The man in the shop was very hospitable. He had some form of carne – pig I think - that he put on my bread and gave me a seat to eat one of my pieces. On leaving he gave me a glass of his home brew. He had a huge container of this stuff with froth growing out of the top. He told me, or should I say showed me, it was made out of nectarines and it wasn't alcoholic, tasted delicious anyway, the fermentation gave it a wee fizz. Stopped to camp just short of Los Sauces by some eucalyptus trees.

As I was packing my things a worker in the nearby forest plantation came over for a chat then he radioed another bloke. The only thing I could make out on the radio was Escocia. They told me by the ancient form of ground hieroglyphs that a volcano was exploding down by Puerto Montt, Chaiten I believe. I should be there next week. It was a good ride to Victoria where I joined Ruta 5 once again. Got a puncture, changed inner tube, which reminds me I need to fix it. Stopped off for some diner at service station came out and it was dark but I was fueled up and carried on the rest of the 15 miles to Temuco. Hoteling again, oh the luxury. So here I am in café eating empanadas writing this on my phone. Don't know how long I’m going to stay but I’m itching to get to Puerto Montt.
For the 'one Ron' that wishes to know, here are some co-ordinates.

37º35'10.16"S
73º24'33.23"W

37º47'13.12"S
73º11'58.57"W

NUTTER!!Wot u lookin at!
37º59'31.63"S
72º55'36.44"W