Riding and stuff. Just as if I´d planned it!

I´ve been riding for a few days now. Heading south. Took the bus to a nice lake town called Puerto Varas. Then a day of mostly pavement heading to Cochamo. Then a day of messing around in Cochamo, riding a gnarly trail, and then giving up and hiking some of it.

Next day I headed past Rio Puelo and camped along a river with a group of hitch hiking students from Santiago. And today, I continued on southward and I´m in Hornopiren, ready to catch a ferry for points further south.

But! The ferry is full for tomorrow. I´ll try again in the morning, but the next one is Saturday. I may have an unexpected chance to explore the nearby Hornopiren national park, which rumor has it, has almost no developed anything. So... ?

Weather has been great. Bright and sunny and I have yet to set up my tent. Even though it sprinkled last night. Tonight I´m in a little room in an haspidade. Sort of a guest house in someone´s house.

The mountains around Cochamo were very forested and had granite tops that resembled Yosemite. Plus there was the volcano Yates in view most of the time. Today, dropping down into town, I felt like I had reached the beginning of what I´d really come to see. Huge, craggy glaciated peaks rising straight of the bay. Then the clouds came in and they´re gone.

The road has been very rough. Unmaintained chunky gravel with washboard and holes, plus very loose on the side where I can´t get off, or I slide askew and back into the road. I have my front fork dialed out to max. Tough to cover very many miles, but the views are good.

Thank you to all who have emailed. I am fine. I am also stumbling around quite a bit with my lousy Spanish. Learning lots, but much, much to learn. I can pretty much tell that this single month of travel in Chile will serve as no more than the briefest introduction.

Check back! Who knows what´s next?

==Greg