Chalten to Caleta Tortel

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 enough gravel track and on the way I met up with a South African guy called Bret who likes to eat and drink. After getting the ferry across Lago Desierto we camped with a Switz guy called Michael. The next day was a grueling one. If you wanted you could hire a horse for US$30 but us Hubbards are made of sterner stuff. The bike had to be pushed up steep and deeply rutted horse tracks for 10km before coming down a heavily potholed and steep gravel track.

The campsite was stunning, looking out over the turquoise waters of Lago O'Higgins and the surrounding mountains. We spent a day looking at it, reading books and tinkering with bikes while we waited for the ferry to turn up. The 4pm ferry arrived at 8pm and took us across Lago O'Higgins (bit Irish sounding,eh?). By the time we got to the other side, after watching a great sunset, it was dark and the 7km in to Villa O'Higgins had to be made by head torch.

I decided to get going after stocking up on supplies in VOH. Not many shops open as it was a Sunday and election weekend, and I couldn't face another day sat around scratching my bum. It was good to get moving on the bike, but hard work. The gravel road here is tough going with many potholes and washboard tracks, not to mention the hills and winds (they're normal now!). Scenery is stunning to the point that there is no need to listen to ipod, or even think much, you just look around and soak it all in.