December 7, 2024

We started early this morning from Cochrane heading toward Caleta Tortel: 103 km of easy ripio until the junction with Puerto Yungay. Today marked the day we reached and surpassed 1,000 km on the Carretera Austral—a significant milestone!

One unforgettable moment was our stop after 80 km to eat at a señora’s house along the Carretera Austral. She welcomed us into her living room, where she set the table for the six of us cyclists and our two young Chilean drivers, Sebastián and Javier, who have become an integral part of the group with their friendliness and charm. They often try to fish for salmon in the streams during the journey, but so far, they haven’t caught a single one.

Before lunch, we played a quick soccer match in the señora’s garden: Fabio, Tony, Javier, and Nicola against Gigi, Sebastián, Stefano, and Alberto. Final score: 1-0 for the first team. Match duration: 7 minutes and 30 seconds. It felt like it would never end!

The señora prepared a delicious cazuela, a meat broth with mixed vegetables (cucumbers, squash, onions) and fried bread. We also met a lovely big dog in her garden who kept us company. It was a truly charming moment—the señora was very caliente and delighted us with her homemade dishes.

We left feeling full and happy, and at the Puerto Yungay junction, Nicola, Gigi, and Alberto hopped into the camper for the last 23 km to Caleta Tortel. Meanwhile, Fabio, Tony, and Stefano continued on their bikes, tackling 23 km of extremely challenging ripio—the toughest we’ve faced since the beginning of the trip. Altogether, we covered 126 km today.

Caleta Tortel is a seaside village with wooden walkways everywhere, allowing for long strolls right by the water. We arrived very tired, especially Nicola, who was dealing with several aches and pains. To get him to dinner, we ended up transporting him in a small cart. The video of Nicola being wheeled around is hilarious, especially with him grumbling at Sebastián, who was accused of leading us the wrong way to the restaurant.

Caleta Tortel is truly a beautiful village with countless walkways, small houses, and wooden structures resembling pagodas.

The day ended with dinner in a delightful comedería, where we enjoyed salmon, pork, arroz, beer, and wine.