Jan. 4, 2018
Feliz jueves, my internet buddies!
Today can be summed up in one word: divertida! That’s your Spanish word for today. It means fun. I think. Probably. Let’s say it does.
Woke up this morning at 5:30 to be ready to ride by 7. Let’s all understand that means I was actually out of bed at 6:15. I’m not trying to lie about it. I was still ready to roll at 7.
And roll I did. Right back into the drizzly cold. Boo! I left Rio Grande behind and hightailed it to the border 73km away. I was heading back to Chile for the final border crossing of the trip (I believe it has been six total).
As I approached the San Sebastián border crossing something fantastic happened… the skies began to clear and the temps went up. A very welcome change of events.
After the crossing the road is all ripio into Porvenir. A good part of it (at least 40k) is a construction zone and it had rained. Everything had turned to either clay or mud. As long as I could get around the cars I was having an absolutely fantastic time. Being behind someone meant a fine mist of mud, which sucked.
A mist that absolutely covered everything. All of it.
After making it past the wet section the rest of the road was fast, sweeping gravel with not a single car going my way. I saw maybe 5 total, all heading the opposite direction. Absolutely amazing riding along Bahia Inutil.
Because I’d been warned in big, bold red letters to be in Porvenir no later than 1 I made it by 11. I wasn’t even hurrying. The roads were just that much fun to blast down. I even stopped once or twice for pictures.
Unfortunately, and stupidly, I did run out of water. I completely forgot to buy more yesterday. So… slightly parched pulling into town. Oops.
The ferry to Punta Arenas only starts selling tickets at 1, and leaves at 2. I was first in line.
Myself and my new friends – a Swiss couple that are traveling all over the world in an amazing MAN motorhome conversion. They took me in and gave me coffee. Excellent people. Even played with their dog a bit.
Speaking of MAN trucks… there are so many all over around here. Those and similar giant expedition rigs. It’s like Dakar everywhere you turn. Love it.
So, eventually we loaded onto the ferry for the 2.5 hour ride across the Estrecho de Magallanes to Punta Arenas. This was bigger than the last boat, and had food! I got a sandwich, ate it, and promptly passed out.
So there aren’t any photos of the crossing. I took a nap. Sorry, folks. Also, sorry to the other passengers. I’m fairly sure I was snoring.
After that I fueled up, found my hotel, now just doing normal stuff. Which is why you’ll see some “odd” images below. I sort of wanted to share a bit of the daily routine, too.
Things like hosing off your waterproof luggage in the shower. Doing laundry while you shower. Things like that. A few shots I just happened to like. Some pics of random gear. A few people have asked what I have been lugging around. I’ll have to take a shot when I repack everything.
There ya have it, my day today. A very fun day. Only two more riding days left.
Though tomorrow should be pretty amazing as my destination is in the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. Looking forward to that immensely.
Time to walk around, do some sightseeing, and grab dinner.
Night, all.
-Ryan
Jan. 4, 2018 (con’t)
Tonight deserves some extra pictures. I decided to walk around and get dinner.
A cocktail, bottle of wine, and a beer later I’m at a bar the locals frequent.
This is the best.
Ryan Cavalier 