November 13, Day 32: Panguipulli to Huilo Huilo
A short day's ride today to Hotel Montaña Mágica ("Magic Mountain"). Hotels don't usually get me interested, but this one did because it can only be accessed by rope bridge. It's got a slick webpage in English and Spanish and prices to match. But for a night, it looks like a great idea! Did I say one night? I meant two.
It's deep in the mountains so there's a bit of climbing needed to get there. But the way the trip from Valdivia broke down means yesterday was heavier and today is lighter: quite light in fact, 4.5h for 60km. That's quite a generous amount of hours for the distance, probably more than a bit of climbing will be needed to get there.
But first, we've processed yesterday's regret and today we're getting an empanada. Today's empanada comes from a pasteleria, and was one of the few savoury things available. I was a little tempted to get something else as well - but have visions of it getting crumbed or flattened along the way, which would be a waste. If the empanada survives I'll try it.
Panguipulli has a grid layout with one-way system so the most efficient way out of town means going the opposite way for a block. Everyone politely gave me space for the few minutes I was in town, then the route turns left onto the state road, and heads up the hill. An underpowered local bus followed me through the intersection and although I was standing in the pedals and pushing hard it gradually reeled me in, dropped into second gear, went wide and cruised triumphantly past; I was a generous length behind when we got to the top.
So I rolled along on the shoulder, traffic is light, the sign "Cyclovia 100m" comes past, and about a hundred meters later it's "Cyclovia" with an old, slightly overgrown asphalt lane branching diagonally off. That's probably "cycle path"? I'm not stopping to consult Google Translate: let's try it! It does diverge from the road somewhat, but rejoins it before anyone would get anxious. This bikepath is not neglected or forgotten but fully abandoned, there's a layer of leaf litter all over it, and the brambles are so frequent and so big I'm getting scratched on both sides.
I'm rolling down an overgrown slope when I'm surprised to see someone coming the other way! A mountain biker, coming slowly up. He kindly pulls over to one side to let me past (muchas gracias) and we go our own way. Coincidence? With this much traffic the bikepath will be cleared of overgrowth in days.
In addition to carparks, the lookouts have metal stands to park bikes! This is the first time I can remember seeing them at lookouts, and I'm a bit surprised that it's in such a remote area. This can't be a popular cycling route.
From left to right: the usual road shoulder. The neglected cyclepath, before the brambles. More volcanos. Lookout/rest stop with bike parking. One of many rivers the road crosses.
I stop at one and eat the empanada, very carefully. No unpleasant surprises this time.
The route follows the shore of Lake Panguipulli as it goes up and down hills so there are some nice views. Expensive houses and lodges appear: recently constructed, modern architecture, elegant. With gates, sometimes even entrance archways. One had a high stone wall surrounding it which annoyed me unreasonably. Many have signs showing that they are upmarket tourist accomodation.
Lookouts now have stalls selling trinkets and instant coffee. I'm passed by some small buses, hear English being spoken by a group stopped at one lookout for a photo. Tourist season has started. And I suppose I'm part of the problem.
From left to right: the window in my room. Views of the Montaña Mágica rooms from outside, note the bridge on the right which I think is purely decorative. The other hotel building.
Montaña Mágica is definitely upmarket tourist accomodation. There's an immaculate glide-off the main road to access it, maintained by people who have been told in no uncertain terms how much first impressions matter. I park and lock my bike at the hotel entrance doors. The interior is all shiny floors, rugs, and padded chairs, which I should not go near until I'm showered and changed.
Reception has one person on duty; I'm next but the queue is degrading into anarchy ... an old gent with white hair tries to overtake on my left until I catch his eye and give him a "so nice to meet you!" smile cranked up to the full 800 watts, he grins back uncomfortably and retreats to my 8 o'clock. Some man with a handful of papers comes right through us on an ostentatious diagonal, parks himself next to the young couple being served, once they're done he gets his issue dealt with in seconds and departs. An older lady tries the ploy of "there's a second queue and I'm at the front of it" but the gambit doesn't work and she hops visibly in exasperation.
From left to right: Later I went for a walk to see the La Leona waterfalls. These fireplaces look real … but if they were set dressing I wouldn’t be surprised either.
High drama and I haven't even checked in yet. But it's my turn now; I get vague directions to the room which worryingly don't include "rope bridge". I don't have enough Spanish to follow that thread, and I know there's some big emotions coming to the boil behind me so I leave it.
A wrong turn takes me outside, where I can see what could be the bridge! Back inside I find some spiral stairs, follow them up - and find my room. Disappointed. Later on I go in search of it and can't see any way to get to it. As far as I can tell it's for appearances only, sadly. And it’s also not a rope bridge.
The room itself is quite fun though. It's all rounded walls and wood, all edges are picked out with thin branches. It's a bit like a Hobbit hole - in a Hobbit skyscraper. It's quite small, there's barely enough room to walk around the bed. The outside wall has a serious slant because the whole building is conical. The bathroom is so tiny that the door can't fully open, and the bathmat has to be arranged carefully for it to like fully flat.
It's definitely not the nicest place I'll stay this trip. But it's probably the most memorable.
