It's time for turkey in Maine and time for our last day of part 1 of our trip here on the Carretera Austral. That may come as a surprise - it certainly is for us after intending to take "short days" twice this week and instead biking 70+ km 3 days in a row. We are in a rhythm with the bikes and even with the dirt roads so it feels natural to just keep biking, have a snack, and then bike some more. Patagonia's late night sunset is resetting our clocks in some ways, giving us a second wind after 4pm (and I think the scones, berlins, and apple empanadas we have been snacking on may have something to to with this).
The days since "Puro Palena," the honey brand of Meli and Tito, have been puro cycling, and just as sweet as the honey! We have had consecutive days of 68, 62, 72, 70, and 70 kilometres according to a combination of our maps from 2011 and some disagreeing road signs. After the Questa Queulat and her 8km of uphill, flowing switchbacks on dirt road, I feel like our minds are less focused on if we can accomplish this, and more deep into enjoying the scenery and tapping into the strength that we know is in our bodies.
A highlight of my week was our detour to Puerto Cisnes, about 35km off the Ruta 7, to revisit a little corner store with delicious pastries that Martin, Rachel, Javier and I frequented in April 2014 before our ferry ride to Chiloe. The berlins (custard and doughnut deliciousness) and alfajores felt like the perfect reward to ourselves after long biking days. And we even went a step further and paid a to visit the local Cisnes brewery for fresh pale ale and pizza.
Meeting the other bikers along the road and at campsites has been another incredible mix of motivation and inspiration for us. From the very talkative Spaniards to a Chilean biking from Puerto Montt to Coyhaique in just a week, we feel like a part of of pretty stellar community. On Tuesday night, at the beautiful Reserva Lago Las Torres campsite, we were humbled by a Romanian cyclist who has been on the bike for 8 months; he biked from his home in Romania through Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India and Nepal, only to catch a flight to Argentina were he started his journey south to Chile. He was a force of strength - he preferred dirt road because he missed the mountain biking of back home and he easily pedaled between 90 and 170km a day, normally starting around 10am and finishing by 4pm. In all the places he had been he observed patterns, in weather and in people, and planned his days accordingly. In Iran the 50*C heat meant biking from 5am to 10am and then 7pm on, or in Argentina the brutal winds of the day started in the afternoons so he would be on the road by 6am to log at least 80km before he would have to fight the headwinds. His relaxed enjoyment of his adventures and his incredible stories of biking at 5,000m or the kindness of the people he encountered made for us a night well spent, taking over tea and fruits.
I will be missing my family dearly today, and although a sweet potato casserole cooked as well as mom's may be hard to come by, I am overflowing with thanks for everything this month has taught me, for my loved ones near and far, for a warm tent to sleep in, for a warm belly each night, and very, very thankful for Patagonia.
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