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Off to work with a chainsaw and some bulls.From one barely pronoucably named town to the next, eh? Having said goodbyes to the Christmas crowd, I headed out into the rain and, climbing uphill out of Coyhaique, Brett wizzed by in a pickup truck he'd hitched a ride with. I pushed on. Endless rain and cloud obscured the mountian views but fortunately the...
I have been asked on a few ocassions how I managed to be able to take a year off to go cycling. I think the general priciples are probably the same for whatever big ambition you have. Here are a few things that I think we're helpful.Save money. Open a savings account (a tax free ISA is a good place to start). Most...
Brett and I woke up at 5:30am, in the pouring rain, to get to the ferry port at Chile Chico in time. We waited, getting soggier, whilst everyone else got on the ferry but we were made to wait till last. Cycle prejudice is rife. Inside the ferry was crazily crowded so we squeezed ourselves in to a cafeteria to eat breakfast of...
I'm really enjoying listening to The Levellers at the moment. Especially I like the lyrics from The Boatman.If I could choose the life I please Then I would be a boatman On the canals and the rivers free No hasty words are spoken My only law is the river breeze That takes me to the open seas If I could choose the life...
I'm reading a James Michner book called Journey that I picked up in a hostal. Its the story of an expedition during the gold rush to the Klondike River in northern Canada in 1897. Some pertinent advice is to be found near the bottom of page 120."We must change our socks at least twice a week and wash the worn ones in soap...
Rolled out of Cochrane and put in a shortish day to Puerto Bertrand. Rear tyre blewout and I had to bodge a fix with duct tape. There I met a dog that looked suprisingly similar to one I had seen in Cochrane. But I thought nothing of it. However, as I attempted to make chapatis and read my book the crazy little dog...
At Tortel I loaded up on supplies. This involved knocking politely on what looked just like someones house, only I had spied shelves of food through the window, and then asking in my finest spanish for oats, chocolate and one of each flavour of biscuits. To get bread I had to go to another house and knock on the window. The woman inside...
I have been through quite a bit since I last posted but not come across a decent internet connection. Incredibly, it seems to be quite good in this tiny village, Caleta Tortel, in a seaside cove, made entirely of wooden houses with boardwalks and wooden staircases connecting them. extrodinary. Its been tough going getting here. From Chalten to Lago Desierto was a nice...
After listening to a folk band in the campsite bar, and sampling (yet more) litres of Quilmes, our trusty pedal-powered hero woke fairly late and drank several cups of coffee and ate lots of toast and alfajor (yummy chocolate/ducle leche things). He then spent what seemed like an eternity trying to reorganise his panniers to be a) more convienient for commonly used items...
The Mighty Cerro Torre (as yet unclimbed by anyone from Finland)Another cheeky list post. With some peaks I´d like to climb or at least visit.1. Anconcagua - At 6962m this is the highest peak in South America. You really have to go with a guide, and at US$3000 I think I´ll have to pass this time.2. Mount Chimborazo - A volcano at 6268m...
Met a great cycling couple from Switzerland at the campsite. They have cycled from Ecuador and were kind enough to answer some of my daft questions. Here is a mini interview with them I recorded. Listen to find out a great tip to get more from your cycling tour and to find out how fast dogs run. Also I spent the day checking...
I´ve just finished a week trekking around Torres del Paine national Park in Chile. I had a fantastic time and its great to translate those photographs I had seen into actual memories. (This process is a bit like when I saw Chuck Berry play at Portsmouth Guildhall when I was 10 years old. It was my first gig and I went with my...
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Took a rest day at Hosteria des Torres campsite which consisted of reading, eating and composing hillarious poems. Then built giant bonfire to cook my pasta with peas and salami and warm my weary body.Yesterday I took to the road on my bike again and it feels good. There was a section of gravel road that was the worst yet but I had...