I spend two nights in San Carlos de Bariloche, a very nice place. I pack up camp and say goodbye to some friendly campers. Then I’m off, around the lake and heading west for Chile and the Andes. The road is metal and the ride is great, through native bush and trees and then up to the border. The Argentine border guards are great. They’re very friendly and offer me a whiskey and a chat. The road is very hilly and winding. It’s one lane, and unsealed through the mountains. Then, I’m headed down to Osorno and Valdivia.
The countryside has been very green and forested, the people friendly, and the petrol cheap. There are lots of old cars on the road, including Model A Fords and other early American models.
I find the Hotel Union and book in for the night for 1,000 pesos ($2.50). The main road is concrete and still under construction in places, but has no bridges. You cruise along, and then the road turns to metal, and you bump down to a rickety old bridge or ford before the road takes you back up to the concrete highway.
In Concepción, another coastal town, I park up at the Hotel Cecil for 47 escudos, the Chilean currency ($2). Petrol is cheap here too, with 21 liters at 24 escudos ($1). I get approximately 200 miles to a tank.
Chile is a narrow country and only has one main road. I do 258 miles, not arriving in the big city of Santiago until just after dark, as an endless amount of road diversions delay my arrival. I pull into a service station for some directions, and a couple on an Argentine-made Gilera motorcycle pull up for a chat. Alfonso and his wife not only find me a cheap hotel, but insist on paying for it.
The next day, Alfonso and two other motorcyclists show me around the city and take me home for dinner. The total mileage now from Punta Arenas is 2,258 miles.