Day 3 in Puerto Montt-Making Progress of Sorts

I slept well last night, but had some trouble falling asleep. I would be laying in the bed, and I would start thinking about how I would say something in Spanish. If I couldn’t think of a word, then I would grab my phone and look it up. I did this a few times until I finally managed to fall asleep. At some point in my time in South America, I will probably start dreaming about how I would say something in Spanish, but because it’s a dream, something will prevent me from looking it up on my phone. That’s always the way it goes…Not only was I up later, but I still woke up earlier. I think I have reverse jet lag. I should be wanting to sleep longer. 

I ate some breakfast, took a shower, then went over to check on Markus. 

He’s alive!!!

He is starting to feel better. Enough so that he was able to put their bikes together. He did Alex’s bike first (“Violeta”). 

They are riding rigid bikes with the 18 speed Pinion and belt drives. They are doing a hybrid system of panniers in the back and fork bags on the front. 

Violeta was almost complete when I noticed the sun was out. I wanted to test ride Billy, so I went to our apartment and got Billy out. I only managed to ride to the end of the block before it started raining again, but Billy is fine…rolling, shifting, and stopping. 

Went back over to Alex and Markus’. Markus was pumping up Alex’s tires. Then there was another moment of sunshine. Alex managed the same amount of test riding as I did before it started raining again. 

Markus has his bike, “Max”, together, but hasn’t had a chance to test it. 

We are starting to formulate a plan, but it’s still in the early phase. Weather is the dictator. More on that, later. 

After some lunch, and a siesta for Markus, Alex, Markus, and I walked over to a coffee shop (Lani was taking a siesta). I had chocolate caliente. 

They even made a heart in my hot chocolate!

We walked from the coffee shop to Jumbo. I told Alex and Markus whenever I thought about Jumbo, I thought about Dumbo’s mother. 

See I was right!

I didn’t get anything at Jumbo, but I did a bit more scoping for what I will get before we leave. Soon, though, I will have to get more food because I will be running out of food to eat here. 

We walked back a different way. It was off and on raining, but for a moment there was this rainbow. 

Back at the apartment, Steve had arrived. After chatting for a bit, I got down to the questions at hand. What was Steve’s plan? Answer: Ride fast, ride south. Okay…perhaps more specific…when did he plan to leave? Tomorrow? Saturday? Sunday? Still not clear on his answer. I really wanted to get an idea because Alex wants to book the apartment for Sunday to Tuesday. We finally decided Alex would book the apartment for her, Markus, and I, and Lani and Steve would figure out what they wanted to do…maybe they go do a side trip, or maybe move to a cheaper place. So, it’s been booked. The weather improves toward Wednesday. Markus has a possible plan for the first four days of the ride. It’s not big miles, and we’ll have 3 ferries. A good way to ease into it. 

So, that’s pretty much it for today. We’ll see what tomorrow brings…

Day 3 in Puerto Montt-Making Progress of Sorts

I slept well last night, but had some trouble falling asleep. I would be laying in the bed, and I would start thinking about how I would say something in Spanish. If I couldn’t think of a word, then I would grab my phone and look it up. I did this a few times until I finally managed to fall asleep. At some point in my time in South America, I will probably start dreaming about how I would say something in Spanish, but because it’s a dream, something will prevent me from looking it up on my phone. That’s always the way it goes…Not only was I up later, but I still woke up earlier. I think I have reverse jet lag. I should be wanting to sleep longer. 

I ate some breakfast, took a shower, then went over to check on Markus. 

He’s alive!!!

He is starting to feel better. Enough so that he was able to put their bikes together. He did Alex’s bike first (“Violeta”). 

They are riding rigid bikes with the 18 speed Pinion and belt drives. They are doing a hybrid system of panniers in the back and fork bags on the front. 

Violeta was almost complete when I noticed the sun was out. I wanted to test ride Billy, so I went to our apartment and got Billy out. I only managed to ride to the end of the block before it started raining again, but Billy is fine…rolling, shifting, and stopping. 

Went back over to Alex and Markus’. Markus was pumping up Alex’s tires. Then there was another moment of sunshine. Alex managed the same amount of test riding as I did before it started raining again. 

Markus has his bike, “Max”, together, but hasn’t had a chance to test it. 

We are starting to formulate a plan, but it’s still in the early phase. Weather is the dictator. More on that, later. 

Day 2 in Puerto Montt-Jumbo Has Everything!

Boy, did I sleep well last night! I started out with 4 blankets over me, and slowly peeled down to two. I slept solidly until 7:30. 

It’s raining quite a bit today. Glad we are not riding yet. And, about that…we might be in Puerto Montt a little longer. For one thing, Markus is sick with a nasty cold and fever. He’s not confident he’ll be feeling better enough by our planned departure of the 19th (Sunday). But, also, the weather. It’s not looking good until later next week. None of us really want to ride everyday in the rain at the beginning. I did that already on the Oregon Coast. No thank you. 

Alex and I walked over to the Jumbo Supermercado (it’s much like Fred Meyer). Holy moly! So fun wandering around! We found such delicacies as this

Don’t have to worry about this ketchup…it’s harmless! It was next to the Eggless mayo. 

There’s a whole bunch of German brands (which makes Alex laugh). There are a ton of American brands too. I confers, I did get these cookies. 

Coconut, yum!

I was mostly only getting food to eat here in Puerto Montt, but I was scoping out what I will get before we leave. I did get a bag of muesli that I will eat some here because it’s a big bag. I was able to get fuel for my stove, and also alcohol for my alcohol stove. My backpack was stuffed full, and Alex let me put some stuff in her shopping bag (I carried it back). 

Lani has been continuing to clean her stuff, and put her new wheels on. She has also done all her laundry (after I brought back some laundry detergent), and her bike is looking good. 

I cooked myself some dinner of gnocchi with olive oil, tomatoes, mushrooms, avocado, and Parmesan. Side note…in the northern part of South America and in Mexico, avocado is aguacate. From, I think, Bolivia south, it is “paleta”. 

Around 8:00pm, I noticed there was some sun! I didn’t think to grab my camera. But then, as the sun was setting, I noticed there was some blue sky!

Of course it was just a sucker hole. All around were black clouds…*sigh*, and it’s back to raining now. 

I did organize my black dry bags to make sure everything fit. It’s tight, but it fits. I still have completely empty fork bags for food. 

We’ll cross our fingers that Markus feels better soon, and the rain let’s up. I would really like to get out on Billy and make sure he is in good working order. Maybe tomorrow…

I’m a Cyclist, Not a Runner

I am pretty tired. Then again, I have been traveling nearly 23 hours. Makaela picked me up at 5:15 yesterday morning. We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. It took me a moment to figure out where to pay for the bag and bike boxes (my bike and the wheels for Lani). One employee directed me to the kiosk, but that didn’t work. Then they said go to international bag drop. I got rid of the IKEA bag, then had to wheel the bike box and wheel box over to oversize drop-off. It’s always a little worrisome (except for Alaska where it is a legitimate room) because I’m just dropping the boxes off onto a cart. I just hope the cart makes it to the plane. 

I was through security quickly, and my gate was right next to security, so I didn’t even have to walk any distance to the gate. I did walk to get a breakfast sandwich. 

We boarded the plane on time, then proceeded to sit for an hour before departing. As I watched my layover time in Atlanta get less and less, I thought to myself, great, I start off this adventure by missing my connecting flight. But, Delta frequently makes up time, so fingers were crossed. 

Finally in the air. Goodbye Seattle!

When we were about an hour out from Atlanta, I asked the flight attendant what my chances were of making my flight to Santiago. She checked which gate I had to get to. Atlanta is a huge airport. I had to go from the A concourse to the international concourse (concourse E). According to the directions, it would take me 18 minutes. The flight attendant said I could make it as long as I went straight there. She said they knew we were getting in late. I vowed to make it in 12. I got off the plane as fast as I could, made my way to the train, and rode it for 5 stops. Once in the E concourse , I hustled to the gate. Well, there was no rush. The Team USA athletes for the Pan American Para Games were also flying to Santiago. Lots of wheelchairs means it takes awhile to board. I was ecstatic because that just gave more time for my baggage to get from one plane to the other. We ended up departing Atlanta about 45 minutes late. I had a longer layover in Santiago, but I also had a lot to do. 

After 8 hours and 40 minutes, we touched down in Santiago, Chile. I had no idea if I had enough time, so I hustled. It was more of a hurry up and wait. I got through Passport Control pretty quickly. Then I had to go get the bag and boxes. It was  at least a half hour before I finally saw my IKEA bag come on to the carousel. Then I had to wait another 15 minutes at Oversize to get the boxes. Once I had the cart loaded with everything, I had to go through customs. The bike box wouldn’t fit through the opening. I had to take it off the cart and carry it through. They ran all the stuff through the X-ray. Then I had to load it back on the cart and take it to domestic connection. Once I got rid of the baggage again, I had to hustle to the domestic terminal. Fortunately, I had my boarding pass. When I came out of the international terminal, there was a sign for Terminal 1. I went to the sign, and told the guy I was going to Terminal 1. He said to get in the cart. He took me over to Terminal 1

It’s quite aways. 

In the domestic terminal, I had to go through security again. It was a long line, but moved steadily. Once again, I was cutting it close. I had a longish walk to the gate. I got there before boarding had started. I had 7 minutes until boarding started, and I was in “grupo 4”. I went and grabbed something to eat. 

I boarded the plane, and the flight actually took off on time. Made it to Puerto Montt, even arriving 10 minutes early (wouldn’t you know…the only flight I didn’t have a time constraint). Even the bag and bike boxes arrived at baggage claim relatively quickly. I was texting Lani within 20 minutes of getting off the plane. She said she was waiting for the bus. She asked if I still wanted her to come. I said yes, but if I’d just waited 5 more minutes I could have saved her a long bus ride to and from the airport. As it was, a young man saw me pushing the cart with all the baggage, and asked if I was looking for a taxi. He said he had a van. I said yes, but I was waiting for a friend to come to the airport. By this time, I figured Lani was already on her way. The driver said it was okay, we could wait. But then Lani said she was still only about halfway there. The driver asked if I just wanted him to take me (I had the address of the apartment). I tried to text Lani, but the airport wifi wasn’t connecting well. Jorge, the driver told me to use the hotspot on his phone. I called Lani, and told her we were just going to go (which she thought was a better idea). Jorge and I loaded all the stuff in his van (like a Sprinter van size), and headed out. The van was very new, 2022. He said he can work more because the van is bigger than his old taxi. All the way to the apartment, Jorge taught me Spanish, and I taught him English. It was great! By the time we got to the apartment, he had given me his WhatsApp number, and said to call him if I had any questions or problems. 

We pulled up, and Alex and Markus came out immediately! Alex was hugging me before I even got out of the van. It is so great to see them again! As usual, we picked up right where we left off, as if it hasn’t been 9 years since we last saw each other (when Christian and I visited them in 2014).

Since Lani was still on her bus adventure, we brought all the stuff into their apartment (two away from Lani and I). We chatted non-stop until Lani got back. Then I walked over to a small mercado with Alex and Markus to get something for dinner. Along the way there was this cute white bunny. 

When we got back we moved all my stuff over to Lani’s and my place. Lani had gotten into her box while we were at the mercado. It was like Christmas had come early! She was so excited. I opened up Billy’s box. He survived all his plane transfers just fine. I got him all put together, mostly so we could clear the box out. Here’s a couple of photos of our apartamento. 

Through the door in the corner is a washing machine. 

Somewhat treacherous stairs going up to the bedrooms and bathroom. 

My bedroom. 

We are here for four days. Markus has a cold, and I have stuff to get (fuel and food, mostly). Plus, the weather is not supposed to be good. It is chilly here, but the sun came out (apparently I brought it with me), and it’s great to see all the leaves sprouting on the trees. It’s Spring! 

I managed to stay up quite late, but now my eyes are getting bleary, and I can hardly see to type. More tomorrow! I’ve got good WiFi here. 

This Time Next Week…

I will be a bundle of nerves. Okay, I’m already cooking up a few nerves. Next Tuesday, Nov 14th, I leave for a 2 1/2 to 3 month trip in South America…Chile and Argentina to be precise. I’ll be meeting up with my friends, Alexandra and Markus (from Germany, currently in Spain, heading to Madrid to fly to Puerto Montt, Chile) and Lani (from here in Washington, currently in Chile, making her way to Puerto Montt after having been in SA for the last 7 1/2 months) in Puerto Montt on Nov 15th after a lengthy flight. We’ll be riding the Carratera Austral (Ruta 7) from Puerto Montt to Villa O’ Higgins, then crossing into Argentine to make our way south to Ushuaia and Tierra Del Fuego. 

My friend, Makaela, will ferry me, my bike, and other baggage to Seattle where I will fly first to Atlanta, Georgia. After a short layover of less than two hours, I will fly, overnight, to Santiago, Chile. Fortunately, I have a longer layover in Santiago which will, hopefully, give me enough time to get through customs, and get my stuff on the flight to Puerto Montt. Once everything arrives in Puerto Montt, THEN I will relax. Until then…a bit nervous. 

Even though I still have a week to go, most everything is packed. 

I’ll carry on the two Aeroe dry bags (strapped together) and the backpack. Everything else is in the IKEA Frakta bag. My plan is to fold up that bag, and carry it with me on the ride…assuming it survives the flights. That way, at the end, I’ll only have to get another bike box. 

Billy, my Priority 600X hardtail, is the bike getting to go on this adventure. As you can see, he is packed into his box. This will be the 4th flight for this box (not counting its shipping from Priority, which was probably by truck). The nice thing about the Priority is that it doesn’t have a derailleur to worry about. It’s a Pinion gear box with a Gates Carbon Belt Drive. 

So what’s left to do? I have to get cash in the form of nice crisp, new, US dollars. I discovered, in Nepal last year, they can be pretty picky about the condition of US currency when exchanging money. Weirdly, in some instances in Chile, there is a discount if one pays with US currency. 

Within 48 hours of leaving, I need to get proof of onward travel (I just have a one-way ticket). This can be done in a few different ways. One is to purchase a cheap ticket out of Chile that I won’t use…a throwaway ticket. Another option is to purchase a fully refundable ticket that I can then cancel as soon as I get to Puerto Montt. A third option, and what I will do, is to “rent” a ticket. There are a few websites where, for a small fee, they book a ticket for you that goes away after 48 hours. You are given proof of onward travel that you can show…if asked. Then, you don’t have to do anything else. I’ll purchase my ticket home when I have a better idea of when that will be. 

I plan to blog while I’m in SA, however, I’m sure I will not be able to post every day. I will upload posts when I have WiFi. I am not getting a SIM card for my phone. If I need to have service, I can turn on data for $10 for 24 hours. This is what I did for Australia. In four months time, I turned on my phone 5 times. That was cheaper than getting SIM cards. So, don’t worry if you don’t see a blog post. Just know I will be writing them, and uploading when I can. 

Until that first blogpost, wish me luck getting myself and all my stuff to Puerto Montt all together, and in one piece. 

FDOC Day 15-Tagging the Border

Sun’s up for a final short ride!

This morning I waited for Matt to finish getting packed up, and we headed for the border together. We stopped out front of Darlynn’s hotel to let her know we were headed to the border (5 miles to go). 

The lighthouse in Brookings (by the Beachfront Inn). 

We followed Oceanside Dr until it came back out to 101. From there it was just a bit over a mile to the border. 

Matt riding up to the border sign. 

We arrived around 8:30. While we waited for Darlynn, we took a few photos. 

The trusty steeds have arrived. 

Selfie time!

Mike (actually not from Seattle, lives in England, but is Australian) rolled up. We took his photo with the sign for him. 

There’s Mike!

Darlynn arrived and we took more photos. 

Woo Hoo! 

We loaded the bikes and bags into the pickup and went back to Darlynn’s hotel room. I took a quick shower, and put on my clean shirt and mostly clean pants. We drove back north, telling Darlynn about our days riding south. We saw a few cyclists heading south, and even a couple heading north. Stopped for “World Famous Hot Dogs” in Langlois (they’re not that great). Talked to one of the northbound cyclists we saw when he pulled in. 

We continued on, and stopped at the same place in Bandon for dessert, and coffee. Each time Mazie the boxer got to get out and stretch her legs. She was my backseat buddy. 

Smile Mazie!

We are still making our way home (it’s a long drive), but we’ll be there in less than an hour. Mazie has conked out, pretty sure she thinks she doesn’t get dinner tonight (she’s had some treats). 

This was a good tour. The first few days weren’t so great with all the rain, and we were sad to see Sue go (but she made a good choice). Even though I’ve done this ride too many times, I still learned new things, like how to take a bus if you want to skip some hills. I really admire Sue’s resourceful skills in making it work for her. I think both Sue and Matt also learned a lot. I’m sure this is not the last adventure for either of them. 

An extra special thanks to Darlynn for bringing new tires to Matt, and for coming to Brookings to bring us home at the finish. 

 

FDOC-Day 14-The Final Full Day of Riding

Here’s a couple of photos from Humbug Mtn I forgot to put in last night’s post. 

My campsite at the top of the H/B. 

Matt’s campsite below me. 

I got a slightly earlier start this morning. Matt thought he was way ahead, and thinking he’d only be about 10 minutes behind me. Bwahahaha…let’s face it, I’m tough to beat when it comes to packing up. Slow on the road, but getting to the road, I’m fast (well organized and efficient). 

The day started out warmer than we’ve had the whole trip. No puffy jacket needed at the start. No long finger gloves. Could have even gone without my leg warmers (took them off at Ophir Wayside).

The scenery was very nice. 

One of my favorite parts is the Old Coast Rd. 

For a chunk of it, it’s a one lane road. There are some rollers, but little to no traffic. Quite pleasant. It goes all the way to the bridge over the Rogue River into Gold Beach. 

Patterson Bridge. 

Matt still hadn’t caught up to me by Gold Beach. I looked at Google maps for a coffee-bakery. I found one at the other end of town. I made my way there, then texted Matt where I was. He showed up not long after I had gotten there. He hadn’t seen my text, but he saw my bike out front. 

After a break and refuel, we continued south for the biggest climb of the day up to Cape Sebastian. It’s not the worst climb, but it is long. And today, it was hot. 

Gotta get over that 

A Matt and Colleen selfie. 

Of course, Matt was at the top long before me, but he waited for me to arrive. 

Nearly there!

Ahhh…now that is my favorite sign!

Coming down Sebastian in the past, I have setapersonal speed record of 49.7mph. Unfortunately, Tilmann can’t seem to get that high off speed. I was only able to reach 34.9mph. 

Not too long after Sebastian, we entered the Samuel Boardman Scenic Corridor. This is the beginning of all the brown signs. Some are worthwhile, others not so much. We pulled off at Arch Rock (worthwhile).
Arch Rock. 

Then shortly after, Natural Bridges. 

Also worthwhile. The rest were nothing special. 

I arrived at Harris Beach State Park after Matt. He was already at the H/B site. We had finished our last full day of riding. 

Matt’s wife has driven down to Brookings. After showers, And setting up our camp (and talking to the several other cyclists here-Olivia and Felicity, Mike, Tate and Rochelle, and a hiker too), Darlynn came and picked us up for dinner. We had a celebratory (slightly early as we still have to ride the 8 miles to the border tomorrow) dinner at a Mexican restaurant. 

Tomorrow morning we will tag the border, then head home. 

Matt, Mike, and I. 

Our final camp.