...And so I left Santiago on the night bus. Damian and Cata were there to see me off for the second time having missed the bus the previous night.
Bike was semi boxed and thrown in with other baggage.
Arriving in Puerto Montt on a rainy Tuesday morning.
Assembled the bike at the station and rode to the harbor office where from I would need to catch a ferry to connect to the road furter south.
The ferry left the following night. I stayed at a guesthouse overlooking the fishmarket.
It was still raining when we arrived in Chaiten. I´d been warned of this and took it without surprise, despite not having seen rain for many months. The rain only made the bleak town seem even more grey. Chaiten was burried in ash during a major eruption from a nearby volcano in 2008. Most houses are still semi submerged in a grey mass and the streets are left to deterouate under the occational roaming dog and few inhabintants which are still around. I cooked breakfast in the shelter of an abandoned shop.
Stepping off the small ferry a half hour before I'd seen two penguins shoot out of the water - and now sitting in this burnt out town a new chapter had begun.
The first part of the ride south was fairy easy. Raining on and off. The asphalt soon ended the first hills began to appear. The muddy surface and steep climbs made it for a difficult introduction. I sleept the first night exausted in the back of an abandoned farm building. Both knees were sore and I put the lack of having biked the previous month to blame.
The following day went easier - though starting with a minor crash into the ditch, coming down a steep hill. Despite the terrain and weather having improved my left knee keep getting more and more sore as the day progressed. At night I had difficulty walking and tried resting in the tent with out bending it.
It was worse the following mornig - having now swelled to twice the size of my right one. In a village not too far away I found a guesthouse and room where I could rest till the swelling was gone and I could continue. After three days and very slow progression I weighed my options.
The conclusion - if I was to make it to Punta Arenas or Puerto Williams to catch a connection to Antarctica before it became too late into the season I would need to find another method of travel. My hope of seeing the end of the road from my bike would have to wait.
I repacked my things, turning my daypack into my travel/hobo sack, with things hanging off in all direction. And began walking down the road. I was determined to hitch as far a possible. This method got me to Coihaique where I met Drew - It would be a waste to describe the following days as he has already done so, so perfectly:
http://www.dmerryman.com/2010-11-10-the-vastness-from-a-truckbed/So I left for Villa O'Higgins - end of the road. A landslide had shut down all traffic - however limiting it was. I was dropped at small boat landing where I was told cars would pass when the road had been cleared. 24 hrs later I was sitting in the back of a pickup - the views and weather sublime.
My days in Villa O'Higgins were spent waiting of the ferry, which runs once a week. Its the only exit out of town, when heading south. Its also the begining of a trail which eventually takes you into Argentina after a full hike. I had four days in town, two of which were spent at a refuge in the sourrounding mountains.
