We finally arrive at the first border stop, the Argentinian customs. Just before though, we must wait 10 minutes or so at a road block. Some kind of a protest. Very peacful, the guys just held a chain accross the road and told us it will be another 5 minutes.
Going through the customs was quite straight forward. After seeing two officials we were produced with a slip that was to be handed on the way out to a guy in the shack blocking the road. After that we were in no man's land for about 20 minutes, driving through the mountains until we got to the Chilean customs. There it seemed like the officials were on strike. Nevertheless, we were attended to and after a quick check of the luggage quickly ended up back on the road. The crossing runs along the base of Puyehue volcano. The area seemed like a scene from Mars. Cold, dark and grey. However, as we descended into Chile the temperature increased and the green forests emerged. Due to the westerly winds the volcano ash never hit this area, everything got blown over to Argentina. That day we made it all the way to Pucon, a tourist center known for good hiking and thermals. We were hoping to find a campground close to a thermal resort but since it was late we settled for a 6 dollar campground in the city. This included 2 chickens and a rooster guarding our bikes.
Next day in the morning we decided to drive up to the currently active volcano Villaricca. The road going up the mountain however got very rough and after getting stuck we decided to turn back.
On the second day in Chile we pushed further north, mostly along the main national highway 5. After Tucon we diverted West and followed the cost to a town called Buchupureo. The route along the cost was full of surprises. Sometimes paved, sometimes gravel. Ocean view or driving through a logging area. And whenever we weren't sure which way to turn we elected for heading towards the cost. When we finally saw the ocean everyone of us had a huge grin on their face. The beaches on this side of the ocean are huge and undeveloped. The ocean front properties are mostly farm lands and the sand is grey. Once in Buchupureo it was hard to find a place to stay. We found a campground but no one was there so after backtracking for a few minutes we finally spotted a "hotel" with someone inside. The owner turned out to be a very interesting person. Arthuro has been around the world and now settled down here and opened a bed and breakfast. He was very accomodating and gave us 2 rooms for the price of one. His house seems newly built and everything inside was of high quality, especially the mattresses which we appreciated hugly after a night of camping. We woke up to the sound of a rooster which was a perfect time to roll out of bed, have a breakfast and get back on the road. After solf boiled eggs mixed in with crutons and a pleasant chat with Arthuro we set out on our journey. Here is where we stayed
We continued along the cost, our destination - Pichilemu, a town known for good surfing. Somewhere along the way we stopped for lunch at a sea shore restaurant called El Pescador. We were the only customers there and the owners were happy to see us. The lady suggested today's catch, Lisa and Ramenos fish. She ended up serving us 3 pieces each, all for only 20 dollars (for 3 of us)!! After this hearty feast we continued along the cost in search of the surf town. The road was full of surprises again. There were long stretches of beautifuly paved surface of windy road but every now and then we would be back on a dirt road, climbing 45 degree slopes through pine forests or empty fields of stumps. Logging is a huge industry here and we'd be passing a truck full of lumber at least every 2 minutes. Coming down one of these roads we felt quite comfortable and kept a good speed. I was leading, with Charlie right behind me and Travis at the end. When the dirt suddenly turned into soft sand I stopped quickly feering loosing control. Charlie didn't have enough time to slow down and ended up wiping out. Fortunately nothing happened to him and the bike sufffered only minor cosmetic damage. After a quick photo shoot of the first "accident" we continued towards our target. We finally arrived and found a nice "cabana" right beside of a surfing school, ocean front. Cost: $20 each per night!
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