14. Cerro Castillo – Puerto Tranquilo

The impending road closure between Cerro Castillo and Puerto Rio Tranquilo dominated our thoughts as we prepared to set off. Still aching from the sharp descent, the thought of battling uphill, ripio and roadworks (or indeed waiting for the road closure, and then attempting to find a wild camp when most options looked like they might be shut) was not appealing. However, only cycling 14km almost didn’t make it worth taking the tent down! We were glad to have spent another night in the boutique campsite, partly to use the more upmarket showers but also to chat to a British couple in their early 50s who in the space of the year had given up their jobs, moved from London where they had spent the last 25 years and were in the process of setting up a hot chocolate shop in Penny Bridge, Yorkshire with their recently graduated son. They had also bought a larger house in Penny Bridge, which was ‘something to think about when they got back’. All this hadn’t stopped them from their preplanned tour of Chile in a hired minivan. On the cold and windy hillside camping spot, we salivated over their descriptions of single origin chocolate bars melting in warmed frothed milk. A cycle ride to Pennybridge is very tempting on our return!

All packed up, the ride out of town was on the best road surface we had ever ridden on, smooth cement, with almost 3D-like road painted directions; it almost required sunglasses. Given that we knew that the road was almost non-existent ahead, this seemed rather OTT in the circumstances. It did make the hill out of town, and accompanying headwind, slightly easier to accomplish. 14km later, the picturesque farm buildings, tent shelter from the headwind and a fence lined with colourful fluttering flags came into view, it wasn’t too hard to persuade us that this was a pretty good rest stop, and potential taxi option over the roadworks. A pickup truck parked in the middle of the farm also looked promising for carrying bicycles.

We met the owner who showed us to a wooden camping shelter at the far end of the site and then the toilets and a nice refugio with large open fireplace. After dropping off our bikes and having some food we attempted to ask the owner whether the pickup was his and he might be able to take us through the roadworks tomorrow. He said he had a meeting in Cerro Castillo in the morning but could take us beforehand at 8am for £30. Very relieved, we thanked him and agreed, setting our alarms for 6am. During lunch in our little shelter we were invaded by a hen and her numerous chicks, trying to escape the wind. Before long they were hopping around our panniers, inside both tent porches and jumping up on the picnic bench trying to find food. Whilst very cute to watch we began to worry about hygiene and shooed them away with difficulty. Given the upcoming early start we went for a nap in the tent, after which the chicks reappeared en masse, and once again we were surrounded. Robbie’s impression of a puma did little to scare them away and it took Hannah several minutes chasing and chivvying to send them on their way.

After this excitement, we both showered and dressed for dinner. Bending down to pick up his jumper, Robbie felt a sharp prick on his neck and looked down to see a small wasp fall to the ground. The sting grew surprisingly painful and antihistamine cream did little to help. We gathered up dinner kit slowly and headed to the refugio. On the way, the owner called us over and apologized but said that he could no longer take us up the road tomorrow. Worried, we asked if we could go after the road reopened at 5 and he eventually agreed. It would mean some late ripio cycling to make it to the next available campground and the weather looked mixed, but various wild camp options were available, and it meant more sleep beforehand.

In the refugio we met an Australian couple traveling by car, doing their expenses and cooking a chilli, a good fire now roaring away in the hearth. We chatted and took over the enormous stove from them to do quinoa with tomato sauce. They mentioned a good short walk up a hill behind the farm, which sounded good for tomorrow morning. They planned to do the multi day hike around Cerro Castillo tomorrow and we filled them in on park information. After dark we traipsed back to our respective tent/overlander, wondering what tomorrow would have in store.

After a bit of a lie in, we ate and set off up the hill to the Mirador, the farm collie excited to join us and leading the way. After a steep but relatively short climb up a good path we found a bench overlooking the mountains to the northeast, including a distant view of the Cerro Castillo. Hannah tried it some time lapse photography whilst Robbie tried the drone before deciding it was too windy to risk it.

We descended easily through lenga woods, dog still in tow, before striking camp and preparing for our lift. We decided to have a hearty lunch of the remaining polenta in readiness for a late arrival this evening. At 3pm Hannah realised part of her camera case was missing, likely having fallen off up the hill when attaching the camera stand. Robbie jogged back up the hill to have a look, the collie hardly believing his luck at a second hill climb that day, this one at high speed. Alas the case was nowhere to be seen, presumed blown away into the trees below and there was little time before or lift was due to go.

Robbie returned down gloomily, we made our peace with the sacrifice and wheeled our bikes over to the pickup. After a few attempts, we managed to squeeze bicycles and the panniers into the truck and set off to the west with our host driving. Soon we were back on ripio, which deteriorated quickly as we entered the widely braided Rio Ibanez valley. We began climbing after a while, passing the occasional car through a cloud of dust. The road surface deteriorated further as rain began to fall heavily and our driver shrugged and cried “Patagonia” in his deep voice.

Before long we met signs for roadworks ahead and quickly entered an apocalyptic scene of JCBs and trucks clearing huge piles of rubble created by the explosions attempting to widen the road that forced the daily closures. Thanking heavens we weren’t cycling through this, we saw a poor cyclist whose bike looked to be in pieces who tried to hitch a lift. We turned him down and pushed on until the road disappeared entirely in front of us. A JCB stood in front of a huge pile of rocks and we waited for 20 minutes whilst it moved then one by one to create just enough room for a car to squeeze through.

After our agreed 30km, and now through the works, our driver pulled over and helped us remove our bikes. It was 5.30 but the rain had had stopped for now and we were overjoyed to have made it through. The road also looked much better and the route ahead was more down than up. Bike front wheels reattached we bent our mudguards back to shape and set off into the evening.

The ride proceeded west gently uphill along dirt road through thick deciduous forest and we made good progress. The roadworks meant lighter traffic and even the resumption of rain didn’t dampen our spirits. We passed a couple of wild camp sites before reaching the hill top after 20km with mountain views ahead. It was 7pm but we still felt good and sailed downhill, into the wind and rain. At the bottom the route turned south and out of the wind as we entered the Rio Murta valley. The rain also stopped and we pushed on along rolling hills and deteriorating ripio.

As dusk grew, we realised Hannah’s dynamo lights had stopped working, and so Hannah donned head torch instead, with Robbie providing a rear light behind. By now our hearts were set on the Dona Dora campsite and with only 15km left it began to feel possible even with dwindling light. Traffic was almost non existent and we were supported along by the sound of bull frogs croaking by the river alongside us.

By 9pm it was dark in the steep sided valley and Robbie’s bright dynamo light swept back and forth on the road ahead as we stumbled over rocks as quickly as we dared. It felt a little like the motorbike scene from the Snowman animation, without the flying. At last a sign for Dona Dora 1km ahead appeared out of the night and we arrived at the gate with enormous relief. We unlatched the gate and pushed our bikes inside and down a long path towards a faint light. A dog barked and a torch appeared to meet us, held by a tiny mature woman (for scale, she barely reached Hannah’s shoulder). She commented on the time with a kind smile and led us 100 m to a little refugio. She showed us inside and said we could erect our tent by the fireplace indoors given how cold it was. We could have hugged her as we thanked her greatly and got set up, warming our hands slowly. Quick oaty soup for dinner and we collapsed in bed, delighted to have made it across and to such a lovely welcome.

Wednesday dawned sunny, and we awoke in good time to clear away in case others needed space in the refugio. In fact we were joined for breakfast by only one other Argentinian couple and after a shower we packed up leisurely. Hannah was also able to chat to a lovely Brazilian couple who were in the process of converting an old cattle ranch in southern Brazil into a permaculture site. Having focused on this for the last 3 years, they had converted their truck into a camper van and were on their first proper holiday but also using the time to visit more established agricultural projects for inspiration. An inspiring couple!

Later in the morning, we cleaned and oiled our bike chains and Robbie took some photos with the drone, which we promised to post on Dona Dora’s Facebook page. We set off around 12 and headed south with a tail wind towards Puerto Rio Tranquilo. Our route continued to follow the Rio Murta initially and we made steady progress on mixed ripio. However the previous day’s good fortune couldn’t last and after an hour Robbie came to a crunching halt with his first flat tyre. A rear one yet again took some time to fix, but the softer replacement tyre made it somewhat easier than before. Job done we trundled on eventually arriving at the confluence of the river with Lago General Carrera. Emerging from a long tree-lined straight with bows forming a tunnel over the road, we caught a glimpse of the lake, an incredibly bright shade of aquamarine stretching off into the distance.

The rest of the afternoon comprised 24km of rolling hills along the western lake shore, with stunning vistas across the water. It was hard going but with plenty of distraction and soon we arrived at the steepest hill, paved with bricks to enable traffic to climb. For us, it was a walking push only, but we were grateful for a solid road underfoot, however short lived. The landscape felt positively Mediterranean as we pootled down into Puerto Rio Tranquilo, a village which just about lived up to its name, other than the myriad tour vendors pedalling boat trips to the famous marble caves. We were in no rush to book these, keen instead to investigate the Exploradores glacier valley, and with the sun disappearing to the west we sought out the Rio Chirifo campsite, which had good reviews on Ioverlander.

A quick tent pitch and we headed into the marquee refugio to cook dinner of pasta with asparagus soup and soy mince, amongst a crowd of outdoor types overlooking their MSR tents. Fed and watered, we wandered back to the waterfront to the only cerveceria in town to try some negra beer (very good) and chocolate cake (clearly shop bought). The section from Cerro Castillo to Rio Tranquilo, which had been worrying us for some time, was complete and we slept like logs that night.

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