Puyuhuapi to Fiordo Queulat Eco-Lodge (Thurs 2/18)

Stats:
- 22 miles
- 1100 feet of climbing 
- roadkill = zero
- precipitation = rain, rain, rain
- wind = zero while riding

So, we did something that we are now thinking might have been a bad idea. We booked two nights at an ecolodge. They have beautiful cabins along the water and we have booked two nights. Of course, one of those nights is tonight and we have woken up to driving rain. It has rained most of the night. And now the wind is howling.

We are still in the sweet cabana in Puyuhaupi. The couple that runs the place have really taken us in. She has given us a tour of her garden, greenhouse and store that sells handmade items. He has talked about the various woods he has used to build each piece of furniture, the walls and doors in the cabana. Rather than traditional door hinges, he has fashioned a pin and groove type of door hinge from wood. He gave us a tour of his wood stash and work shop. 

So, after a breakfast of eggs, cheese and bread --- we wait. We watch the weather and listen to rain on a tin roof and the howling wind. We wait some more. Now, if you know anything about the two of us --- or more simply, if you know anything about Arn; then you can guess how this is going. We have roughly 20 miles to ride to the lodge. On pavement and free of gear, it would be no big concern. But, this is ripio fully loaded. 20 miles will take well over two hours. With this wind and rain, it could be a real problem. Plus, given the remote nature of where we are, you have to consider the worst case scenario --- something goes wrong with the bike or one of us takes a fall. We wait and wait and then wait some more. Finally, the downpours are further apart and the wind has stopped. We quickly load up and head out. 

From Puyuhuapi, the Carretera Austral (CA) follows the edge of the fiord. Even in light rain, it is a beautiful ride. The plants, trees and flowers remind us we are in a rainforest. The rain seems very fitting. Given the rain, the rivers, streams and waterfalls are all cooking with fresh water. 

After roughly 14 miles, we reach a turn off to go see a hanging glacier. At the turn off, we find one of the "posse" from yesterday. It is the Chilean. He explains that the "posse" did a hike at the hanging glacier. He slipped, fell and injurred his knee. The other three continued south about 45 minutes ago. He is resting and waiting to see if he will feel better. So, we head to see the glacier and decide to skip the long hike. The glacier is impressive and twice we hear huge chunks of breaking ice. After checking out the views, we ride back to the CA expecting to see the Chilean rider gone. Instead, he has taken apart his trailor, changed clothes, and swapped shoes. His knee is too pain to ride and he has decided on a "Plan B". He is going to wait for the bus headed south and ride to the next major city (easily a week away by bike).  He is going to take several days off and see if his knee will improve. It is a big bummer for him. We offer him pain meds and he says he has them. So, we wish him good luck and continue southward.  

The sun tries very hard to warm things up and dry out the rain. We go from a light rain to a moderate rain to sun and then cycle through it all again. We have discovered some new yellow flowers.  The feel of the place is part jungle meets part pacific northwest.  We have discovered that the hoods on our rain jackets will actually fit over our helmets. It keeps us both dry and not too hot. We are very pleased with these jackets. They are a relatively new purchase for cycle touring and biking in foul weather. They are our first purchase of gear from Cabela's. We found them on sale ($90) -- full gortex, seam sealed, fleece around the zippers, lots of pockets, AND a hood that fits over the bike helmet. Arn declares, "These are the best rain jackets - ever!"

Wet, but happy, we arrive at the ecolodge. The barking dogs greet us and a man comes out to see what we want. Arn explains we have a reservation. Well, there has been a mix up and there is no cabin for us tonight. Now, it seems kind of obvious to us standing over our bikes in the rain, wearing rain gear that this is very bad. The man explains the problem with their reservation system --- center office is hundreds of miles away, they don't have a phone, they communicate once a day by radio, we booked via email with the center office, someone else drove up looking for a room, blah blah blah. How do you say "unacceptable" in Spanish???  So, he eventually offers us two small rooms upstairs over the kitchen in the attic. "Over the kitchen" is really not a problem --- it is also over the dining room where the Germans are still sitting around the table laughing and drinking as I write this note getting mauled by mosquitos very late at night. Arn is sleeping in a different room in his twin bed. I am in the slightly larger room in a twin bed with all of our wet clothes drapped around on our laundry lines, hooks and chairs. 

There is a cabin available for us tomorrow night. We are going to see what the weather brings. If we can, we are just going to continue south. What we thought would be two nights and some R&R in a private, secluded and romantic cabin has turned out to be something very different with a very different kind of vibe.