chile bicycle touring comments

13/12/2015 Chile Bicycle Touring Comments

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Caryl and Brian's World Bike TourChile Bicycle Touring Comments

Maps

A good set of road maps is produced by the Automovil Club de Chile. There are a total of 5 mapscovering the entire country. Scale is 1:500,000 and it seems virtually every paved and dirt road andtrack is covered. There are some errors in distances and it's not always entirely up-to-date as to what ispaved and what isn't. One complaint we have is that they have no elevation information. You shouldbe able to find these maps at any of their offices at:

City - address - phoneArica - Chacabuco 460 - (58)252678Iquique - Serrano 154 - (57) 413206Chuquicamata - Normac S/N - (55)326443Calama - Avda. Ecuador 1901 - (55) 310604Antofagasta - Condell 2330 - (55) 225332La Serena - Av. Fco. de Aquirre 447 - (51) 225851Valparaiso - 1 Norte 901 - Vina del Mar - (32) 689505Rancagua - Ibieta 09 - (72) 239930Curico - Chacabuco 759 - (75) 311156Talca - 1 Poniente 1267 - (71) 232774Chillan - O'Higgins 677 - (42) 216410Concepcion - Freire 1867 - (41) 312093Los Angeles - Caupolican 201 - (43) 314209Temuco - Sn. Martin 0278 - (45) 248901Valdivia - Garcia Reyes 440 - (63) 250376Osorno - Manuel Bulnes 463 - (64) 255555Pto. Montt - Esmeralda 70 - (65) 252968Coyhaique - Carrera 333 - (67) 215980Punta Arenas - O'Higgins 931 - (61) 243097Santiago - Vitacura 8620 - (2) 2125702

You may be able to get the maps sent abroad by sending them an email at [email protected]. Youcan also buy the maps at the central office of the automobile club of Argentina located in BuenosAires. You might also be able to get help from your own automobile club in getting a copy of themaps. Remember, there is a discount for members of auto clubs in other countries so take along yourauto club membership form if you have one.

A good overall map is the ITM map of southern South America. It covers Argentina, Chile, parts ofPeru, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil. It doesn't have distances and the coloring used torepresent all the hills and mountains can make it a bit difficult to read. But it usually shows all themain roads and towns and it is almost always available in a good book shop in the U.S. In a pinch itworks as well.

There are other maps for sale at the gas stations and some book stores within country. So you don'tnecessariy need to bring maps from out-of-country.

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Health Issues

Water taken from most Chilean town and city taps is potable. Although the taste of the water may notbe particularly good. One exception we found was the Iquique airport. This water is not potable.Mountain spring water can also be purchased in stores and kiosks in 1.6, 2.0, and 5 liter bottles. Agood 5 L bottle seems to run around $2. Water comes "con gas", carbonated, and "sin gas",noncarbonated. If you are taking water from a spring or creek, use the same precautions you'd use inthe U.S. Soda is also readily available stores and kiosks. Varieties sold include Sprite, Fanta (orangeflavor), Coca Cola, Pepsi, 7up, and many local varieties having such unusual flavors as pineapple.Diet versions of the U.S. brands can sometimes be had as well.

Sunscreen is readily available in the "farmacias" in the summertime. We've seen such brands asHawiian Tropic, Vichey, and No-Ad as well as several locally produced brands.

Buses

As with most Latin American countries local buses go absolutely everywhere and are incrediblyfrequent, i.e. every few minutes. Bus sizes range from small vans to fairly large 40 passenger buses.The larger buses have holds below in which you could put a bike if you had the handle bars turnedand pedals off. It seems that the cargo holds don't get used that much on local buses so there usually isplenty of room. Placards on the front of the bus will indicate where they start, where they end, wherethey stop, and how direct they are. The fastest buses will usually have a placard saying "autopista" andwill be the most expensive option. For example, a direct autopista bus from Melipilla to Santiago cancost from $900 to $1000 pesos, about $1.50 U.S. each way for a distance of 65 km. With thistransportation, camping outside of major cities, such as Santiago, and then taking the bus into town tovisit is a very attractive alternative to actually riding into the city. You avoid the traffic and hotels orcampgrounds in small towns are much cheaper.

Leaving Santiago Airport

Santiago's International Airport is located some distance out of the city on the northwest side justoutside the major ring road. There really isn't much in the way of development near it as yet. Uponarrival your first stop should be at the tourist information booth located right at the internationalbaggage pickup. There you can get a simple tourist map that includes overall coverage of the regionaround the city as well as details of just the center area.



Santiago's airport is rather small, not overly busy, and not crowded by hawkers trying to drag you offto some hotel or city tour. There are a few hawkers that will great you just as you leave the baggageclaim and inspection area. But just tell them that you plan to "andar mi bici hasta la costa", ride yourbike to the coast, and they'll leave you alone. There are plenty of quiet corners where you canassemble your bike and gear. Santiagans are not inclined to gather around as you do this either.Although you may get a few people watching you from one of the balconies. There are several, wesaw 3, Redbanc ATM machines located in the airport so you can easily get cash to start your trip. It'shighly unlikely all 3 machines would be down at the same time.

Once your bike is ready to roll you just head out the terminal access road. Within just about 1 km youpass by a Shell station. Then within another km you hit the entrance to the ring road. The entrance tothe ring road is a toll booth. Just ride on through, the attendants will ignore you. The road getting fromthe airport to the ring road is a very uncrowded, 4 lane wide road with plenty of shoulder. Now youmust decided whether to go left, north and then east, or right, south, on the ring road. We went right.

The ring road is a divided, 4 lane highway with tons of traffic including lots of semi tractor-trailors.Unfortunately the shoulder isn't all that great. In some places there is a 3 foot, concrete strip that givesyou some separation from traffic. In other places it's just dirt covered with some loose rocks.However, we did find that riding on the pavement wasn't so bad. The Chilean drivers are significantlymore bike friendly than the Argentine drivers. Nevertheless, it is quite a relief to get off of the ringroad.

We rode around as far as Route 78, the east/west highway that goes to San Antonio on the coast. Themajor highways don't appear to have signs indicating their route numbers, so you have to ask. Route78 was about 9 km after we got on the ring road from the airport, just after passing a ShowcaseCinema and McDonalds on the left. It has a sign indicating that this is the route to Malloca. Furtherdown the on-ramp is a tall, green sign indicating that it is the highway to Malloca, San Antonio,Talagante, Melipilla, and several other towns. This is highway 78. You can take it into the city or headtoward the beach.

If you head into the city, Rt. 78 will take you quite a way into the center with at least a narrowconcrete shoulder. We didn't ride into the city so I can't say exactly what happens to the highway onceyou're in the center. If you choose to ride toward the beach you'll find a nice, wide 4 lane dividedhighway with a huge shoulder. There are signs indicating that pedestrians, bikes, and horse drawncarriages are not permitted. We ignored the signs and neither the police nor the attendants in the tollbooths paid us any head. You may consider taking one of the smaller, side roads. But they seem tohave just as much traffic and are narrow with horrific shoulders. Rt. 78 is a good option for gettingaway from the city.

Route 78 East to San Antonio

Route 78 heads west out of Santiago toward Vina del Mar and the beaches. We headed out this way inorder to get around the city. The cutoff between Rt 78 and the north/south PanAmericana was a nice,quiet road well worth the ride. If you wish to avoid Santiago, this is a good way to go.

Route 78 stays along the Rio Maipo and, therefore, it is pretty flat. It seems to continue as a majorhighway all the way to San Antonio. However, we got off at the town of Melipilla and cannot beentirely certain of what happens after that. Towns that have supplies are.

Talagante - Groceries, gas stations, restaurants. There is supposed to be one Residencial, but we didn'tfind it. El Monte - 4 km off the highway, has groceries. Melipilla - 3 km off the highway. Groceries, gas statons, restaurants. There are at least 2 hotels intown, one on the main route near the Shell gas station, and the other 1 block off the main square. The



one near the square is quite nice. Isla de Maipu - 10 km or so off highway. Supposed to be a camping. A sign at the Talagante exit

points toward it.

People may tell you there is camping at both Talagante and El Monte. There isn't.

Route 5 Melipilla to Pan Am Highway

This is a 2 lane, paved, rural road. It has a fair amount of traffic. However, for the most part thepavement is in good condition and it has a 4 ft wide paved shoulder. In some spots the pavement isrough or washed out. But, these are small sections. The terrain is mostly low rolling hills as you passfrom one river valley to another. You will reach Lago Rapel about 62 km after leaving Melipilla.There are many campgrounds around the lake, some right on the highway and others down soft, roughdirt roads. Off season rates can be $1000 to $2000 pesos per person. Camping Bosque Hermoso isparticularly nice as it has huge shadey pine and eucalyptus trees, however the toilets leave a lot to bedesired. Municipal water in this region is quite tastey compared to Melipilla.

All along this route between Melipilla and Lago Rapel you will pass small stands where they sell coldsodas, empanadas, pan, and a few other other goodies. The town of El Manazano at Lago Rapel has acouple of good sized markets where you can get more variety as well as several snack stands. Lookfor places selling tebo, which seems to be some dish made from a local fish. This is a fruit growingregion and in spring there will be a lot of stands where they sell strawberries.

Once leaving lago Rapel, the hills flatten all the way to the Pan American highway. Kiosks are notquite as frequent. However, there are large grocery stores at the town of Peume and San Vincente. Ifyou wish to stay off the Pan American for as long as possible, turn right at the first entrance to SanVincente. Go straight past the grocery on your right and gas station on your left. This will continue asa quiet country road that comes out on the highway further south than the main Route 5.

Pan American Highway Southward San Fernando to Talca

The highway is a 4 lane, limited access highway with huge shoulders. Traffic is heavy with a fairamount of truck traffic. The terrain is flat until Curico. From Curico to Talca you start getting a fewrolling hills. Winds appear to typically be from the south at least in December. Temperatures can getquite hot in summer.

There are hotels and supermarkets in Curico and Talca. The Copac gas station just before Curico onthe east side of the highway has great grassy spots in the back where you can camp. Showers cost$450 pesos at this gas station. There are some very nice cabanas along the hghway just before Talcaand an actual campground with restaurant at Camarico. Wild camping along the highway would bedifficult. You'd need to try heading off on one of the side dirt roads.

Food services, stores, snack bars, or restaurants, between Curico and Talca are few along the highway.You'd need to head into the towns to find something. Make sure to carry extra water as it may be adistance between water sources. The tourist information kiosk at Camarico has a lot of good maps andbrochures for both region 7 and 8. They have a notebook that lists both hotel and camground locationsand prices.

Pan American Highway Southward Talca to Chillan

The road flattens from Talca to Chillan, but continues to be a 4 lane divided highway. Restaurantsseem to be far more numerous for this stretch of the road than further north. However, kiosks are few.Try the small towns off the highway if you're looking for some groceries.



Wild camping opportunities are not easily found. This is a heavily farmed region and virtually all landbeside the highway is fenced and farmed. Additionally, the service stations in this stretch are notoverly attractive for camping. Most of the potential wild camping sites seem to be in the gravel barsalong the major rivers, not along the little dinky streams. Hotels and recidenciales are also far and fewbetween. There is a very nice recidencial on the right hand side as you head south about 4 km past thetown of San Carlos. A taxi driver told us they charge $7000 per night for 2. Unfortunately there are norestaurants nearby.

One little secret we discovered are the Ruta 5 rest areas. Look for a sign showing a hand being washedunder a faucet. At these signs you'll find a large parking area surrounding a small block building.Usually there are also trees, some grass, benches, and even play equipment. These seem to be stationsfor the free ambulance and tow service provided by the highway. They are staffed 24 hours a day.Inside you'll find new, clean bathrooms and sometimes hot showers. If you ask they'll let you pitch atent for the night and use the bathroom and shower all for free. Much to our surprise the cars andtrucks don't seem to know these places exist. One of these spots is located 15 km before Chillan on thewest side of the highway.

There are many hotels on the main road outside of Chillan both to the north and to the south. Inaddition, the 3 Copec gas stations to the south of Chillan appear to have reasonable camping spots.The one furthest south looked best. However, there's nothing on the loop that skirts the city.Supermarkets must be in the city center as we did not see any on the ring road.

Pan American Highway Southward Chillan to Los Angeles

The road remains pretty much dead flat. Here you start going through a major logging area.Consequently the road is lined by planted forests. Many look like they'd provide great wild campingopportunities. However, you'd have to get across the barbed wire fence that lines nearly all thehighway. It's certainly feasible, but not especially easy. There's another one of those highway restareas located on the east side of the highway. Look for the tall red antenna and ambulance parked infront. This has spotless bathrooms complete with toilet paper. No showers, however. Ask if you wishto camp.

Services become scarce after Chillan. There is a hosteria just before the off ramp to Bulnes and acouple of small stores on the east side of the highway after the off ramp. There's probably more intown. There are a few small stores a bit further, about 10 km, and Pueblo Seco again on the east sideof the highway. From Pueblo Seco you won't see any other services for about 20 KM. At theintersection that goes to Cabrero there is a Shell gas station and about 10 KM further south is a YPFstation. Both have restaurants and the YPF looks like it may have descent camping. The YPF is on theeast side of the highway.

Salto del Laja has hotels, restaurants, campgrounds, and a few small food stores south of the falls.Buses pass through the town about once every 10 minutes going to Los Angeles and about once everyhour for Chillan. Los Angeles has supermarkets.

Just south of the southern highway exit for Saltos del Laja is another one of those rest areas, KM 495on the highway. The 4 lane divided highway is being extended to provide a loop around Los Angeles.It should be finished soon. In the meantime you have to continue south on the old highway. There willlikely be no services on the new loop road for some time to come. There are hotels on the old highwaytoward town. Supermarkets are in town near the bus terminal.

Pan American Highway Southward Los Angeles to Temuco

Road construction was underway between Los Angeles to just south of Collipulli. Many sections lookready to open. Others still required a lot of work. The entire route should be a 4 lane divided highway



soon. As you approach Collipulli, about 20 KM north, the hills start to grow. The route becomes aseriesof 1 to 3 km long ups and downs.

There are zero services on the highway between Los Angeles and Collipulli. The town of Mulchenhas a hotel and may have other services, but you have to leave the highway to find them. Collipullihas a hosteria, gas station, and Lomito'n fast food place right on the highway. There are probablysmall grocery stores in town. Camping at the gas station is extremely unattractive. Just south ofCollipulli on the west side of the highway is a pine forest that makes good camping. We happened tobe there when the road was under construction, so the fence was down. If the fence is replaced it willbe more difficult to get into the forest

About 40 KM north of Collipulli is one of those rest areas, under construction when we passed.Camping will probably be possible there when it is finished. Another 20 KM past Collipulli is a restarea with clean bathrooms, really nice attendent, but no showers. You should be able to camp there.

Just south of Collipulli are several home built stalls where they sell cheese, mote con huesillos (asweet drink with dried peach chunks), tortillas, and sodas. Not all may be open. Victoria has a gasstation with fast food, hotel, motel, hosteria, and grocery store. Lautaro at the north exit has a Copecgas station with a cafateria. Camping is not allowed. Ten km further south is a YPF station with alarge field that provides somewhat OK camping. It has snacks and sodas for sale. You would need togo into Lautaro for a more complete grocery store.

Temuco has all services. Soon the 4 lane divided highway will by-pass the city, probably beforewinter 2002. In the meantime, the current ruta 5 into the city is not too bad. The shoulder is in muchbetter condition than the one in Los Angeles until just before the city. Then it turns into a ratherbumpy, but wide dirt shoulder. When the 4 lane highway is finished expect to see a huge reduction intraffic going through the center of town. Temuco has several bike shops. One having very nicecomponents is located on Ave Portales between Gral Mackenna and Cruz.

Pan American Highway Southward Temuco to Freire

There was still a little construction on the highway between Temuco and Freire. That should befinished very soon. Freire has a supermarket.

Lake District Roads Freire To Villarrica

The paved road is wide and has a good shoulder. There can be a somewhat substantial amount oftraffic, but not very many trucks. The hills are rolling and you do seem to do a fair amount ofclimbing. Wild camping opportunities are almost nonexistent as everything is still fenced. Look alongthe major rivers for possible sites. There are no services between the two towns with the exception ofa few stands selling cheese in the first few km and a very expensive restaurant about 18 km fromVillarrica. Villarrica has all services including many campgrounds along the road toward Pucon. Themaps we had seemed to place Villarrica about 10 km further than it really is.

Lake Country Roads Villarrica to Conaripe

This is a good, paved road with descent shoulder and light traffic in off-season. Probably heavy trafficin high season. You climb for about the first 12 km steep in some places, go up and down for about 10more km, and then have a good down into Lican Ray. There are mild hills along the road to Conaripe.There are a few small shops selling provisions and a couple restaurants between Villarrica and LicanRay, none between Lican Ray and Conaripe. The restaurants are only open in high season. Lican Rayand Conaripe have all services, although restaurants are limited in off-season. There are a lot ofcampgrounds in and around Lican Ray, several along the north shore, and a small, basic campground



in Conaripe.

Lake Country Roads Conaripe to Panguipulli via LagoPullinque

The road turns to dirt right after Conaripe and again back to pavement about 14 km from Panguipulli.The road surface isn't bad for a dirt road. However, there are several very steep climbs between LagoConaripe and Lago Pullinque. There is an eco-campground with basic services about 4 KM fromConaripe, not open off season. Look for good wild sites along the Lago Pullinque. These are boatpull-outs for people across the lake to park their row boats while they take the bus into town. If youstay at one of these expect to meet lots of locals and get invitations to their houses. Incredibly, busesdo service this road. There are no services until Panguipulli. Panguipulli has all services including acampground. Head about 200 mts up the street just to the right of the tourist information office next tothe plazato find it.

Lake Country Roads Panguipulli to Los Lagos

The road is paved the entire way. In some spots it has been rebuilt with a nice wide shoulder. For mostof the route it's an older road, still wide, but not as nice. Bushes along the side can sometimes crowdin. You have a steep climb for about 2 km out of Panguipulli and another serious dip at the river about20 km from Los Lagos. Dollinco, 20 km from Panguipulli, has a small provisions shop that may beopen. Los Lagos has small supermarkets. There are cabanas just before Los Lagos that might havecamping if they are open.

Panamericana Highway Southward Los Lagos to Osorno

The highway remains a 4 lane, divided road on to Puerto Montt. South of Los Lagos are a few hillsthrough some pretty scenery. Within about 30 km it flattens out all the way to Osorno. Camping isonce again difficult due to the fenced areas.

Just south of Los Lagos is a brand new YPF station that will have a small minimarket. Don't expecttoo many groceries as the minimarket is teeny. You can camp on the nice lawn in back. The manageris a really nice fellow. This also happens to be one of those service/rest stops. At Paillaco there is ashell station with a restaurant. Prices are high and the waiter adds an extra 10% to the bill. Best to getfood to go. It looks good for camping, but we didn't ask.

About another 9 km further south at Pichirropulli is another YPF/Rest stop area. This one does haveits minimarket functioning. Camping is probably possible, but you'd have to get everything over to theeast side of the highway. At the intersection that goes to Rio Bueno and La Union there is a smallsupermarket, nice restaurant, and Esso station. Camping may be feasible in the play area behind thestation, but we didn't ask. About 5 km north of Osorno is a Copec and another Esso station. Neitherallow camping. The Esso has a very nice minimarket and restaurant. Just about 6 to 7 km further is thenice municipal camping on the east side of the highway just about right at the intersection that goes toPuerto Octay. Nice facilities with hot showers and a lady that runs a tight ship. It is open in Decemberjust before the holidays, but you have to share with lots of party groups. Osorno has all services.

Pan American Highway Southward Osorno to Purranque toPuerto Octay

The town of Purranque at about 36 km south of Osorno has several small supermarkets. You need togo west about 1 km off the highway to the plaza. If you want to go to Puerto Octay from here youneed to go another 4 km south from Purranque. You'll find a pedestrian overpass. Go up and over this



then take the paved road that runs at a 90 degree angle from the highway just about where you get offthe overpass. There's a sign that says "Puerto Octay 24 km". This road has about 7 km of pavementand then turns to dirt. It's a rather rough dirt road although except for a good downhill at the end, it'smostly flat. Puerto Octay has all services including a campground in town,. However, grocery storesare very, very small.

Lake Country Roads Puerto Octay to Bajo Frutillar

This is a paved, two lane road that sees little traffic. There are 2 good climbs just after leaving PuertoOctay and then several ups and downs until Alto Frutillar. There is a steep drop between Alto andBajo Frutillar. Alto Frutillar has the larger grocery stores. Bajo Frutillar has one small grocery store,several nice restaurants, hotels, hospedajes, and camping 2 km south around the lake road. Regularbuses run between the Alto and Bajo towns.

Pan American Highway Southward Bajo Frutillar to PuertoMontt

To get out of Bajo Frutillar means a stiff climb to get out of the lake. From Alto Frutillar to PuertoMontt on the 4 lane divided highway has just a few rolling hills. Most services are not located on thehighway. You would need to get off at Llanquihue and Puerto Varas to find restaurants and groceries.Puerto Varas is downhill to reach the center of the town. About 30 km north of Puerto Montt isanother of those rest areas on the east side with one small restaurant located on the west side just a bitfurther toward Puerto Montt. To get into Puerto Montt the best route down to the bay is the directroute. You'll have a 4 lane divided road almost all the way to the bay. This comes to a T intersection.On a bike you could pass through the T and work your way down hill on the dirt road and possiblydown some stairs. Or you could go right for a ways and then left following the main traffic on thenarrow town road. This route will bring you out just west of the center of Puerto Montt right near theferry terminal. From there it's an easy ride east along the 4 lane harbor drive. There is a short bike pathalong the harbor, but there'll be so many people walking on it it may be best to stay on the road. Thereare supposed to be campgrounds out west along the bay road in Chinquihue, but this is a very narrow,curving road. We chose to take a hotel instead as hotel prices in Puerto Montt aren't all that bad.Puerto Montt has all services including bike shops with reasonable parts. Look on Chorrillos oneblock west of Rosales for a good shop with lots of parts selection.

General



Stop in at the regional visitor's information center on the plaza in Puerto Montt to get a good map ofthe entire Carratera as well as some up-to-date information on services along the way. You will getsome information on hotels, campings, and restaurants. However, they give nothing about food stores.The following should give a better idea. Note: distances are approximate. We didn't stop in to checkeverything available at all grocery and camping locations. We just note what we saw from the road.Our first day out was January 1. Some markets were closed for the day. We don't know if they wereclosed for good or not. Some services may be available only in high season. For services use thefollowing definitions:

Snack shop - small store having at least sodas, ice cream, and chips Small market - Very small market that stocks some produce, canned goods, as well as sodas and othersnacks. You can put together a meal with some imagination. Market - An actual reasonable sized market with produce, meat, dairy, bakery, and other prepackegedgoods.

WARNING: Even though there is a bank at Chaiten, you cannot use a credit card to get a cashadvance and their ATM will not accept foreign credit cards. This is expected to change eventually, butnot before the Banco del Estado de Chile changes their entire computer system. The next towns whereyou can get cash using a credit card are Puerto Aisen or Coyhaique. Take extra cash with you fromPuerto Montt.

Puerto Montt to La Arena Ferry

The road is paved for the first 20 km. From there it becomes dirt, but it's not too bad a dirt road. Hillsare pretty minor, just enough to get you sweating a little. Traffic is light. Services are:

4 km - Pelluco: hotels, restaurants, small markets 8 km - Small market Coihuin 10 km - Chamiza small market, left after bridge across Rio Chamiza 13.9 km - Cabanas 16 km - Piedra Azul: Snack shops 20 km - Pavement ends 21 km - Small market 23.5 km - Snack shop 25.8 km - Small Market 27 km - Mozart bed and breakfast 29 km - Small market 30, 31 km - Cabanas and camping 35 km - Restaurant Turismo 43.2 km - Look for good campsite left side on hill overlooking fish camp 46 km - La Arena ferry ramp, several small restaurants

Caleta Puelche to Rio Negro de Hornopiren

The dirt road follows along the coast until the town of Contao then it heads inland. Along the coast theroad is in good condition and riding is reasonably easy. The inland section has some very steepclimbs. Loose rocks on the road surface make riding uphill extremely difficult. Expect to be dead tiredby the time you've finished this section. Note: It appears as though the road from Caleta Puelche toCochamo along the estuary Reloncavi has been finished. It was due to be done in December 2000.Verify with locals before attempting it. Services from Caleta Puelche to Hornopiren are:

0 km - Restaurant at ferry landing, snack shop. 6 km - Small market 8 km - Camping, restaurant, small market



10 km - Contao: restaurant, residencial, small markets 30 km - Tourist facility: camping, cabins, restaurant 30.5 km - Look for great camping site next to river 33 km - El Manzano turn off, at least one residencial, cabanas in town

39 km - Restaurant El Colono 61 km - Hornopiren: Lots of lodging, market, some retuarants, gas station, ferreteria. The ferry leaves

from Hornopiren at 4 PM daily from January 2 to March 15. Cost is $9000 per person, $6000 perbike.

Caleta Gonzalo to Chaiten

The road just leaving Caleta Gonzalo is rough but does seems to get a bit better the further you go.Most of the way to Chaiten it is an "improved" dirt road. This means the surface is covered withblack, volcanic dirt and lots of often very loose rocks. In some places it's hard packed and easy to ride.In other spots there are so many loose rocks the bike will get thrown around a lot. The best place toride is in the wheel ruts. Watch for washboard. When it rains, and it rains a lot in this area, there willbe virtual rivers of water flowing down the wheel ruts. There's a good climb out of Caleta Gonzaloand another climb just after passing playa Santa Barbara. Wild camping is nearly impossible until youleave Pumalin reserve as the jungle is immensely dense on both sides of the road. After the reservethings become more open. Make sure to do some of the hikes along the way as it's the bestopportunity to really get into the forest. Don't miss seeing the alerces along the Sendero Alerce.

0 km - Cafe, Cabins, Camping, you can get sodas, cookies, and candy at the cafe. 14.3 km - Camping ~20 km -Camping Lago Negro (My odometer stopped working so km is approximate) ~26 km - Camping Lago Blanco Wild camping is available at Playa Santa Barbara. Nothing else is there. 4 km before Chaiten - Camping Arrayanas, has hot water and cooking shelter Chaiten: hotels, grocery, ferreteria, gas station, restaurants, internet access, expensive laundry. Notebank currently cannot take foreign credit cards for ATM or cash advance.

Chaiten to Coihaique

This road is significantly better. It's still an "improved" dirt road, but it's more compacted and thussmoother and harder than further north. There is still washboard, potholes, and loose rock. But it's amuch easier ride. Note that 12 km south of Chaiten as measured from the Copec station is now paved.In addition, we met a survey crew who were taking measurements for the upcoming paving project.By about 2005 expect to find all the way from Chaiten to Villa Santa Lucia paved. However, duringthe 2004 season, expect messy construction for the entire 60 plus KM.

6.4 km - Cabanas del Rio, right hand side 12 km - Pavement ends 24.6 km - Intersection to El Amarilla hot springs: 2 Hospedajes, phone, cafe, camping. 45 km - Puerto Cardenas: 2 hospedajes, camping, cabanas. If you need a meal ask at the Hospedajesand they may be able to prepare something. 52 km - Campng, cabanas, hotel, restaurant. We understand this place is really expensive 60 km - Ventisquero: Cafe, start steep climb. 68 km - Reach pass. 76.9 km - End of steep downhill, Villa Santa Lucia: small markets, residencial. Note: we arrived atabout 11AM and found only one of the stores open. Santa Lucia to La Junta has a lot of steep ups anddowns. Expect to be very tired by the time you get to La Junta. The road is great in spots, dreadful inothers. Watch for sections that have been rebuilt after being washed out, usually at the bottom of asteep down. There may be loose rock that throws your bike out from under you.



93 km - Yellow house on west of highway near puente Frio. Senora Teresa Ojeda sells great kuchen,pan, hueves al paila, and other goodies

The town of Vanguardia that shows on some maps has only a phone. Nothing else. 99 km - Another house selling almuerzo, kuchen, pan, tea, and coffee. You need to be early for lunch

or they run out 130 km - Farm selling cheese

146.7 km - La Junta: Markets, gas, phone, lodging, restaurants, gas station sells benzina blanca. FromLa Junta to Puyuhuapi the hills are not as steep as from La Junta to Santa Lucia. Generally the trendwill be downhill as you go from north to south.

175 km - El Pangue camping, hotel, cabanas, restaurant 176 km - Enter Parque National Queulat, the road seems to improve dramatically through the park and

on to Puyuhuapi 180 km - Camping Angostura

192.5 km - Puyuhuapi: Lodging, restaurant, gas, phone, small market. From here the road is fairlylevel as it travels along the fiord. Then it climbs very steeply with lots of switchbacks. This is thesecond pass. It didn't seem quite as difficult as the pass north of Villa Santa Lucia. After cresting thepass, you have a good downhill, and then lots of ups and downs for some way past Villa Amanguales.Note that the road between Villa Amanguales and Puyuhuapi is due to be paved by 2005. In the nextfew years there will lots of construction along the road that may force it to be closed at certain timesduring the day. Pavement is also slowly working its way north from Manihuales toward VillaAmanguales. Currently the 30 km south of Villa Amanguales is extremely rough. I would imaginethat likely by 2005 or soon thereafter this section will also be paved.

196.3 km - Camping, pan for sale 206.1 km - Embarcadero for Termas Puyuhuapi

209.1 km - Camping El Tonino, restaurant, cabins 214.3 km - Turn off to Ventisquero Colgante, 2.15 km up relatively easy road

223.4 km - Cabanas Queulat, reastaurant 235 km - Start steep climb

241 km - Level out 242 km - Pass

244 km - Start down 251 km - Turn-off to Puerto Cisnes

275 km - Kuchen, pan, te, cafe, camping with hot shower 282 km - Villa Amanguales: 3 hospedajes, 1 market, pan available at place that does tires, lunchavailable at hospedajes

284 km - Intersection to the frontera 290 km - Lakeside camping

322 km - Camping, Pavement begins here but will soon extend further north. 333 km - Look for great campsite across suspension bridge over river

340.5 km - Manihuales: Restaurants, markets, hospedajes, gas, phone. New asphalt runs fromManihuales to the intersection to Villa Ortega. Terrain is still hilly. If the sun is shining it is likely youwill have headwinds all the way to Puerto Aisen. However, they will lessen as you get out of thenarrow canyons near Manihuales and approach P. Aisen.

354.5 km - Intersection for road toVilla Ortega. Word from other cyclists is that this alternative, dirtroute to Coihaique is a very, very rough road. Main ruta 7 turns into a narrower, cement road withouta shoulder. Some steep hills continue for many more km. However, from north to south you aregenerally going downhill more than up.

378.5 km - Restaurant Viviana, looked open but we didn't stop to find out for sure 383 km - Intersection to Puerto Aisen. Puerto Aisen is 19 km down road. Puerto Aisen hashospedajes, restaurants, gas, phone, large markets, internet access.

390 km - Villa Los Torreones: Restaurant, cabanas, snacks, camping 395 km - Museum

396 km - Snacks, restaurant, cabanas 398 km - Camping



416 km - Start climb 422 km - Top of climb 425 km - Cabanas

427 km - Camping, hostel, restaurant 429 km - Coihaique: Lodging, camping, restaurants, huge grocery stores, camping equipment, 2 bike

shops, gas, phones, internet access. If you're planning to head down to Villa O'Higgins stop in at theSernatur office here. They can provide the latest schedule for the boat service across Lago O'Higgins.

Coihaique to Cochrane

As of 2002 the pavement continues through to the town of Cerro Castilla. Leaving Coihaique youhave about 24 km of gradual climb and then a drop to El Blanco. From here you climb almostcontinually until reaching the pass at km 57. The new paved road has smoothed the slopes making theclimbs not quite so steep. But, it's still a long climb. After the pass you drop steeply for a few km andthen gradually until around km 66 at which point you climb gradually to the next pass.

8.6 km - Restaurant El Quincho 9.3 km - Cheese for sale 13 km - Intersection to Lagos Frio and Polux 16.4 km - Intersection to Lago Elizalde.: Restaruant, lodging, camping 15 km off Carratera at lago. 34 km - El Blanco: supposed to have hospedaje and restaurant. We did not investigate this possibility. 39.4 km - Intersection to Balmeceda. Start climbing steeply. 57.8 km - Top of pass. Camping 66 km - Bottom of descent, start climbing again. 79.8 km - Top 81.2 km - Start steep descent 86.4 km - Intersection to Puerto Ibanez, 28 km away. Supposed to have food and lodging 95.4 km - Villa Cerro Castillo: Restaurant, markets, lodging, phone, end of pavement, bottom ofdescent. For the next 20 km there are some very, very steep climbs on extremely loose rock. It's tough.For the 20 km you go along the Rio Cajon it's level and very smooth. This seems to be a section ofroad made from glacier silt. 135 km - Start climbing. For the next 20 km or so you will climb up and over a 600 m pass betweenRio Cajon and Rio Murta. Once reaching Rio Murta the road is much rougher with washboard.Climbs aren't too bad up to Lago Gral. Carrera. 194.3 km - Intersection to Puerto Murta. Market, restaurant, lodging, camping in town 4 km off road. 201.6 km - Camping, Cabanas, may not be open. From here you are along Lago Gral. Carrera. Wildcamping possibilities are virtually nonexistant. Fencing encloses much of the flat lands leaving onlyspots just meters off the dusty road. Beware of sharp thorny things that look a lot like miniaturegoatheads (a little nasty we have in the western U.S.). They stick to just about everything. Setting upyour tent in a patch of these is bound to leave tons of little holes in the nylon and leaks in yourTheramarest. Just 1 km before Rio Tranquilo is the one spot we found, on the left down a steep roadto a boat ramp. The road along the lake is extremely hilly. 202.6 km - Cabanas, may not be open. 218 km - Rio Tranquilo: Small markets, restaurant, hospedajes, camping, gas, phone. Steep ups anddowns continue all along the shore of the lake. However, the further south you get, the worse the roadgets. It has lot of deep washboard and loose rock and dirt. It's a tough 70 km from Rio Tranquilo toPuerto Bertrand. Note: we had 2 maps showing distances to Puerto Bertrand of 108 km and 91 km.The tourist office claims it's 71 km. Lonely Planet has it as 60 km. A sign near Cerro Castillo said 56km. The winner is 68.6 km according to both our odometers. Look for good camping spot about 14km after Rio Tranquilo by river. 220 km - Camping 262.5 km - Pasarela Lodge (expenive, good place to get water) 265.6 km - Camping, cabins 266.6 km - Mollin Colorado Cabanas.



268.4 km - Hotel and Resort Hacienda Tres Lagos (expensive), start another short but very steepclimb and then long descent to Lago Bertrand. Road continues to be very rough all the way to PuertoBertrand with one more good climb before town. 286.6 km - Puerto Bertrand: One small market, hospedajes, restaurants, phone, camping. The roadafter Bertrand seems to improve a bit. However there are 3 extremely steep climbs followed by 4 notquite so steep climbs. It's a good hard 50 km to Cochrane. The true distance seems to be 49.5 km, not51 nor 54 as signs and maps may indicate. Take extra water as water sources are scarce on thissection.

289.3 km - Patagonia Baker Lodge and Restaurant, Camping 289.8 km - Cabanas

290.8 km - Cabanas, Lodge 298.6 km - Start extremely steep climb

302 km - Top of climb, have a couple km up and down before starting steep down 306.6 km - Bottom of first climb, start second extremely steep climb

311.6 km - Top of second steep climb, couple km down and up before start steep down. 316.6 km - Bottom of steep descent, bridge crossing river. There are 4 more climbs before Cochrane,

3 are 5 km long not quite so steep with 5 km downs after each and the last is a short, steep climb just 3km before town.

319.2 km - Intersection to Paso Roballos 328.3 km - Intersection to Balsa Baker 336 km - Cochrane: Markets, lodging, camping, phone, internet access Monday through Friday,

phone, gas. Load up here as there's absolutely no stores at all until Villa O'Higgins.

Cochrane to Villa O'Higgins

For the first 35 km out of Cochrane you will be gradually climbing although you will have ups anddowns along the way. At about km 39 you start a 10 km steep down. For the next 15 km or so youhave a very pleasant pretty much flat ride along a river, then you start climbing rolling hills again withsome flat sections all the way to just after Vagabundo, km 102. For the last 20 km to Puerto Yungayyou have about 10 km steep, several km ups and downs, and then several km very steep descent on abad road to the port. Most of the road from Cochrane to PuertoYungay is in better condition thannorth of Cochrane, but there is still a fair amount of washboard. Traffic is very light. Water is scarcefor the first 50 km or so, then becomes more available once you descend to the river valley.

In summer the ferry crosses from Puerto Yungay to Rio Bravo 4 times daily and the crossing is free.The last crossing will not happen if only bikes are waiting to go. If you miss the last ferry there is agood camping spot just down the beach with good water. You may want to get water on the PuertoYungay side as the water on the other side is quite brackish. for some distance.

Once you cross the fiord, camping is harder to find as the area is quite swampy for a way. At about 12km up is an old football field that makes a reasonable campsite. At about km 20 you begin over 20 kmof steep climbs with steep descents. In all there are about 4 good climbs. Then you descend to a flatsection of road that goes along the Rio Colorado. Despite being flat, the road is quite rocky and rough.Camping along the Rio Colorado is difficult for a ways as it's quite boggy.

For the last 35 km or so the remainder of the road has only minor ups and downs, much of the road isin reasonably good condition, and camping opportunities become much more readily available. Thereare particularly good sites at the end of Lago Cisnes if you don't wish to go on to Villa O'Higgins thatday.

Villa O'Higgins now has many hospedajes available, a regular campsite with no showers, plus nearlyeveryone will allow camping in their back yards. Some of the hospedajes offer food as well, althoughselection seems to be limited to beef and potatoes. There is one restaurant, no bank, no place toexchange currency, no internet, a few phones. Electricity is on for only a few hours in the morning



and at night. There is one panaderia, several houses sell pan, a few markets that have extremelylimited prepackaged food, one meat shop selling freshly butchered beef. We did not find a place thatsells fruit and veges, although we heard there was one lady who did. Gasoline is sold by the liter fromdrums by the ECA store next to the Carabineros station. Don't expect to find benzina blanca. There isa new tourist information kiosk under construction in the plaza that should be able to help with traveldetails in the near future.

Getting out of Villa O'Higgins

Options as of 2002 include: 1. There is a once a week regular bus. This is one of those mini vans. Theone we saw looked pretty crowded, so we don't know if they'd take bikes or not. 2. You can always ride back to Cochrane, 225 km retracing your steps. 3. There now is a mostly regular boat service passing from Villa O'Higgins, actually from a bay that'slocated about 7 km further along a rolling, rough road, to a location on the opposite side of the lake.The boat only runs if the wind is not too high and the number of passengers is sufficient to warrent thetrip. Otherwise you wait. You can get a ride to the dock in the back of the captain's truck if you wish.The location on the other side of the lake is positioned just opposite the north end of Lago delDesierto in Argentina. In the 2001/2002 season the boat pretty much tries to run every Saturday with afew additional days added later in the season. Schedules are available at the tourist information officein Coihaique, but take this with grain of salt. The man running the boat is named Pirincho and he livesin the large 2 storey white house back and to the left of the municipal offices in Villa O'Higgins. Askanyone in town and they'll direct you. Price is $5000 per person, bikes free. He leaves at 9 AM andreturns at 3 PM.

When you arrive on the other side of Lago O'Higgins the boat will likely be met by a man namedRicardo and his father Tito. They will ask all passengers if they want to hire horses. You can usehorses to take you over the first leg, to Lago del Desierto Norte, for the second leg, Lago del DesiertoNorte to Sud, or both. The section from O'Higgins to Desierto is handled by the Chilean, Ricardo. Itcosts about 10000 pesos per horse, about $15. You would probably need 3 horses if you are twopeople, one for each person and one for the gear. The section along Lago del Desierto is handled byan Argentine family and is much more expensive, about $35 pesos Argentine per horse. For thissection you would pay for 2 horses, one lead and the other to carry your gear. You would have tocarry your bike along the trail yourself. However, this does make the journey significantly easier.Coming from Chile, the section between Lago O'Higgins and Lago del Desierto Norte is nothorrendously difficult. However, the section along Lago del Desierto is shear Hell. So if you have tochoose which section to use horses, choose the Lago del Desierto section. In any event, hiring thehorses even for just the one section is highly recommended. I can hardly begin to express how highlyrecommended. Read on for a description of the trail.

On the other side of Lago O'Higgins you will find an extremely steep dirt road climb up to the aduana,just a couple hundred meters. Here is where you check out of Chile. We understand that you can buymeals at the small house just a bit further down the road. This is where Ricardo and Tito's family live.Beyond the aduana you will have 5 km of very, very steep 4 wheel drive dirt road climb. You will bepushing for much of it. Then for the next 10 km the road levels out and can be ridden for much of itslength. When you are about a total of 10 km into the ride you will see a new road going off to the left,just after a bridge and before you come to an abandoned carabineros station. This road is what youwant to take. It was only about a month old when we arrived, so it was still quite soft and hard to ride.It should improve dramatically with time. Also, when we were there the carabineros old station wasabandoned and opened. It made a great refuge on a very rainy night.

After the initial 15 km on the Chilean 4X4 road you come to the border. Here you find a "welcome toChile" sign, a border marker, and the abrupt end of the road. A narrow trail on your left is where youwant to head. For the next 6 km you will follow this trail to the Argentine aduana at the north end ofLago del Desierto. The trail is fairly easy to follow. This section of trail actually is not to bad. It rolls



up and down a bit, is worn deep in some spots, has a lot of side vegtation in spots. But we found wecould either ride or push the bikes over all of it. The last 3 km is a very, very steep down to Lago delDesierto. People coming from the other direction will have a tough time with this bit. It took us about4 to 4 1/2 hours to complete this section with two very heavily loaded bikes.

Things get really, really nasty from here on. Some people claim that the next 14 km is a "push". Inreality it is not a "push". It's more a carry, carry your bike, carry your gear. This trail is a very badlymaintained horse and hiking trail. You have parts where the trail is worn knee to thigh deep and isonly about 1 ft wide. Other sections the trees encroach so narrowly that your bike gets wedged in.Then there are the mud bogs, so deep your wheels sink in up to their hubs. There are downed trees andhuge boulders to lift your bike over. The trail climbs steeply over rocky hills, descends equally steepand rocky hills to creeks and rivers that have to be crossed, and then climbs just as steeply again andagain and again. For much of this trail you will be relaying your equipment and bike from one spot tothe next, taking 2 to 3 trips each time. Although by the end of the trail you'll likely be so tired it'll take3 to 4. It took us about 20 hours over 32 1/2days of virtually continuous back breaking labor tocomplete this 14 km distance. Four other bikers who took the same boat and who had similar loads alltook longer than we did. The Argentine aduana will tell you it takes 5 to 5 1/2 hours. Don't youbelieve it for one minute. If we had had any real indication of just how rough this trail was, we wouldmost certainly have rented horses for this section. It is excruciatingly difficult.

We had met a lot of people who opted to bus from El Calafate or El Chalten to Chile Chico. The costof this bus for 2 people is more or less about the same as the horse rental. So there really isn't a costinsentive to do the bus route as opposed to the horse rental option and the most southern section of theCarratera Austral is probably the most scenic, unspoiled and challenging.

One other comment, if you forego the horses just for the sake of saving a few pesos, keep in mind thatthis trail is so rough there's a very good chance you will wind up with some sort of bike or otherequipment damage. One slip off the brakes and you could see your precious bike careening downsome horrendous hill, banging into rocks and trees along the way, or maybe even falling into the lake.We ended up with a bent XT rear derailleur. Also, it would be extremely easy to get seriously hurtcarrying your loaded bike over this trail. One false move could give you a broken or sprainedsomething which could totally ruin your trip. If you do get seriously hurt help is probably hours ormaybe even a day or so away. What I'm really trying to say is RENT THE HORSES. You won't regretit. Really the only way it seems you can do this trail reasonably easily by yourself is if you have theability to put all your gear on your back and then push and carry your bike unloaded. The only peoplewe saw having no trouble were doing just this.

One other thing, don't do it alone. We found that one of us pushing up front and the other in backhelped a lot. You also have someone to fetch help if you really get into trouble. Also, make sure totake off your pedals. They catch on everything and really beat up your calves. If you are gong north tosouth take enough food for 4 to 5 days. For south to north take the 4 to 5 days plus several more daysworth just in case you wind up waiting extra days for the boat at Lago O'Higgins.



Mendoza General Comments

Mendoza's airport is easy to get out of. The Mendoza airport is located about 9 km north/east of town.It is a small airport with good security. There're plenty of quiet corners outside and inside where youcan get a bike put together. Just out front, across the small parking lot, is the main 4 lane dividedhighway headed into town. Turn left on this to go downtown. It's flat and easy riding. We rode it indark and had no problems. There are plenty of street lights along the way, but make sure to have yourown lights anyway. You'll likely see other bikers going along this road as well so the drivers seemwell aware that bikes may be on the road. If it's dark, get yourself about 1 km along this road beforestopping as there are some unsavory characters right near the airport. After about 7 km you'll pass theFundacional museum on your right, a very nice stucco covered building with burning torches out infront at night. Right after this you'll have the parque O'Higgins and then Ambrosi bike shop on yourright. If you turn right within the next block or two and go about 5 to 8 blocks you'll be right in thecenter of town. Your guidebook maps and the map you get from the tourist agency applies for thisregion.

One of the best and cheapest bike shops is Ambrosi located at the corner of Lavalle and Ruta 40.There's a second bikeshop, Stylo, right across Ruta 40 which has a few different and somewhat moreexpensive items. El Tunel mentioned in the Footprints guide is not the place to go for quality parts.They sell only cheap parts for round town cyclists. Mendoza makes a great place to fix bikes and buyneeded goods.

Mendoza, Argentina to Los Andes, Chile

There are 2 routes to get to the town of Uspallata which is about 100 km east of the pass to Chile onRuta 7. The first route goes out of Mendoza toward the north along Ruta 52. This route is about 104km long with 56 km being dirt. It has a significant climb to get to Termas Villavicencio as you goover the foothill range just west of Mendoza. We didn't take that route and cannot give impressions asto the condition of the dirt.

The second route goes south out of Mendoza on Ruta 40 and then takes Ruta 7 to Uspallata where itmeets up with the northern route. Note that some maps will indicate a Ruta 82 north of Rio Mendoza.



This road is no longer passable as toward the west it is now under the water of a new dam. To get toRuta 40 from downtown Mendoza turn east on the main road just south of the bus terminal, Av.Zapata. Within about 1 km turn south on Ruta 40. The exit is well marked and there is a small statueof a condor in the center medium. Be carefull. Traffic is very heavy. Head south on Ruta 40 for about17 km. Not too long after passing over the long bridge that goes over the often waterless Rio Mendozayou will see a tree lined paved road intersecting on the right side. There is a sign on this road just a bitdown saying it goes to Potrerillos. Take this route as it is a nice quiet change from Ruta 40. Continueto follow signs pointing to Potrerillos as you zig-zag. You'll go along nice shadey country lanes pastfarms and vinyards. There's little traffic. Eventually you'll wind up at the huge YPF refinery whereyou'll meet up with Ruta 7. From here just follow Ruta 7.

The entire road from Mendoza over the pass and on to Los Andes is paved and in reasonablecondition. Some spots are a bit rough. It's a long gradual climb coming from the east and a very steepclimb from the west. After about 10 to 20 km after Uspallata the winds typically howl down thecanyon, west to east. If you happen to get headwinds, you will have them all the way up to the tunnel.Taking inito consideration the winds, this pass would probably be more enjoyable if done from westto east.

Services are few along Ruta 7 and water scarce. Services are as follows (kilometers match thoseposted on the highway):

Km 1080 - A small comedor having empanadas, lomos, sodas, water. Potrerillos - Nice ACA camping plus a second camping a bit further up Ruta 7, expensive hotel, smallstore (Closed from 12 noon to 5 PM) Km 1135 - About 37 km past Potrerrillos are 3 small groves of trees near the road. These make goodcamp sites, the first being particularly nice. The third appeared to have a clean stream, however thismay depend upon the water level of the river and other factors. Bring water. Uspallata - Camping, hotels, restaurants, groceries, gas, bank Polvaredas - samll store, restaurant Punta del Vacas - We didn't stop. It is the location where all trucks must stop to be inspected. So thereis probably at least one restaurant. Los Penitentes - Gas, snacks, restaurant, hotel (open?). We camped on the porch of one of the closedrestaurants and everyone left us alone. Puenta del Inca - Hosteria, small store Las Cuevas - Restaurant Tunnel, Argentina side - Restaurant Frontera, Chile side - Cambio de moneda, snacks Portillo - Ski area, restuarant, hotel 10 km from tunnel - small camping 20 km from tunnel - several restaurants Rio Blanca - restaurants, small stores, hotel, gas Los Andes - All services except camping. There are some bike shops in town. Sun Tour located onAv. Argentina #511 has a reasonable selection of parts up to the quality of Shimano Deore. They'refriendly and helpful.

Pan American Highway Northward Los Andes to La Serena

Ruta 60 between Los Andes and LLay LLay where you get on the 4 lane Pan American highway isone very, very pleasant road to ride. It's part of the original colonial road. It's flat, paved, has lighttraffic, a good shoulder, and a lot of shade. In some spots there's even a bike path. You'll pass byvinyards and farms as well as several old towns. The old adobe walls and houses lining the roadclearly show the age of the road. There are lots of services all along the 46 km between Los Andesand Ruta 5. The largest town is San Felipe, 16 km from Los Andes, where you'll find all servicesincluding a camping, at least the sign outside of town indicates there is a camping. We didn't check it



out specifically. Also, 28 km from Los Andes at the town of Panquehue there are 2 campings and athird a few km further west. The second, Camping Manantiales Panquehue, was open in mid Marchand looked quite nice. LLay LLay at the intersection to Ruta 5 should have all services.

Ruta 5 from Llay Llay to La Serena is a 4 lane divided highway. Kilometer distances are measuredfrom downtown Santiago. You are entering the highway at around km 81. For the first 40 km, more orless, you are traveling along the final most northern section of the inland valley. Then you have asteep, 3 to 4 km climb up what they call the Cuesta de El Melon. There is a tunnel under this hill, butwe don't think bikes are permitted. On the other side you descend just as steeply as you climbed, butfor longer. You are getting closer to sea level. From here on north to La Serena you will continuegoing up and down hills that seem to be about 1 to 2 km in length and go up and down 400 to 600 ftor more. Services after El Melon are much scarcer and often not on the highway. Each town shouldhave at least a small almacen. Towns we checked out are listed below.

Intersection with Ruta 60 - Copec gas with snack stand, lots of fruit stands. El Melon - Restaurants along highway Km 143 - One of those highway rest areas. Good place to get water. Potential camping in theeucalyptus forests just before. La Ligua - Major town off route quite a bit. The only thing on route are lots of individuals sellingdulce La Ligue. Their prices are high. You're better off getting the same dulces in a store at Los Vilos.Km 176 - restaurant Los Molles - Nice camping, several almacenes, verduleria, carniceria. Pichidangui - Gas, restaurants in town and on highway, almacenes, camping, lodging. Km 212 and 215 - restaurants on highway. Los Vilos - All services except camping. You can camp anywhere on their long sandy beach for free,without any toilet facilities. Stock up here as there's not much else to La Serena. Km 244 - Camping Playa Chigualoco Km 260 - Huentelauquen Sur: supermarket on highway Km 264 - Huentelauquen Norte: several restaurants, YPF station Km 265 - Rest/service area with bathrooms Km 274, 275 - Picnic areas southbound and northbound sides of highway Km 277- Restaurant Rosita Km 283 - Puerto Oscuro: Snack store, restaurant Km 301 - Restaurant El Palmar Km 318 - Hornillo: Kiosks with snacks Km 336, 349, 359 - Restaurants Km 364 - Alcones: 2 markets, 2 restaurants Km 370 - Termas de Socos: Camping, hotel, gas, restaurant, small markets Km 374 - Restaurant, lots of cheese vendors along road Km 386 - Small market Km 396 - Quebrada Seca: several small markets, restaurants Km 406 - Rest area Km 435, 437 - Camping Las Mostazas, Camping Morillos, expensive Km 440 - Totoralillo: small markets Coquimbo/ La Serena - All services in this long, stretched-out town. There are several campingsbetween the two towns one of which is located on the Av. del Mar. None are closer than 4 km to thecenter of La Serena. For a more quiet ride in off-season, take the Av. del Mar along the beach ratherthan the Pan Am. The Pan Am does remain as a 4 lane divided highway with good shoulders at leastthrough town. North of La Serena it becomes just a 2 lane road.

Pan American Highway Northward Antofagasta to Iquique

Ruta 1 along this section is nicely paved and fairly quiet. It starts out very flat as you leaveAntofogasta. Hills become more numerous and higher the further north you go toward Tocopilla.



There is sufficient auto and bus service so you can get a ride if necessary. Winds are supposed tocome out of the west, but we did experience a bit of a northerly component on one day. Get water atevery opportunity.

Antofogasta - All services Km 24 - Airport turn-off. You can get water there if needed. Km 43 - Turn-off to Mejillones. Nothing there. Mejillones is 18 km on this side road. It has stores,hotels, camping, and restaurants. Km 63 - Roadside table Km 65 - Northern side road to Mejillones, paved as of 2001. Truckstop/restaurant. Get water ifneeded. Km 66 - Roadside table Km 70, 83, 88.5, 94, 98.2, 103.5 - Roadside tables. The one at km 88.5 is trashy. Km 81.5 -Turn to Hornitos about 5 km off route. Small tourist town. Should have hotel, restaurant,small store, water Km 107 - Michilla: 3 restaurants, 1 small store, get water Km 118 - Virgen del Camino: rest area with benches and trees. Might be able to camp here Km 125 - Cobija: Kiosk with some snack stuff. Fish for sale. Km 142 - Caleta Buena: kiosk with snacks Km 146 - Snack stand Km 175 - Roadside bench. Good rest stop. Km 184 - Tocopilla - Restaurants, groceries, hotels, gas, phone

The road from Tocopilla on north climbs for the first few km and then levels out for a while. It thencontinues be a series of level sections with climbs over each finger of mountains that stretch to thesea. This is a nice section of road right along the coast with great views and extremely low traffic.Camping is possible almost anywhere, although a lot of the beaches have quite a bit of trash. Smallfishing camps occupy many of the little bays. Water is not too hard to come by and the many kiosksand tiny stores along the way can suplement supplies you brought from Tocopilla.

Km 221 - 2 restaurants Km 225 - Fishing camp with snack kiosk Km 239 - Punta Arenas: Restuarant, camping, fish camp. Km 268 - S.A.G station: Kiosks, get water Km 307 - San Marcos: Kiosks Km 322 - Rio Seco: Restaurants, kiosks, small stores, get water Km 335 - Chanabaya: kiosk, camping indicated sign. Town is about 1 km off road. Km 356 - Chanabayita: Cabanas, small store, restaurant Km 375 - Airport: restaurant. Water is NOT potable Km 384 - Restaurant, cabanas (per hour, day, month) Km 389 - Los Verdes: Restaurants, kiosks Km 391 - Restaurant

Copyright © 1995-2011 by Caryl L. Bergeron - Distribution for personal usepermitted. Distribution for other uses with written permission.



AcknowledgementsWe'd like to thank my father, Charles Johnson, whose diligent mail forwarding and other logistical support makethis journey far easier than it could be otherwise.Wendy Strutin Riedy for archiving the newsletters on her WWW site, http://outthereliving.com

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