A 3 week adventure on world's most beautiful road starting in Puerto Varas and ending in Villa O'higgins.
Sometimes you do things that end up having a huge impact on the rest of your life. Cycling the Carratera austral in Chile was one of those things for me.
The Carratera Austral is a road trip through Chilean Patagonia. The road is the main road connecting Puerto Varas with southern most village O'Higgins. A 1300km road trip through wild and undisturbed Patagonia. The first 600km is still paved with flowing tarmac, the second half is where the fun starts. As you dive deeper in Patagonia you are surrounded by wild rivers, mountains, and gravel roads.
Leg 1: Puerto Varas to Coyhaique
I have to admit, I didn't know the Carratera Austral existed before I met Lucas in Puerto Varas. I had been travelling through South America for a few months and had found myself in Chile trying to figure out what I wanted to do next.
I had a job offer to come work in a cocktail bar of a good friend of mine in Amsterdam. A really cozy rumbar, a job I'd always been keen to have so this offer was a good opportunity. As I was talking to Vanessa, a girl I'd met in the hostel, about what I had done so far and debating wether I should take the job or keep travelling, Lucas joined our conversation. He overheard me talking about cycling through France and asked if I was going to cycle the Carratera austral. ''The what?''
I said I couldn't because my idea was to travel a bit through Chile and then fly back to Amsterdam to get the job. We drank a couple of beers talking about bike packing and the Carratera and then I went to bed because I had to get up early the next day to take a bus to a small Chilean island for penguins.
I left Puerto Varas to go see the penguins but the idea of the Carratera got stuck in my head. On the bus ride back to my hostel I was thinking about the job, travelling and I had a little panic attack. I didn't want to go back to working in a bar, I wanted to cycle the Carratera and keep going south for a little longer. That same evening I rang up my friend and declined the job offer and booked a bus back to Puerto Varas.
''Lucas! Do you still want to cycle the Carratera together? Let's do it!'' His answer: ''Fuck yes! Let's do it!''
Lucas already had his bike rented and was ready to set out in two days after I came back. I contacted the bike rental and luckily they could get a bike ready on Friday. This meant I would join Lucas a day later in Hornopirén.
From Hornopirén we would take a ferry to a small island, around 10km in length, and then another ferry to the mainland from where Ruta 7 would continue. The challenge was that both ferries were linked and if you'd miss the second ferry we had to wait for 7 hours till the next one. Excited as we were we got on the first ferry and people started talking to us in Spanish. We thought they said someone would help us with a lift to the next ferry so without a worry we got off the boat and waited patiently. Cars left and drove to the next one, more cars got off and no one came to us. But we were so certain that we even took our time to laugh about a car with a massive trailer that got stuck for a few minutes before one Spanish guy really told us again that we had to bike. We had already wasted a good 10-15 min by now and we realised no one would pick us up if we didn't arrange it ourself. We jumped on our bikes and started biking. What followed was a rainy time trial on gravel. Cars passed us honking. When the last car had passed all of our hope of help had also vanished. We kept going with no idea how far we still had to go. A motorcycle with a passenger suddenly stood next to the road and then quickly passed us on the hill that we were climbing. As we rolled down the hill we could see the ferry and without braking we rode onto the ferry. We departed immediately. I'm pretty sure the motorcycle saw us racing and rode back a little to check where we were to let the ferry know.
As we walked up the stairs to the seating area something special happened. A lot of people congratulated us and said it was unexpected we had made it on a bike. Apparently it isn't allowed to cycle that part because no one makes the second ferry. We did, the adrenaline was high and our Carratera had begun in a spectacular way.
After our ferry crossing we finally made it to the mainland and the real Carratera could begin. Unfortunately the weather was not in our favour and it started raining heavily. We would soon realise Patagonian rain is no joke. We only really cycled for 10km that day so we set out to Chaitén anyway. This first day is still one of my favourite days of the whole trip. From the ferry to Chaitén was still 70km and soon after we left the rain started to come down, turning the gravel roads in muddy slippery surfaces. Especially on climbs. (Some people already warned us for ''steep steep hills') Our jackets were soon soaked, our shoes filled with water, and we couldn't see for more than 3 meters in front of our bikes because of the rain. With 15km to go we were looking miserable on our mountainbikes but when a car kept driving behind us we experienced the Carratera Austral vibe. The car stayed behind us averaging 25km/h, turned every light on he had and kept honking and encouraging us to get to Chaitén! As the kilometers went by the car made sure we were getting the support we needed and as we rolled downhill in Chaitén he finally passed us with many shouts of congratulations. Despite of the rain, we couldn't have begun our trip better.
The next days just got better and better. Our clothes didn't dry overnight but after an hour cycling the sun started shining and we could enjoy the amazing Patagonian roads. Everywhere we looked we could see something more beautiful than before. Muddy gravel had changed into smooth and fast tarmac. Before we knew it we had cycled another 80km and had arrived at our campsite. We wanted to wild camp as much as possible but for our first night camping we'd decided to take it easy. Also good to know: we were sharing a small 1,5 person tent. When we made the plan a lot of wine was drunk and we thought It would be okay, now after two days of cycling the spacious ''villa'' looked a lot smaller.
The further we cycled the more in a rhythm both of us got. Every 5 minutes one of us would yell ''omg, this is so beautiful! Look at this'' and it always was more beautiful than what we had seen so far. Roadside breaks were spend with coffee, snacks, and the occasional fear of a new big climb. Our bike organising got a lot better till la point where we could change into rain gear in a few minutes. You need to dress for four seasons in Patagonia and it'll constantly change so being able to quickly change your layers is key to cycling the Carratera. A service of our bike rental was also a quick repair opportunity in Coyhaique if needed. And we needed it badly! After roughly 400km my gears broke. Luckily I was in smaller gears so I could still climb but on flatter sections or descents I couldn't get up to speed. Soon after Lucas his brakes and gears began to show some serious wear too. Not an ideal situation but it happens. We tried fixing it ourselves but eventually had to keep going until we'd reach the service point. I was very happy we were together when you encounter bike issues, it's always easier pushing through together.
In this first paved stretch of the journey every day was a highlight and it is best experienced yourself but there are two key moments in this stage that I remember most fondly.
1. The 5km big climb
Before we would start riding we would occasionally check google maps for upcoming climbs. On this specific day we saw there was one big one, a 5km steep climb after the first 30 kilometers. The day was cold and wet, our fast smooth tarmac had transformed again in bumpy slippery gravel but the spirits were high. We were doing something epic and this would be our first real big climb. Just before we would start the climb we found an old abandoned van that could give us much needed shelter for a quick snack and coffee break. Well rested we started the climb. The rain got colder and the road went up with various hair pins and very steep sections, 10% incline was more often the rule than the exception. With all our bags and weight the back wheel would often lose grip and spin on the steeper sections. To make matters worse the rain got worse and the end was still not in sight. A group of motorcyclists passed by, wearing full rain gear. The higher we climbed the colder it got until after 45 minutes of climbing we finally saw the end of the climb and we were greeted by the group of motorcyclist applauding. Another amazing example of how a journey on the Carratera Austral goes. Yes it is tough, but so rewarding to see that everyone supports each other.
After the climb we went on for another 50km till the nearest warm shelter where we were treated to a hot shower, and a home cooked meal.
2. Wild-camping under a bridge and meeting ''the frenchies''
The Carratera Austral is a popular bike-backing route but because of distances and limited camping places you feel very alone. Me and Lucas had just set up our villa under a bridge, we checked the app ioverlander for good spots to camp, when we saw two other cyclists arrive. Seeing that our villa was already there they decided to camp a few meters back next to the bridge. It felt weird seeing other cyclists but it was very nice catching up and comparing experiences. When we proudly told them about our small tent they quickly replied ''You both sleep in that small tent??!! Why!?'' That night me and Lucas decided it might be time for a second tent when we would reach Coyhaique the next day.
Elodie and Olivier also went all the way to O'higgins and had started around the same time as us. We all built a campfire and had dinner together with some beers from the local shop. As they were from France we named them ''The frenchies'. We ended up meeting up many more times a long the road, riding some sections together and I even got to celebrate my 28th birthday with them weeks after finishing the Carratera. Fellow cyclists met underneath a bridge became very dear travelling friends.
It's hard to summarise all these kilometers in a few paragraphs. Some many things happened. Lunches with amazing scenery, little climbs, sweaty days followed by rain the next day, insanely blue rivers flowing through mountains, and views that got better the further south we went. Coyhaique became the official turning point of this trip, the pavement stopped completely and it became all gravel riding. We knew ''the easy' 'part was over but the best views were yet to come. Bring.it.on.
Stage 1 facts:
9 days of cycling
670km
6800Hm
Breakfasts were wraps with peanut butter and extra nuts
1 broken gear
1 sketchy break
0 flat tires
Endless fun
Amazing! What an adventure!💪