Chile Day 3 and 4

We flew to Temuco and met with our tour guides, drivers, and became familiar with our travel accommodations--the Red Van and Green Van.

After a 2 hour drive we arrived to our hotel in the resort community of Pucon. In many respects Pucon being situated on a beautiful lake it is a lot like Lake Placid or Lake Tahoe except no Starbucks. Pucon is also a very popular vacation destination for the Chileans from the Santiago and places farther north. After checking in to our rooms a good portion of the crew, at this point there were 16 total, met for Cervezas in the lobby prior to piling in to the vans for dinner at a wonderful organic restaurant called Trawen. Dinner for me was Ciervo (venison), pisco sour, a few other adult beverages, and dessert. Best meal so far in Chile. This is also when we met our tour guides and were given a presentation of the rides to follow.

Day 1 of the riding portion of the trip began with a morning of prepping bikes, dialing in the fit, and ensuring they shifted well. For this trip I decided to bring my Litespeed as the tour company did not have a rental bike in my size. For this much riding I am pleased with my decision even if the bike box fees from American Airlines are painful.

Prepping Bikes in the AM

Today's plan was about 35 miles with some add on if desired with a stop at the hot springs and lunch. What a great morning to get on the bikes and the crew rolled out in a long paceline from the hotel toward Cabargua Lake. There was a bit of flexing going on as we were getting to know each other and our abilities.

Riding the Pier on Lake Cabargua

After the first 20 or so miles we turned around and headed toward the hot springs to relax and eat lunch. This part of the had us headed in to the forest and up in the general direction of the Volcano.

Villaric Volcano

The hotsprings were basically too hot. The weather for the day was in the high 80's so the mountain stream behind the Hot Springs was the place to be.

Hot Springs near Pucon

Downtown Pucon

Day 2 was a longer day, 80-90km, with some gentle climbing up in to the hills. Again a hot Chilean summer day with double doses of SPF 55 thanks to my roommate Trent. This ride gently works its way up towards the Volcano and snaked through some small towns and along an amazing river and mountain range.

Day 2 Lunch

 After working our way up a gentle to at times demanding climb of about 4-5 miles we made it to lunch. We really had no choice as we ran out of paved road which happens a lot in Chile! Our guides set-up a great spread with some wonderful Avocado and some staples like cookies and Nutella.

Liza after Lunch

Ready to Roll after snacks!

Trent Riding like its his last

Pacelining

Looking up while riding up

The Canadian Big Dogs--Alan and his Wingman Trent

Day 2--on the way pack to Pucon

We were in Pucon for New Year's eve and made a reservation at the Biergarten restaurant. Elke was our gracious host and she served us a multi-course meal with some amazing White Tomato soup with German beverages and Pisco Sour--definitely not German. Well..................as we approached midnight part of our meal included some bubbly, or something similar, that we hauled with us down to the beach for the New Year's fireworks.

White Tomato Soup Recipe:
Take tomatos (depends on how much soup you want), cook them, and place the tomatos in a clean towel (Culinary Comment: the recipe came from Elke so I can infer cheese cloth) and let them drip out over night. Squeeze a little.  The liquid you get is the base of the tomato soup.

Now add cream and salt, white pepper or/and herbs you like. Heat the soup up slowly. If you like to have a thicker soup you can add starch but be careful the taste of the soup is very delicate.

Local Bubbly--if it was not NYE I could use it to clean my chain ;)

Dinner at the Biergarten

NYE with Elke of the Biergarten on left

Sugar Fix

On the Beach for Fireworks

Amy, Liza, Antonio, Neil in Pimpin' Toques

JOCMO: Just getting on the bike after several days of anticipation and then hammering on Day 2 with Ernesto our Chilean National Champ guide. What a blast to trade pulls with him in 90 degree heat.

Chile Road Trip--first few days

Several months ago a friend of mine from LA invited me on a cycling trip to Chile over New Years and early January. At first I had to assess the budget but I could not pass up the opportunity to do the Have Bike Will Travel thing so I pulled the trigger and pulled out the check book. http://www.ecotours.cl/road-cycling-tours/

The trip began in Santiago for a few days and then we flew to the Lake and Volcano district to begin our 9 days of riding. With the exception of Liza, who invited me, I did not know anyone else on this trip so the whole thing would be one of those slightly out of your comfort zone gigs.

After a day in Santiago walking around, sipping coffee, and having dinner in the arts district a good portion of the crew had returned from the Easter Island pertion (I did not go) and we took a day trip to Valparaiso with a stop at a local organic vineyard.

John, Neil, Amy, and Becky sampling the Vino

 After the vineyard we pressed-on toward Valparaiso for a walking tour of this very active port city. Although a bit touristy as we walked amongst the narrow streets on precipitous hills it was fun to walk a bit and have a pleasant lunch with a Cerveza overlooking the ocean.

Lunch with a view

After lunch we continued the tour of the city and even took a Pittsburgh like incline up one of the hills. We were also witness to a local maliente trying to steal a wallet from another tourist but he was caught in the act and took off running!!

Valparaiso Harbor

After Valpo we returned to Santiago and opted for dinner at one of the trendy restaurants in our neighborhood. Well....................the restuarant had French cuisine and although pretty good many of the group had to send the beef back because it was a bit too rare...................

Mote Con Huesillo--a local favorite and Becky's too

We went for a late night cocktail and dessert. The pic above was recommended by our waiter and it is a very popular treat in Chile. It is wheat, dried peaches, and peach syrup...............all of us tried it and it is an acquired taste.

The next day we were off to Temuco and on to Pucon to begin the riding!!