Glenda's wood-fired stove, oven, and hot water heater.

Julie is cycling on borrowed tire (like living on borrowed time), and it is holding up well. Thank you Shauna!  We started out on a cool, crisp morning with fresh bread that Glenda baked in her wood-fired oven, and cheese from the corner store.  We met Chilean cyclists Nikolo and Leona heading north and found out more about the sin represtas protest signs we’ve been seeing.  Starting in 2012, high-tension power lines will be blotting the landscape from a new hydroelectric dam in the south (that won’t produce electricity until 2027) to power copper mines in the north of Chile.  So now is the last chance to see this pristine landscape unspoiled.  Meltwater from nearby snow-capped peaks creates waterfalls everywhere you look, cascading down from craggy heights.  It rains almost every day in Puerto Aysen (on the coast), but it is sunny today on the Carretera Austral just 17 km away; and the land is noticeably drier in Coyhaique, 63 km inland.  We found wider tires to fit both our bikes at a good bike shop here, but Julie will keep riding on borrowed tire because it is easier to carry the folding Schwalbe spare in her panniers.

Chileans Nikolo & Leona cycling north from Caleta Tortel to Bariloche.

Dawn along Rio Manihuales.

Eugenio at Figon bike shop fixed our bikes.

View at dusk from Coyhaique.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 21st, 2010 at 14:25 and is filed under David's Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.