November 12, Day 31: Valdivia to Panguipulli
Shortish day today: 6.5h, 105km, going east towards the Andes: more up than down. It's mostly following a river valley which means good views, but also climbs: the road never follows the contours as well as I'd like.
Since it's a shortish day I did have a bit of a slow start. After breakfast I went to the nearby Pasteleria to find something for lunch: the empanadas look tempting but I'm a bit worried it'd turn into crumbs in my pannier. Also the last time I ate an empanada it broke a tooth so I'm going to need more time to rebuild trust here. So I went for a mediocre, small and soft sandwich.
They also had coffee! Well, a coffee machine. Specifically a Nescafe thing with a button for each type of coffee. Basically a vending machine. I know I'll regret getting one.
I got one: the drink was hot and tasted slightly sweet and not like coffee but I only mostly regret getting it.
Then back to the room and do the packing in a leisurely sort of way while drinking the not-coffee. There's only 13 days of cycling left; they're all pretty relaxed days, nothing too strenuous. This definitely is the easy part of the trip: warm and sunny weather, shorter rides, luxurious accommodation at affordable prices, nice cafes everywhere, great cake options, all with good coffee. Well almost all; if only there had been such a cafe close by this morning!
Got on the road a bit before 10. The roads in Valdivia had no space for bicycles and were quite busy so I stayed on the pavement where possible. The route took me to a bikepath! These are still so rare that it's still a nice surprise. It took me out of town along the lakeside. Along the way we passed the remains of an old train station: the platforms and roof were still there, but the tracks were long gone and grass was everywhere. Around the corner was a yard full of decaying coaches. Did I miss a train museum!? Looks like it's not open to the public unfortunately. But not so long ago there was a working train line here.
From left to right: train graveyard. A good, useful bikepath. Some of those river valley views. Unusual bridge in Los Lagos. More views.
It's not the first disused trainline I've passed. The road occasionally crosses a trainline, but without exception they've been rusty and with weeds growing on the gravel, implying that no trains have come that way for year or two.
A bit of Googling shows a steam train used to tourists out to Antilhue and back, but the pages haven't been updated for a year and don't have any options to buy tickets so it looks like the service has ended.
Then it's onto the river valley, some good climbs but nothing too steep. The views are indeed spectacular, but there's a lot of trees growing alongside the road so it's hard to find a clear view for a good unobstructed photo.
I stop in in Antilhue. Without the l it would be much more fun...
From left to right: Antihue, if only. Bridge over the San Pedro river. I think 11 of these icons are official but maybe I’m being naive. Nice day to be out on the bike. Entering Panguipulli, revealing the Andes. Sunset.
The road shoulder is variable: sometimes there's a bit of space off the road for me to use, but about half the time I have to ride just outside the white line. Traffic is light, passing cars can give me a wide berth because the incoming lane is empty.
There's a noise from my back wheel which I'm not happy to hear; the wheel should be in tiptop shape after all the cleanups and repairs yesterday! I'm so irked I get off, lift the bike and spin the wheel to try to narrow it down. It slows down unnaturally, something is braking it. There's nothing touching it so presumably that means something internal. For now it's just minor, with any luck it'll stay that way.
The road crosses over the mountains to reveal the Andes, and then Panguipulli. The way down is steep, and the road is getting busy: Komoot takes me down a quiet sideroad and it's all good until the sideroad runs out and it rejoins the main one. There's so much traffic I have to wait a few minutes before there's a gap allowing me over to my lane. But once I've joined the flow it's not bad at all; the traffic is not going fast. In the center of town I regularly pass cars that have stopped blocking the lane which holds up traffic. I can zigzag around them in a way that cars cannot.
It's sunny and warm! And I arrived about 4pm. A very nice day to be out riding a bike.
Except that sandwich wasn’t enough. I'm quite hungry: I seriously regret not getting the empanada.
