Ruta Cuarenta

Ruta Cuarenta

The all-night van ride from Chaitén to Los Antiguos, at the Argentine-Chilean border, was punishing.  Daniel, the driver, is a man of curved stature.  Not exactly troll-like, but he had a slight slump to the shoulders and broad chest that added to the effect.  His body spoke of physical labor in his past, but now he was part of the tourist economy.  And, as any entrepreneur, he was slightly crazy.  Normally one has to take a bus clear to the Atlantic coast, possibly as far south as Rio Gallegos, in order to head north and east towards Coihaique.  That would double, or even triple, the distance.  There was a more direct route, but none of the long haul buses would travel Ruta 40 (Ruta Cuarenta) and for good reason.

Daniel, on the other hand, drove the 24 - 26 hour round-trip twice a week.  He would drive all night heading north, grab a meal and quick nap, and do the return trip starting in the early afternoon.  He may have been crazy, but he was also conscientious.  Julio (my bike) was strapped securely to the roof rack of the eight-seat Ford truck and inspected carefully, along with the luggage trailer and the rest of the truck, at each stop.  These stops could only be called scenic like you call a war zone beautiful.  Little grows against the battering wind and the unpaved road is only distinguished from the rest of the plains by the occasional marker.

Daniel's headlights expose a patch of road for a couple hundred meters in front of us, the only thing we can see out there.  Daniel prefers to drive at night because he says he can oncoming traffic better.  He knows the road by heart and I eventually I accept the fact that my life is in his hands and try to catch a little sleep.  The constant vibration and noise on that bat-outa-hell drive made sleep hard to come by, but seems to have scared away my toothache and infection.  Who knew?

Some quick notes about folks along the way:

• Chris - from the UK.  Worked as a manager for a translation company before the daily grind got to him. Backpacking for about six months or so, as long as the money holds out.  Met him at Los Glaciares near FitzRoy.
• Kent and Ann - Couple from San Francisco on a Cannondale tandem doing the tip-to-tip trip (Prudoe Bay, Alaska to Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina).  Met them at the Chile Chico border crossing.  They were traveling for a stretch with Ian from the UK (I think) who has bags as heavy as mine!  (Editor's note: amazing what Google can turn up if you have the right search terms)
• Florien - From Germany and pretty much at the end of his trip.  Met in Pureto Ibañez and I'll probably see him again as he recommended an hospedaje in Coyhaique.

I also bumped into the French couple from the Puerto Montt - Puerto Natales boat trip while hiking out of Laguna Torres.  But I didn't realize who they were until about 500 meter later.  I probably gave them the impression of stuck up Americans.  How ironic.

The ride from the van drop-off in Los Antiguos to Chile Chico was uneventful except for a crushing head wind just before I got to town.  Another border crossing, another couple stamps for my passport.  I made the boat to Ibañez, but missed the bus to Coihaique.  The wind continued blowing for the entire ferry crossing until we found the shelter of the port in Ibañez.  It's a tiny lake, but the wind whipped up three to four foot swells.  I went a bit crazy tying down my bike when I should have wedged it into some corner and called it good.  This meant I missed the chance to disembark with the foot traffic, ahead of the cars, and by the time I was off the boat, all the vans to Coihaique had left.  I asked if there would be other vans or buses heading that way, but was told they only come down here to meet the ferry.

Clouds over Lago General Carrera

Good thing I'd put a day of padding into my schedule as I would lose 24 hours right here.  But it gives me a chance to sit by the lake, drink a beer and write.  And take a photo of crazy clouds...

I swapped my bags around a bit so that my camera and random stuff bags are in front and that clothes, stove, tools and tent are in the back bags.  My backpack has my sleeping bag, ThermaRest, sandals, tent poles and my tripod strapped to the outside of it and is lying across my rear rack and bags.  This setup should let me get to my camera easier and let me easily grab that bag should I need to in a hurry.  Hopefully I won't need to take the pack off the rear rack until I get to camp.  Food would go in either on top of the front rack or in the backpack -- I haven't finalized that yet.  Of course I won't get a chance to test this new system for another two weeks.

I dreamed about Joanna last night.  A good dream, for once, rather than the usual starts-out-good, ends-in-disaster dreams that I've been having for the last three or four weeks.  I can't wait to see her.  I suppose my subconscious thinks so too.