They loaded more and more bicycles on that ferry - there were two ferries and this was the cheaper version. That boat will make it, but I actually had to convince myself...it looked old, very old and creaky/cranky. Our cheerful captain kept disappearing into the machine room below checking on the water pump who seemed to be working overtime. The boat was overloaded, that was clear. I kept watching his face when he crawled out of that hole, thinking to myself: if he doesn't worry, I don't need to worry.
The crowed was cheerful as well - 85% cyclists, the rest were backpackers. It was pretty cold in the wind and there were no blankest, but a heated wood stove, hot water and Yerba tea in the front room. The scenery breathtakingly beautiful with the snow peaked mountains surrounding us and crisp, blue very cold looking water. The ride lasted about two and a half hours. First sunny and clear and then the water got rough and chased us all below deck
but most of us weren't able to remain there.....starting to feel queazy and emerged to hang in the sheltered cock pit. I squeezed behind the captain on some nice cushioned bench where the heat was trapped. The next couple of days will be tough and I really enjoyed the comfort of getting somewhere without doing anything - only enjoying the views.
At the landing we were able to stamp our passports out of Chile - had lunch and headed up the big rocky gravel road - most of us pushing our loaded wire donkeys (German word for bicycle).
We were eight cyclists, braving this difficult stretch together -including one tandem (yes, the frenchies got it fixed in O'Higgins...and we reunited with Carol(in) and Arthur in O'Higgins)
Pretty busy road - I was surprised...lots of hikers and also cyclists coming from the other direction as well. We camped on top of the mountain near another airstrip. It was an adventure campsite with two huge white plastic dome tents and plenty of space. The young and friendly care taker said he was told not just let "any old campers" stay here unless it was a paid registered group, but our good man said he is boss when his boss isn't around and he would like our company. No problem for us! All was good except in the middle of the night the gusty wind had increased. The wind would flatten our tent almost to the ground with us inside trying to hold the poles in position...but one incredible strong gust snapped one of our tent poles in two places at the top and sliced through the rain fly all at once.The sky was clear - luckily no rain. We found our two extra pole sleeves fumbling around in the night under the stars with no moon and were able to repair at least the pole- the holes in the fly would have to wait. The sound of the snapping was so dramatic....I smiled inside: now we are almost done - the end of our trip...it's a little extra "spice in the soup" to deal with this kind of stuff.
This huge piece of land is owned by the cruise ferry company Robinson Crusoe (the one we didn't take) handed down by many generations. We had climbed to a pass which flattened out on the top surrounded by much higher mountains. The views under the crisp, clear sky at night were breathtaking and I was grateful to have been chased out of the tent at that hour to take in the view. The poor tent is on it's last leg, no matter how you slice it..(pan intended!)
