Fiordo Queulat Eco-Lodge to Villa Amengual (Fri 2/19)

Stats:
- 37 miles 
- 3800 feet of climbing
- roadkill ZERO
- rain MUCHO!!!
- wind NONE -- whew, good thing!!

Okay, we spent last nght in the attic and I listened to the Germans until much too late. Of course, we woke up early to the sound of rain. It poured all night long and this morning was no big change....rain, rain, rain. 

We arranged for breakfast at 8:30am and naturally, we are alone as everyone else was STILL in bed. No surprise here!  I took my wool hoodie to breakfast. I washed it last night in the sink --- first washing in a month!  It was still wet and there was a fire built downstairs. While this morning they would have had a cabin for us after someone left, we decided to head south. Yes, it was pouring rain and we were going to ride.  Arn thought he had cracked the code on the weather and micro-climates. We needed to get up and over the pass into the next region. Things are drier and the forecast was better. 

So clad in FULL rain gear --- plastic bags in my shoes, shoe covers, rain pants, rain jackets, and over mittens --- we headed off. We had a good idea of what to expect...about an hour of flat-ish ripio followed by a series of steep switchbacks up to a pass (17-ish switches in total).  This data was communicated by a fellow cyclist (read: perhaps a reliable source).  The man working at the Eco-Lodge said that from the pass, we have a very long descent for most of the rest of our day into the next town (read: he is a motorist living in the area for 18 yeas and maybe he has knowledge).

It rained on and off and on and off. The mountains were shrouded in low hanging toufts of fog. It looked like a scene from "How someone killed a cyclist on the Carretera?". It was eery and beautiful at the sametime. The plants would have told you that this was the rainforest. The rain just underscored that fact. The birds and frogs seemed especially pleased with the day and the sounds were a huge part of our experience. The road got very narrow and felt like a jeep trail at times. Again, it was part jungle, part Candian Rockies. Through the low clouds, we had peeks to the mountains aboves --- huge, towering, forceful mountains wrapped in glaciers. It was so freaky this combination of ice and ferns, jagged peaks and jungle.

We had been on the bikes for nearly and hour when we reached the start of our climb.  Up until this point, we had not seen a car on the road --- how was that for no traffic! At the base, there was a short walk to a waterfall. We took it and it was THUMPING!  You could see the river round a corner, pop off a few good rapids, and then drop --- bombs away. It was pretty cool.  Okay, we scarfed some chocolate and started up the grind. 

For me, it was a granny gear grind. I am sure Arn pushed his middle chain ring. The ripio was pretty good and only the corners of the switchbacks were really tough. We passed a few cars, but everyone was courteous.  It continued to rain then stopped and then rained again. I found it annoying as I am greedy and I wanted to know what was hidden behind the veils of fog and low clouds. Much to my surprise, Arn had a differetnt perspective. He kept repeating, "Isn't this cool?  Don't you think this is great? We are seeing it like it is most of the time!  Hey, check out that waterfall on your left!! Oh, see that one on the right -- it is even better!". I have to admit it. I kind of wanted to tell him to button it up -- I hate riding wet; especially wet to the bone. And while I could see his point, I missed the glowing feeling that comes from the sun on your back. I also have to admit, all this rain had set this landscape into action.  The rivers and creeks were thumping. While on a sunny day you might call a stream, "babbling", this was "thumping". It was ground vibrating kind of stuff and there was water EVERYWHERE!!!  We couldn't keep up with the "hey, see that waterfall" and " look high left at that one". They were everywhere. 

It was somewhere along his point that I started to feel like I was riding in deep sand. I looked down to discover a flat tire on my rear wheel. In pouring rain and on a switchback road, this was not good news. Being optimistic, I pumped air into the tire and we continued. We checked it again in 10 minutes and it seemed okay. After another 20 minutes, we reached an incredible pullout along the road. From one spot, we saw in excess of 25 waterfalls going at the sametime. I know, you think I making this shit up. But really, I was pumping more air into the tire and I had time to count. It was again a surreal sight. With the climb not over, we continued --- in the rain. And again I heard, "Isn't this so cool?"  Arn scouted so many rapids in creeks and rivers that I wad not sure if he was on the bike or dreaming of his kayak. In all honesty, I was dreaming of sunshine and dry clothes. 

After crossing the pass, we began the downhill. It didn't take long until I grew cold. We stopped for more clothing and to put more air in the tire. Yes, this was a lot of pumping, but we were trying to milk this baby over the pass to a covered spot to deal with a tube change. 

We finally reached the end of the descent and for the first time in many days, we returned to ASPHALT!!! Sweet baby Jesus this stuff was awesome. The rain stopped and we decided it is time to change the tire. We took all the gear off the back end of my bike, pulled off the wheel and began the process. As Arn got the repaired wheel back on the bike, it started to rain. We scarfed down some chocolate cookies with orange filling and took off again. 

Now, remember that guy at the lodge that said,"it is a long downhill after the pass"??? This guy doesn't understand how gravity works. Our road followed the river --- upstream!! We were going against the current which means only one thing. We were climbing again!  This went on and on and on and on. There was nothing like riding wet, in the rain, and looking miles into the distance to seeing your road follow the same freaking river. Never trust anything a motorist tells you about a road -- distance, elevation profile, grade, or surface conditions. Never ever. 

Finally, we passed what looked like two new bus stops. They were covered and offered protection from the rain. We have joked that we feel it is very possible we will spend a night in a bus stop before this journey is over. Today, we stopped for lunch. We scarfed down bread and cheese. Have you noticed the pattern?  All of today's food was scarfed. Once you are wet on a bike, you don't want to cool down. It is too hard and exhausting on your body to warm back up. Repeatedly cooling and warming will leave you much more exhausted than just continuing to move.  It is all about staying warm. So, with about 10 miles to go, we were off again. 

Now, the road also seemed to want to make sure that we didn't get cold. In the distance, we saw a truck make a few switchback turns on a place well above us, cut into the mountain. With about 6 miles to town, this was the "final insult" of the day. It was a steep grade that went on and on and on. 

Finally, we saw town!  As we rode in, we were greeted by the three remaining riders in the "posse" --- Shauna & Jullian from Canada and Phillipe from Austria!  We never expected to find the wild campers in town. They were so wet after their ride the previous day, they checked into a hosteria to dry out. The weather was so bad when they woke up today (the day we have just ridden), they decided to take the day off and hang out.  

Arn and I found a place to stay for the night and unfortunately, we were not at the place with the posse.  After cleaning up and trying to hang two bushel baskets full of wet clothes, we took a walk around town.  The "supermercado" was about the size of a gas station snack center in the US. We canvased our options and bought two ice cream bars, some raisins and a roll of paper towels.  We continued our walk through town. Some people kept sheep in their front yard. Some kept chickens. One person had the hide of some large animal draped over the fence with the hoofs still on it. It appeared to be "drying out" from a recent slaughter. Near one yard, a black kitten charged about to greet us. While we attempted to pet it, the kids came up and explained it was "Pepe" and it sounded like he had escaped. The kids scooped him up and took him home. 

We rejoined the posse for wine and dinner. The soup, potatoes, and salads were great. The meat remains a mystery, but was eaten by all.  After dinner, there was a fiesta in town celebrate the town's 27th Anniversary. Of course, the 5 of us decided to attend. Kids were dressed in traditional costumes and danced. Let me tell you, if I were a 12 year old boy, I would have taken any kind of dance lessons to get the chance to wear spurs like that!  The kids were really cute. Sitting in the bleachers, the little boy next to me asked if I was from Argentina. When I explaIned the United States, his eyes grew wide. 

Arn and I are not late night party people. So, we made plans to meet the posse in the morning to ride of out town together and we returned to our hosteria. The party we left continued until well past 1am and we could hear it from our room. After it ended, the owner and her family cotinued the party in our hosteria until well after 3am. It was a lousy night of sleep and in a lousy place. Each time we returned to the room, we said, "this place smells really bad and it doesn't smell like wet cycling gear".  It probably explains why the window was open when we arrived. We knew something was funky when the toilet plunger was stored in the shower (common bathroom down the hall --- we haven't had a private bathroom in a while).  Luckily, we pulled out our own sleep sheets and sleeping bags. Note to self: tomorrow we need a room without cockroaches AND that doesn't smell!!!  We need some standards!!!