The lakes district of Chile and Argentina provided the setting and Backroads Active Travel provided the other elements of our trip in December 1998. This was my eighth and Pat's ninth trip with Backroads. Over eleven years, the quality of the trips has kept getting better. These are not budget tours. They are designed for people who take their vacations seriously. People who want something different. People who want a physical workout interrupted by rejuvenating luxury. Chile is a long, narrow country. About two thirds of the way down, it gets even narrower. South of that point, all the way to Cape Horn, the western part of Chile consists of islands. At the point where it gets narrower, there is a natural harbor and the city of Puerto Montt. Our flight from Santiago lands at the Puerto Montt airport. Instead of going south into town, we go north about 20 kilometers to Puerto Varas. The city is a port on Lago Llanquihue, the largest lake entirely in Chile. Pat and I and several other have arrived a day early to reset our body clocks -- we are now five hours earlier than Los Angeles. Over the years we have developed a group of friends who enjoy traveling together. On this trip there are six of us out of a total of 16. By pre arrangement, four of us meet and stroll into town.
Day One: We meet Dylan Reeves, one of our guides at the hotel. There is a quick round of introductions and then a walk uphill to a park where Haley Cheshire, our other guide has a great picnic lunch waiting for us. Orientation including an introduction to the day-by-day, turn-by-turn description of our route for the next ten days, lunch and a view of Puerto Varas and the lake. Back to the hotel to get our bikes and helmets properly adjusted. You can bring your own bike, but on this trip, all of have rented Backroads' bikes. Then we take a ride around town to test the fit of the bikes, see if we can follow our printed instructions and get a some experience with unpaved roads. Everyone gets back safe and sound. Most dinners are included. Tonight we walk to Merlin Restaurant. The owner is in Santiago receiving an award for the best restaurant outside of Santiago. This is a very nice way to start our trip. Day Two: Our first real ride. We put our bags outside the door before breakfast; they will be in our rooms at the next hotel this evening. At breakfast, Dylan and Haley give us a "route rap" about today's ride: road conditions, things to see and do, and the time dinner will be served. Dylan will drive the van, take our luggage to the next hotel, and then patrol the route with water, snacks and rides if necessary. Haley will ride "sweep" on her bike. She assures us that she will do whatever it takes to get us all to dinner tonight. For the rest of the trip, the guides will switch roles every day. The group spreads out quickly. Pat and I are new to riding on unpaved roads so we are slower than most of the others -- we try to kid ourselves that we are just being more cautious. Besides, we are on vacation. Our only objectives are to enjoy the ride and be on time for dinner. Every group has one or more "macho" types that set the pace. One of ours is Ted. Dylan has dropped off the bags and is patrolling in the van when we meet him. He tells us there is a black Lab just up ahead that ran with Ted most of the way to the next hotel. The Lab rode back in the front seat of the van with Dylan. Around the next corner, the Lab runs out to greet us. She is obviously ready for another run. For the next few kilometers, Pat and I bicycle and the Lab runs, barks at cows, and chases a rabbit. We stop for lunch and the Lab joins us for a drink and part of Pat's lunch. Haley stops briefly and then takes off like a bat and the Lab is up for the challenge. The next time we see the Lab, she is in the front seat of the van on her way home. Is that a good definition of a dog's life? Today's ride is 37.5 kilometers, 24.7 of it on dirt road. At the end of the day, some of our strongest riders admit to waking a few hills on the dirt road -- short, but steep and hard to get traction. The instructions offer options for additional kilometers on short days and van rides on long days. (You can always ask for a lift.) This is a short day so there is an option: keep going for an additional 40.7 k -- outbound on dirt and back on pavement. John, 72, our senior member and Kira, 30, our youngest and Ted do the addition. Several others do variations. Most of the group opts for a shower, cold beer and view of the lake. Day Three
We ride out of the hotel, coast down hill to town, pedal a few blocks on the flat and then UP HILL. Hey, I'm not warmed up yet! I'm warmed up by the time I get to the top. There are three volcanoes that dominate the scenery in this area: Osorno which looks like a transplanted Mt. Fuji, Tronador and Puntiagudo. The snow capped volcanoes are exclamation points in the scenery. The view changes gradually as we follow the west side of the lake and then curve across the north end. Yesterday and today, high clouds dull our photos, but not our view. The clouds thicken and then it rains just enough to justify stopping for rain gear. If you don't need to wear glasses, have a good rain jacket, and can get a warm shower and dry clothes at the end of the day, rain is just a nuisance. The rain lasted about 20 minutes and then we put our jackets back in our packs. We leave the highway and take a dirt road down to the lake. There is a picnic ground were we stop for lunch and a van ride to the next pavement. As we ride, the sky gets darker and darker. Just as we get to the end of the pavement, it starts to rain -- great excuse to duck into a little grocery store for an ice cream and wait for the rain to stop. Several others join us, several hardy ones take on the gravel and the rain. The van stops just before the rain does. pictures pictures2
Lyon, Popanz & Forester home | LPF Adventure Updated January 16, 1999
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