Okay, after two days of finishing off the ride with some high heart rate hammering with Ernesto my legs were feeling a bit heavy and a touch sore. So today I vowed to enjoy the ride a bit more, chat a bit more, and take some more pics along the way.
Like the previous two days we had some amazing weather this far south of the Equator and it was hot, not a cloud in the sky, and unfortunately no wind or breeze to help cool off. If there is any blessing in the Chilean Summer weather it is no humidity.
We piled in to the Green Van and Red Van and departed Pucon but a few miles out of town we came upon a terrible auto accident and it jammed up traffic for miles. Sadly there were two deaths and the road was closed so we had to take an alternate route. This route took us, and about 100 other vehicles, off on some remote farm roads that were designed for trucks and tractors and not our vans and definitely not the big tour buses that were also looking for alternate routes.
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| Snug Fit--our trailer with bikes in front |
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| Easy on the eyes |
Because of the delay from the accident we made it to our start point for lunch and ride prep about 2 hours late. Much to my disappointment all of the crew opted to shorten the ride that day so we could finish and make it to the hotel in a timely manner. This was kind of a bummer because we had some good roads and awesome weather.
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| Alan and the Lake |
This ride was amazingly scenic along a national park where we did not see a boat besides park rangers. There are a handful of small beaches along the way and since this was New Year's day there were mucho Chileans out enjoying the sun and water--albeit cold water.
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| Jason on the move |
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| Cooling Down on Day 3 |
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| Waiting for all the Riders |
While waiting for all the riders I was able to cruise around a bit and went back to the below river about 1km away. After I took the pic below I chatted with a few Russians (sorry, no pic) that were in Chile for a month to get out of the butt cold winter. They had just finished Kayaking part of the river and were sipping some wine. They offered me some but I told then "I am a beer man" and they laughed and pointed to my stomach and said "where is your belly?".
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| This river fed the lake we rode around |
After an 11km ride on a dirt road we arrived to the hotel.
This place was absolutely amazing..............................really off the beaten path and if a person is traveling to this hotel they are going there to get away and be left alone. The entire place was designed to be quiet, natureal, and unobtrusive to the environment.
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| The Pool |
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| The Hotel Shaped Like a Mushroom |
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| Stream under the center plexiglass |
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| The Volcano Hotel |
Dinner that night was, as expected, awesome but to sit next to Ernesto and talk cycling, high-level performance, and of course PEDs amongst the best in the world was a lot of fun. He is a talented and intelligent man who can really push the big ring
Day 5--no riding today--travel only
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| Behind Huillo Huillo |
We started our day off with a low-stress hike through the forest on catwalks and paths. Some of it was a bit touristy and a lot of banter about the local flora and fauna and it made me wish we were staying another day at this hotel.
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| Cooooold |
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| This water fed the local brewery |
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| Waterfall behind Huillo Huillo |
After the hike we piled in to the vans and were on our way to cross one of the lakes and journey to Argentina. We had about 2 hours to kill waiting for the ferry and I went for a swim...................much to my surprise it may have been 85 degrees and not a cloud in the sky but that lake was damn cold. It was deep and clear blue and I did not see a fish moving. The only way to keep warm was for me to keep moving!
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| Liza and our drivers |
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| The Lake from the Ferry |
The ferry ride ended and back in the vans heading in to Argentina. We stopped for lunch and we took the above photo when we went in to another lake. This time around (that's me in the blue cap) the swim was much more comfortable as the lake was shallow and the swim across it, about 300 yards, was quite refreshing and I actually saw fish. We also were seeing the signs of the ash from the volcano eruption last Summer.
We arrived to San Martin and this town was a clone of Tahoe or Lake Placid. It looked like so many mountain towns in the US so I was a bit disappointed but this is also because of the European influence on the region. But.................the real disappointment is that the hotel did not have AC and our room was a cauldron when we checked-in. They were nice enough to let us switch to a room on the other side of the hotel and out of the sun but it did not matter very much.
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| Appetizer |
Dinner was awesome at an Argentinian steakhouse. Great beer and the above appetizer was worth every Peso.
I had wild boar for the first time since the late 80's.
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| Climbing out of town |
The next day we were back on the bike........yeaaaahhh......................Fernanda had the bad news of 2 flats to get her day going but otherwise it was a cool morning that would warm quickly. We started right off with a 15km climb of about 5 degrees. Rhythmic and a great road.
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| Trent and John |
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| John, Trent, Liza climbing |
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| 90 Degrees outside and a Waterfall |
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| Lunch at a Lake with an Ash Beach |
After the climb we rode along several lakes and here was where we started to see the effects of the Ash from the volcano eruption. The ash was all over the place and several inches deep along the road. When we stopped from lunch the flour-like ash was everywhere and covering your feet and socks.
Total miles for the day was about 40-45 and like other days we just ran out of paved road so I back-tracked a bit to add another ten or so to get me over 50 for the day.
The end of the day had us take an amazing van ride over the dirt road to San Martin. The road was being reconstructed and paved so maybe in 3-4 years there will be another 20 miles of amazing road.....................return trip??
La Angostura was another Tahoe-Like mountain town but because of Ash from the eruption it was almost empty. Our Hotel looked like it saw only a few guests per week and the economy in general had taken a big hit.
So.....................another day in low 90s so I opted for another swim in the lake..............this one was damn cold again so Alan and I did about 500 yards between some buoys and some of the other gang had jumped in as well.
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| View From the Hotel--Nahuel Huapi is Blue from the Ash |
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| Dinner in La Angostura |
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| Chimmi Churri--addictive |
The last pic is Chimmi Churri. A wonderful Argentinian condiment that goes well with almost everything. A dip for bread, pour it over meat or fish, heck almost anything. All of us were hooked and we asked for more everywhere we went. I chatted with one of the chefs at the restaurant and she gave me her recipe and Amy got the below from another restaurant..............it is eerily close to the Chilean Pebre recipe sans the hot peppers.
For the foodies out there the Chimmi Churri from central America is made with cilantro and green onions and no peppers.......
Argentinian Chimmi Churri Recipe
1 kg of Parsley ( think this means "one bunch) or about a cup
4 cloves garlic
--chop the above finely in a processor
Mix the above with 2 level spoonfuls of oregano
add powdered pepper (yellow pepper or red pepper) salt
Add a 3/4 mix to 1/4 mix oil and red-wine vinegar
JOCMO: That climb to start the day reminded me of Skyline Drive in Virginia. Great rhythm and a cool morning.
