How low can we go.
- Thread starter gspod
- Start date
We had decided that our furthest southern destination was going to be the end of the Caraterra Austral which is the, brilliantly named, Villa O’Higgins - a short ride from Tortel.
We had heard some bad reports of the final road but in the end it was probably the best section! There was a ferry ride involved too and the views during the day were some of the best of the trip.
Next day we turned around and rode back to Cochrane. Unfortunately we’d missed the early ferry so photo stops were not frequent.
From Cochrane we left the Caraterra Austral and went on to the R265 alongside Lago General Carrera. The route was stunning but tough with long sections of deep gravel and a few gnarly hairpins - not that difficult but tiring on a couple of loaded adventure bikes.
We rolled into Chile Chico with a great sense of achievement and ready for a day or two rest.
We had heard some bad reports of the final road but in the end it was probably the best section! There was a ferry ride involved too and the views during the day were some of the best of the trip.
Next day we turned around and rode back to Cochrane. Unfortunately we’d missed the early ferry so photo stops were not frequent.
From Cochrane we left the Caraterra Austral and went on to the R265 alongside Lago General Carrera. The route was stunning but tough with long sections of deep gravel and a few gnarly hairpins - not that difficult but tiring on a couple of loaded adventure bikes.
We rolled into Chile Chico with a great sense of achievement and ready for a day or two rest.
Your photos are just stunning.
Thanks
the signpost on page 8
scary that you were closer to antarctica than brazil
scary that you were closer to antarctica than brazil
So we were finally heading for home and that meant riding a lot of pampas (desert scrub) to Buenos Aires.
However, we still had Argentinian Patagonia to see and, like the rest of Patagonia, it’s beautiful.
It took 2 days riding through ‘pampas’ to get there but we did find a couple of nice places to stay.
The Argentinian side of Patagonia is much more accessible than the Chilean side so has more of a holiday feel to it, we stayed in a nice ‘Adventure Town’ called Esquel - Skiing in winter and rafting/hiking in summer.
However, we still had Argentinian Patagonia to see and, like the rest of Patagonia, it’s beautiful.
It took 2 days riding through ‘pampas’ to get there but we did find a couple of nice places to stay.
The Argentinian side of Patagonia is much more accessible than the Chilean side so has more of a holiday feel to it, we stayed in a nice ‘Adventure Town’ called Esquel - Skiing in winter and rafting/hiking in summer.
From Esquel we popped to Trevelin, one of the Welsh villages of Patagonia.
From Esquel we had a lovely, if chilly, ride to Villa Mascardi.
Where we found a campsite with cabins surrounded by mountains and lakes. It’s the end of the season and the cabin was a bargain which we couldn’t afford in high season so instead of our planned 2 nights we stayed 4 and had look around the local area, including a 30 mile off road ride up to a volcano which was pretty spectacular.
From Esquel we had a lovely, if chilly, ride to Villa Mascardi.
Where we found a campsite with cabins surrounded by mountains and lakes. It’s the end of the season and the cabin was a bargain which we couldn’t afford in high season so instead of our planned 2 nights we stayed 4 and had look around the local area, including a 30 mile off road ride up to a volcano which was pretty spectacular.
We left Villa Mascardi to ride a route called the road of the seven lakes - it is an area that Argentinians comes to, when they finish their schooling, for an outdoor, adventure holiday and it is quite spectacular.
However, we stopped for lunch at a scenic spot and Amanda’s bike would not restart. It was a Sunday so no mechanic was available.
A big feature of this trip has been the warmth and kindness of the South Americans and yet again they didn’t disappoint. A lady in a catering van walked around the car park asking for help. An amazing Bolivian family, living and travelling in a tiny camper van, who were parked up for the night, said they would keep an eye on the bike. The dad was a lawyer working remotely and spoke perfect English and acted as an interpreter for us.
There was a gorgeous, luxury hotel 500 metres away so we booked in a made use of the jacuzzi bath
.
As luck would have it there was a Royal Enfield mechanic in the next town who came out the next day and picked the bike up. Early diagnosis was a knackered alternator so we thought our luck had run out - Argentina has some serious import problems and there was no alternator in the whole country.
On further investigation, it turned out, that all the vibration from rough roads had caused the battery cells to collapse so a new battery was fitted and off we went.
The route was spectacular and we pulled into the beautiful town of San Martin de los Andes. The area is reminiscent of the Italian lakes but without the people and traffic.
San Martin has a small Che Guevara museum, as he stayed here on his famous motorcycle tour of South America, so we paid a visit
.
However, we stopped for lunch at a scenic spot and Amanda’s bike would not restart. It was a Sunday so no mechanic was available.
A big feature of this trip has been the warmth and kindness of the South Americans and yet again they didn’t disappoint. A lady in a catering van walked around the car park asking for help. An amazing Bolivian family, living and travelling in a tiny camper van, who were parked up for the night, said they would keep an eye on the bike. The dad was a lawyer working remotely and spoke perfect English and acted as an interpreter for us.
There was a gorgeous, luxury hotel 500 metres away so we booked in a made use of the jacuzzi bath
.As luck would have it there was a Royal Enfield mechanic in the next town who came out the next day and picked the bike up. Early diagnosis was a knackered alternator so we thought our luck had run out - Argentina has some serious import problems and there was no alternator in the whole country.
On further investigation, it turned out, that all the vibration from rough roads had caused the battery cells to collapse so a new battery was fitted and off we went.
The route was spectacular and we pulled into the beautiful town of San Martin de los Andes. The area is reminiscent of the Italian lakes but without the people and traffic.
San Martin has a small Che Guevara museum, as he stayed here on his famous motorcycle tour of South America, so we paid a visit
.
We said goodbye to Patagonia. I’ve read so much over the years about places that are called motorcycle paradise - Patagonia really is.
5 days to cross Argentina to Buenos Aires. We followed the Rio Negro for the most part which is a fertile strip growing mostly apples and pears. From Bahia Blanca we crossed the Buenos Aires province which is a flat, fertile area, larger than Italy.
With heavy hearts we dropped the bikes off at the airport but the trip had one more high to give us and that was Buenos Aires. We stayed in the nice city area of Palmero Soho. BA is an exciting, fantastic city with touches of Paris, Milan and Madrid plus a London style west end.
Tango shows, historic walks, music bars and, of course, assado
Once back in England we extended the trip a little by visiting family and friends in the south east for a couple of weeks.
5 days to cross Argentina to Buenos Aires. We followed the Rio Negro for the most part which is a fertile strip growing mostly apples and pears. From Bahia Blanca we crossed the Buenos Aires province which is a flat, fertile area, larger than Italy.
With heavy hearts we dropped the bikes off at the airport but the trip had one more high to give us and that was Buenos Aires. We stayed in the nice city area of Palmero Soho. BA is an exciting, fantastic city with touches of Paris, Milan and Madrid plus a London style west end.
Tango shows, historic walks, music bars and, of course, assado
Once back in England we extended the trip a little by visiting family and friends in the south east for a couple of weeks.
Top class report guys,well done.
Quality pictures and pointed detail throught to keep our attention.
Quality pictures and pointed detail throught to keep our attention.
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