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  • Armenia 18/4/2016
  • Baku, Azerbaijan
  • Georgia
  • 2-3/4/2016 Trabzon to Batumi, Georgia
    • 21-27/3/2016 Atakent to Trabzon >
      • 12-21/3/2016 Cide to Akakent >
        • 6-11/3/2016 Eregli to Cide
  • 26/2-4/3/2016 Istanbul to Eregli
    • Istanbul 15-25/2/2016 >
      • London 30/1-15/2/2016 >
        • Istanbul 19-30/1/2016
  • Proposed Journey East from Istanbul, March 2016
  • Sth Africa 6-19/1/2016
    • South Africa 6/12/2015 to 6/1/2016
  • Namibia 24/10-5/12/2015
    • Namibia 1/10/2015 to 23/10/2015
  • Zambia 7-30/9/2015
  • 21/8/2015 Malawi
  • 30/7-20/8/2015 Kigoma to Malawi Border
    • 21-30/7/2015 Tanzanian border to Kigoma, Lake Tanganyika >
      • 18-20/7/2015 Kigali to Tanzanian border >
        • 12-15/7/2015 Gisenyi to Kigali >
          • 10-11/7/2015 Rwandan border to Gisenyi
          • 15th June to 8th July Uganda
  • Last days in Kenya
    • 1-6/6/2015 Meru to Nyahururu >
      • 28-31/05/2015 Kenol to Meru >
        • 2011-16 Map >
          • 12-18/10/2014 Beausejour to St Laurent do Maroni >
            • 7-11/10/2014 St Georges to Beausejour, French Guiana >
              • 3-7/10/2014 Amapá, Brazil to St Georges, French Guiana >
                • 1-2/10/2014 Porto Grande to Amapá, AP >
                  • 26-29/9/2014 Macapá to Porto Grande >
                    • 16-23/9/2014 Almeirim to Macapá >
                      • 11-16/9/2014 Rurópolis to Almeirim, PA,BR >
                        • New Page
                        • 13/8-10/9/2014 Rurópolis, BR to Christchurch, NZ, return >
                          • 2-12/8/2014 Altamira to Ruropolis >
                            • 1-4/8/2014 Pacajá to Altamira, PA >
                              • 29/7-1/8/2014 Marabá to Pacajá, PA, BR230
        • 21-28/5/2015 Ongata to Kenol >
          • 5-21/5/2015 Iten to Ongata Rongai, Nairobi >
            • 2-6/5/2015 Kitale to Iten >
              • 1-2/5/2015 Lodwar to Kitale, Kenya >
                • Kenya: Omorate to Lodwar 20/04- 1/05/2015
  • 12-18/4/2015 Abra Minche to Omorate, Ethiopia
    • 3-10/4/2015 Waliso to Abra Minch >
      • 16-30/3/2015 Dese to Waliso, Ethiopia >
        • Ethiopia 9-16/3/2015 Me'kele to Dese >
          • 19/2-8/3/2015 Ethiopia
  • 25/1-18/2/2015 Sudan
  • 16-17 Luxor to Aswan
    • 8-15/1/2015 Asyut to Luxor >
      • 7-10/1/2015 Giza to Asyut
  • 1-6/1/2015 Cairo
    • Proposed passage Cairo to Cape Town Jan 2015 >
      • 21/10-12/11/2014 Suriname and Guyana
  • Updated Gear List
  • Rodovia Transamazônica
  • 21- 25/7/2014 Redencáo to Marabá, PA
    • Pará: 17-22/7/2014 Confresa, MT to Redencao, PA >
      • 9-13/7/2014 Nova Xavantina to Confreza, MT >
        • 3-4/7/2014 Barra do Garcas to Nova Xavantina >
          • 26-31/6/2014 Rondonópolis to Barra Do Garcas, MT >
            • 20-23/6/2014 Rio Verde, MS to Rondonópolis, MT >
              • 13-17/6/2014 Bonito to Rio Verde de Mato Grosso >
                • 9-11/6/2014 Jardim to Bonito MS, BR >
                  • 7-9/6/2014 Pedro Juan Caballero, PY to Jardim,BR >
                    • 9,10,11/5/2014 Remanso to Concepción onboard MV Osmar >
                      • 6-7/5/2014 Remanso,PY >
                        • 6/5/2014 Asunción to Remanso, PY >
                          • 27/4-2/5/2014 Foz do Iguaco, BR to Asunción, PY >
                            • 24-26/4/2014 Andresito to Puerto Iguazu >
                              • 19-21/4/2014 El Soberbio to San Antonio, AR >
                                • 16-17/4/2014 El Progreso to El Soberbio, AR >
                                  • 13-15/4/2014 Apóstoles to El Progreso >
                                    • 28/3-1/4/2014 Buenos Aires,AR to Paysandu, UY >
                                      • Profile Paysandu to Brazil
                                    • 9-12/4/2014 Tapebicuá to Apóstoles, AR >
                                      • 8/4/2013 Sawmill, north of Bonpland to 3km sth of Tapebicuá
                    • 28-30/5/2014 Concepción to Pedro Juan Caballero PY >
                      • 23-25/5/2014 Aquidaban back to Concepción >
                        • 16-20/5/2014 Tres Gigantes Estación Biologica >
                          • 14-16/5/2014 Vallemi to Bahia Negra on the Aquidaban >
                            • 13/5/2014 Bus trip Concepción to Vallemi
                    • 1-6/6/2014, Pedro Juan Caballero
  • 25/1/2014 USHUAIA
    • 23-24/1/2014 Rio Grande to Rio Lasifashaj >
      • 22-23/1/2013 Punta Arenas, CL to Rio Grande, AR >
        • 16-19/1/2014 Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas >
          • 14-15/1/2014 Torres Del Paine National Park, CL >
            • 8-12/1/2014 El Calafate to Puerto Natales >
              • 1-7/1/2013 Villa O'Higgins, CL to El Calafate, AR >
                • 27-31/12/2013 Cochrane to Villa O'Higgins >
                  • 19-26/12/2013 Coyhaique to Cochrane >
                    • 12-18/12/2013 Rio Santiago Bastia to Coyhaique >
                      • 6-12/12/2013 La Piedra del Gato to Mañihuales >
                        • 5-9/12/2013 Quellón to La Junta, CL >
                          • 29/11/2013 5/12/2013 Castro to Quellón, Chiloe, CL >
                            • 24/11/2013 Puerto Montt to Castro >
                              • 16-23/11/2013, San Martín, AR to Puerto Montt, CL >
                                • 9-14/11/2013 Temuco, CL to San Martín de los Andes, AR
                                • Cunco to Temuco and Santiago by bus
                                • Untitled
                                • 20,21/10/2013 Malargue to Los Frisos,AR
                                • 22-29/10/2013 Las Frisas, AR to Cunco,CL
  • 13/3/2012 Penonomé to Playa Gorgona
    • 14/3/2011 Playa Gorgona to Panama City
    • 15,16/3/2011 Panama City >
      • 14/4/2012, Shelter bay & Gatun Locks >
        • 15,16/4/2012 Canal transit >
          • 17/4/2012 Shelter Bay Marina onboard SV Bijou >
            • Feb 2014, An account of a road trip in New Zealand
          • 18,19/4/2012 Shelter Bay Marina
      • 17.../3/2012 Onboard SV Moondance, Brisas de Amador >
        • 25 March to 9 April, Gorgona, PC,Las Bresas >
          • 11/4/2012, Shelter Bay Marina,SV Bijou
          • 12/4/2012, Shelter Bay, and a bit of exploring
        • 11/3/2012 Las Lajas to Santiago >
          • 12/3/2012, Santiago to Penonomé
  • 7/4/2013 Bella Unión, UY to north of Bonpland, AR
    • 4-6/4/2014 Salto to Bella Unión, UY >
      • 2-3/4/2014 Termas de Guaviyú to Salto
  • Overnight Stop Map
    • 20-27/4/2012 Passage Portobelo to Santa Marta, Colombia
    • 28-29/2012 Santa Marta
  • Chile to Argentina (click on this header for an entry)
    • 6/9/2013 59km up the road camping
    • 7/9/2013 the corner to Paso Jama, Argentina
    • 8/9/2013 Paso Jama to adobe ruins on Salar de Olaroz
    • 9/9/2013 Ruins to south of Susques
    • 10/9/2013 Sth of Susques to bottom of range, camping >
      • 11/9/2013 bottom of the range to Purmamarca
      • 12/9/2013 Purmamarca to Lake campground near Salta >
        • 13,14/9/2013 Dique Cobre Corral to Salta,AR >
          • Salta south >
            • 17/9/2013 Quebrada De Las Conchas to Cafayate
      • 19/9/2013 Cafayate to 15km to Rio El Tesaro, camping >
        • 20/9/2013 Rio El Tesaro to Rio Belén, sth of Hualfin
      • 21/9/2013 Rio Belén to Belén >
        • 22/9/2013 Belén to a creek bed 42km sth
        • 23/9/2013 creek bed to 10km nth of Pituil
        • 25/9/2013 north of Pituil to Chilecito
        • 25-30/9/2013 Chilecito, AR
        • 1-7/10/2013 Chilecito to Caucete, AR >
          • 9-12/10/2013 Caucete to Tunuyán, AR
      • 13-15/10/2013 Caucete to San Rafael, AR >
        • 17/10/2013 San Rafael to Malargue, AR
  • Chile from 28/8/2013
    • 29/8/2013 Ascotán to Chiu Chiu
    • 30/8/2013 Chiu Chiu to Calama, CL
    • 31/8,1/9/2013 Calama to San Pedro de Atacama, CL
  • 20/7/2013 Titicaca area to Bolivian border
    • 20/7/2013 Sicuani to Santa Rosa >
      • 21/7/2013 Santa Rosa to Juliaca >
        • 22/7/2013 Juliaca to 6km past Huancané >
          • 23/2013 Huancané to Conima, camping >
            • 24/7/2013 near Conima, Peru to Puerto Acosta, Bolivia >
              • 25/7/2013 Puerto Acosta to Nth of Ancoraimes
  • 26/7/2013 Nth of Ancoraimes to Achacachi
    • 27/7/2013 Achacachi to Copacabana >
      • 28,29/7/2013 Copacabana BO, Kasani PE, Copa. BO
      • 30/7/2013 Copacabana, BO to Desaguadero, PE
      • 31/7/2013 Desaguadero, PE to El Alto, BO
      • 1,2/8/2013 El Alto to La Paz
      • 3,4,5/8/2013 La Paz
      • 8/08/2103 La Paz to Nth of Ayo Ayo, Camping
      • 9/8/2013 Nth of Ayo Ayo to south of Villa, camping >
        • 10/8/2013 Sth of Villa to just sth of Oruro, camping >
          • 11/8/2013 Sth of Ororo to Sth of Pazna, camping >
            • 12/8/2013 Sth of Poopo to Challapata >
              • 13,to17/8/2013 Challapata to Jirira 18-26/8 to Ollague,Chile
  • Peru 20/4/2013.....
    • 20-22/4/2013, Macará to Olmos, PE
    • 23-27/4/2013 Olmos to Chachapoyas,PE
    • 27/4/2013, Chachapoyas, PE
    • Chachapoyas to Cajamarca, PE >
      • 1/5/2013 Lejmebamba to Cerros de Calla-Calla >
        • 2/5/2013 Cerros de Calla-Calla to Balsas >
          • 3/4/2013 Balsas to a farm house overlooking Limon >
            • 4/5/2013 farm house campsite to south of Celendin >
              • 5,6/5/2013 Sth of Celendin to Cajamarca
    • 7/5/2013 Cajamarca to 9km before Cajabamba >
      • 8/5/2013, 9 km north of Cajabamba to Laguna Sousacocha >
        • 11/5/2013 Haumachuco to Trujillo
        • 9,10/5/2013 Laguna Sausacocha to Huamachuco
      • 18/5/2013 Lima
      • 23-25/5/2013 Trujillo to Caraz, PE >
        • 26,27/5/2013 Caraz to Huaraz, PE >
          • 28/5/2013 Huaraz to 34km south of Pachocoto,PE >
            • 29/5/2013 Farm 25km past Chacapoto to 12km on Huánuco Rd >
              • 30/5/2013,12km up Huanuco road to camp at 4600m >
                • 31/5/2013 near summit to La Union
    • 1/6/2013 Huánaco to camp near Acobamba >
      • 2,3/6/2013 Camping near Acobamba to Huánuco
    • 16/6/2013 Huancayo to Cuzco and Machu Picchu >
      • 16/6/2013 Huancayo to south of Mariscal Cáceres, camping >
        • 17/6/2013 sth Mariscal Cáceres 4km sthLa Esmeralda,camping >
          • 18/6/2013 Sth of La Esmaralda to Huanta >
            • 19/6/2013 Huanta to Ayacucho
  • 22/6/2013 Ayaucucho to top of pass before Ocros, 4200m
    • 23/6/2013 cerca la cumbre a 5km sur de Puente Pampas >
      • 23/6/2013 Sur de Puente Pampas a 5km este de Uripa >
        • 24/6/2013 above Uripa to Andahualas >
          • 25/6/2013 Andahuaylas to 10km below the summit >
            • 26/6/2013 near the summit to Puente Pachachaca >
              • 29/6/2013 Abancay to Curahuasi >
                • 30/6/2013 Curahuasi to a camp on the Rio Apurimac >
                  • 1/7/2013 Rio Apurimac to Izcuchaca >
                    • 2/7/2013 Izcuchaca and Cuzco >
                      • 4,5/7/2013 Izcuchaca to Cuzco >
                        • 9,10,11/7/2013 Cuzco to Machu Picchu >
                          • 11-16/7/2013 Cuzco >
                            • 17/7/2013 Cuzco to Quiquijana camping on el Rio Vilcanota
              • 27,28/6/2013 Puente Pachachaca to Abancay
  • 4/6/2013 Huánuco to just south of Huariaca
    • 5/6/2013 Huariaco to Cerro De Pasco >
      • 7,8/5/2013 Cerro De Pasco >
        • 8/6/2013 Cerro De Pasco to Junín >
          • 9/6/2013 Junín to 20km south of La Aroya, camping >
            • 10/6/2013 Sth of La Aroya to Huancayo
  • Medellín to Ushuaia, 2013 (april 2013 here,)
    • 31/1/13 Riosucio to Anserma >
      • 1/2/2013 Anserma to Cartago >
        • 6/12/2015 to 4/1/2016 South Africa
        • 2/2/2013 Cartago to Buga >
          • 3/2/2013 Buga all day >
            • 4,5/2/2013 Buga to Cali >
              • 6/2/2013 Cali to Piendamo
    • 27/1 Medellín to Bolombolo
    • 28/1 Bolombolo to La Pintada >
      • 29/1/13 La Pintada to Supia >
        • 30/1/13 Supía to Riosucio
      • 8/2/2013 Timbio to El Bordo >
        • 6/3/2013, San Clemente to Manta, EC >
          • 7/3/2013 Manta,EC all day >
            • 9/3/2013, Manta to Tena by bus >
              • 12,13,14,15 Tena to Limoncocha >
                • 16,17/3/2013 Manta >
                  • 18-23 Manta, Galapagos, Manta >
                    • 24,25/3/2013 Manta to Machalilla NP, EC >
                      • 26/3/2013 Machalillo NP to Machalillo >
                        • 27/3/2013 Machalilla to Puerto Lopez >
                          • 228,29,30/3/2013 Puerto Lopez, EC >
                            • Untitled
                            • 31/3/2013, Puerto Lopez to Ayungue, EC
      • 19/2/2013 Otavalo, Ecuador all day >
        • 20/2/2013 Otavalo to Sth of Otón, Ecuador >
          • 21/2/2013 Otón to Quito >
            • 22,23/2/2013 Quito, Hotel Húngaro >
              • 26/2/2013 Quito to Tandapi, EC
      • 27/2/2013 Tandapi to El Carmen, EC >
        • 28/2/2013, El Carmen to Pedernales, EC >
          • 2/3/2013 Pedernales to Tabuga >
            • 3/3/2013 Tabuga to Canoa >
              • 30/4/2012 Last day Santa Marta >
                • 1/5/2012 Santa Marta to Barranquilla
                • 2/5/2012 Barranquilla to Santa Veronica
                • 3/5/2012 Santa Veronica all day >
                  • 4-5/5/2012 Santa Veronica
              • 6-7/5/2012 Santa Veronica >
                • 8,9 &10/5/2012 Santa Veronica
              • 11/5/2012 Santa Veronica to Cartagena >
                • 12/5/2012 Cartagena all day >
                  • 13/5/2012 Cartagena to San Jacinto >
                    • 14/5/2012 San Jacinto to Sincelejo >
                      • 15/5/2012 Sincelejo to San Bernado >
                        • 16/5/2012 San Bernado to Puerto Escondido >
                          • 17,18/ 5 /2012, Puerto Escondido >
                            • 19/5/2012, Puerto Escondido to Planeta Rico >
                              • 20/5/2012 Planeta Rica to Caucasia >
                                • Untitled
                                • Untitled
                                • 21/5/2012, Caucasia to Tarazá >
                                  • 22/5/2012, Tarazá to Valdivia >
                                    • 23/5/2012, Valdivia to Yarumal >
                                      • 24/5/2012, Yarumal for the day >
                                        • 25/5/2012 Yarumal to Santa Rosa de Osos >
                                          • 26/5/2012, Santa Rosa de Osos >
                                            • 27/5/2012, Santa Rosa de Osos to Medellin >
                                              • 28/7 2011, Hannibal to Grafton
              • 5/3/2013, Canoa to San Clemente,EC
      • 9/2/2013 El Bordo to Tablon (April 2013 here) >
        • 1/4/2013 Ayungue to Salinas, EC >
          • 2/4/2013 Salinas to Posorjas,EC >
            • 3/4/2013 Posorja to San Carlos,EC >
              • 4/4/2013, San Carlos to Angas,EC >
                • 5/4/2013, Angas to Soldados, EC >
                  • 6/4/2013, Soldados to Cuenca >
                    • 7-9/4/2013, Cuenca, EC >
                      • 10-14/4/2013 Cuenca to Loja >
                        • 14-18/4/2013 Loja to Macará, EC >
                          • 7/2/2013 Piendamo to Timbio
      • 10,11/2/2013 Tablon to Chacahgui
      • 12/2/2013 Chachagui to Yucuanquer
      • 13,14,15/2/2013 Yucuanquer to Ipiales >
        • 16/2/2013 Ipiales to Bolivar, Ecuador >
          • 17/2/2013 Bolivar to nth of Ibarra, Ecuador >
            • 18/2/2013 Nth of Ibarra to Otavalo, Ecuador
    • Colombia 2012
  • Terrain Profiles
  • Nicaragua
  • Blog
  • Memphis to Venice, LA
  • Home and August entries
    • 8/8/2011 Sweetwater to Salida >
      • 9/8/2011 Salida to 3m North of Cripple Creek, CO >
        • 10/8/2011 Cripple Creek to Phantom Canyon >
          • 11/8/2011 Phantom Canyon to Pueblo >
            • 12/8/2011 Kansa to Warrensberg, MO >
              • 13/8/2011 Warrensberg to Clinton, MO >
                • 14/8/2011 Clinton to Sedalia >
                  • 15/8/2011 Sedalia to Tipton >
                    • 16/8/2011 Tipton all day >
                      • 17/8/2011 Tipton to Red Oak Park ,Lake of the Ozarks >
                        • 18/8/2011 Lake of the Ozarks all Day >
                          • 19/8/2011 Red Oak all day >
                            • 20/8/2011 Red Oak Park to Boonville >
                              • 21/8/2011 Boonville to Columbia >
                                • 22/8/2011 Columbia all day >
                                  • Untitled
                                  • 22/8/2011 Columbia to Portland >
                                    • 24/8/2011 Portland to Defiance >
                                      • 25/8/2011 Machens to Portage Des Sioux >
                                        • 26,27,28/8/2011Portage Des Sioux to Alton >
                                          • 29/8/2011 Alton to Columbia >
                                            • 30/8/2011 Columbia to Chester >
                                              • 31/8/2011 Chester to Grand Tower >
                                                • 1/9/2011 Grand Tower, IL to Wickliffe, KY >
                                                  • 2/9/2011 Wickliffe to Columbia, KY >
                                                    • 5/9/2011Tiptonville TN to Ripley TN
                                                    • Untitled
                                                    • 3-4/9/2011 Colmbus to Hickman, KY >
                                                      • 6/9/2011 Ripley Meeman- Shelby SP >
                                                        • Untitled
                                                        • 7/9/2011 Meeman-Shelby to Memphis
    • The proposed itinerary
    • A few words about the river
    • My Bike
    • Journal- Intro
    • Journal Entries late July early August >
      • 29/7/11 Grafton all day >
        • 30/7/2011 Grafton To Alton >
          • 31/7/11 Alton all day >
            • 1/8/2011 Alton all day >
              • 2,3/8/2011 Alton to Colarado Springs >
                • 3/8/2011 Colarado Springs >
                  • 4/8/2011, Colarado Springs >
                    • 5/8/2011 Colarado Springs Day 2
                  • 6/8/2011 Pueblo Dakota Springs >
                    • 7/8/2011 Dakota Hot Springs to Texas Creek >
                      • 7/8/2011 Dakota Hot springs to Texas Creek
    • The Gear list
  • Sydney to International Falls
    • IF to Northome >
      • Northome to Three Island Lake >
        • Three Island Lake to Itasca State Park >
          • Itasca Park full day 1 >
            • Itasca Park full day 2
  • Itasca to 4m north of Walker
    • 21/6/11 Walker to dare I say it Park Rapids
    • 22/6/11 Park Rapids all day >
      • 23/6/11 Park Rapids to sth of Walker
    • 24/6/11 Sth of Walker to Oak Haven Resort
    • 25/6/11 Oak Haven to Bena
    • 26/6/11 Bena for the day >
      • 27/6/11 Bena, from my tent to the shop and back
  • 28/6/11 Bena to Grand Rapids
  • 29/06/11 Grand Rapids to Pallisade
    • 30/06/11 Palisade to Crosby
    • 1/07/11 Crosby to Royalton
    • 2/07/2011 Royalton to St Cloud >
      • 3/07/2011 St Cloud to Monticello >
        • 4/7/2011 Monticello to Ham Lake >
          • Ham Lake all day >
            • 6/7/2011 Ham Lake to Prescott, WI >
              • 7/6/2011 Prescott to Pepin
          • 8/7/2011 Pepin to Perrot SP
    • 9/7/2011 Perrot SP to Wabasha, MN
  • 10/7/2011 Wabasha to Hastings
  • 16-17/1/2015 Luxor to Aswan
  • Zambia 7-30/9/2015
  • 11/7/2011 Hastings to Wabasha
    • 12/7/2011 Wabasha to Lansing,IA >
      • 13/7/2011 Lansing all day >
        • 14/7/2011 Lansing to Pikes Peak SP >
          • 15/7/2011 Pikes peak SP to Dubuque, IA >
            • 16/7/2011, Dubuque to Bellevue >
              • 17/7/2011, Pleasant Creek CG all day >
                • 18/7/2011, Pleasant Creek CG all day >
                  • 19/7/2011, Bellevue to Silvas, IL
          • 20/7/2011, Moline for the Day >
            • 21/7/2011, Moline to Loud Thunder Park >
              • 22/7/2011, Loud Thunder park to Keithsberg >
                • 23/07/2011, Keithbergs to Fort madison, IA >
                  • 24/7/2011, Fort Madison to Nauvoo
                • 25/7/2011, Nauvoo to Quincy >
                  • 26/7/2011 Quincy all day
    • Granada to Panama, Feb 27 >
      • 9, 10/3/2011 Servo to Playa Las Lajas
  • 8/5/2017 Tehran
To View progress, "type overnight stop map" in search box

This maybe the last entry before Christmas, so to everyone, friends and family,  having a browse, we wish you a very special day.
For us, if we don't make it to a hostal, it will be spent alongside a river somewhere here in Patagonia, things could be a lot worse!!
Life on the River Santiago Bastia for a couple of days can be seen here.

Picture
Dinner from el Rio Simpson!
16/12/2013 Rio Santiago Bastia to a bush camp in Reserva Nacional Rio Simpson

D75, T4.5/7, Av15, Max55, Tot 23,283/ 13,486

Warm slight cloud cover, mixed winds

Our time at the riverside camp below  the road on the Rio Santiago Bastia, was a great time. Cal and I had special time together, not riding just chilling out and chatting about all sorts of things in the most idyllic of situations.

The second day we fished, slept, washed clothes, shaved, read our books, and ate like kings.
We also noted that the river had risen some 3 or 4 inches on a rock mid stream.

We caught so many trout in this river we could not even count them .At least a dozen fish were caught in the hole in front of our camp.

Most were released however many found their way into our fry pan. This kind of fishing is what it must have been like in the old days so to speak.

We were enjoying seeing who could pick the spot of water that might hold a fish. Some were caught in patches of water the size of a bath tub between two partly submerged rocks.

It appears the law here regarding fish, is you are not allowed more than 3 fish greater than 35cm each day per person, there is no lower size limit. A great idea. The pan size fish are the best eating.

We probably stretched the number allowed each day, considering we would eat 3 to 4 fish for each meal of the day.

Our excuse we were eating to survive “not quite but close!!”.
Our spinners are not realistic enough to induce large trout to bite. Fly fishing on this river would undoubtedly produce some large fish, though casting in most places would be very difficult.
This river is popular with French and Spanish fishers, none were seen during our stay.


This morning we packed up and man handled our gear back to the road. It had been the ideal way to fill in a couple days.

The ride out on the gravel raod was just as treacherous on the way in, very steep and loose gravel.

A couple of farmers were met and a band of nomad type people passed us with pack horses and what looked like all their belongings they did not say anything other than return greetings.
We followed a mob of cattle for sometime on the road. Most had diarrhea, much of which adhered to our wheels as it was unloaded in unavoidable spots on the narrow road. 
Many calves had just been sep
erated from their mums, does stress cause diarrhea? Possibly, or was it just the sweet grass here in the valley.
Milk is not sold on the farm, it produces meat only.

Once back in Mañihuales we bought more biscuis and Dulce.

We are flying through the dulce using it liberally on biscuits and bread. It is so damn nice.

Jorge was on his way to work in Aisén, he pulled over for a chat on the roadside.

It was nice to be back on asphalt. The ride south was a pleasure following a river valley with the Simpson river with us for the last part of the day.

We had lunch by a creek at Villa Los Torreones, Dulce on bread of course and mate, Cal had a coffee.

Coming to The Simpson River reserve we pulled in. It was great they had all the local trees named, importantly their botanical names.

I took photos of the signs, and the trees leaves and bark. Great for future reference.

From here we started looking for a camp.

We were both really trashed by lunch time having ridden 60km with only breakfast.

We found a great camp on the Simpson in the bush.

By the time my tent was set up Cal had caught 3 good fish, two varieties of trout.

This trip is becoming a bit of a fishing expedition, we can’t help ourselves. Finding a camp site on a river is no problems.
Really, after Coyhaique, we have to put in a few big days, possibly!

We both enjoy cooking and savour fish, especially when it is so fresh. Having this interest nearly always sees us camping in riparian locales.

It is always challenging to see if we can find a good fishing spot infront of a camp. So far so good. Since arriving on Chiloé and here on the mainland, not too many days have passed without us enjoying trout or salmon.

The little telescopic rod has certainly earnt its passage south. Callum brought my little threadline reel from home.

The fish were filleted, fried and seasoned. They are always so fresh we have to cut the skin as it shrinks, to stop them curling into sausages in the pan.

Cal cooked rice, tuna and onions laced with curry.

All this was followed by hot chocolate.

Camping in this part of Patagonia is bliss, there are almost no insects except the Horse flies that land on you and bite. These are easy to kill.

Remarkebly there are no mossys that bite. There is little dew in the morning and the nights are mild, about 7 or 8 degree lows.

Perfect sleeping temperatures.

We are both hoping we are held up no longer and the tent arrives as said on Tuesday or Wednesday.

I need to get my rear rack welded as it has a crack in one of the tubes.

Our camp on the Simpson will see us get into Coyhaique at a reasonable hour tomorrow. Sven and Sabina emailed us about a good hostal, we will try it.

We were in bed early tonight, both very worn out, though not hungry, putting full stomachs and tired legs  to rest

17/12/2013 Simpson river to Coyhaique

D34, T2.5, Av14, Max59, Tot 23,317,  13,520

Wet morning, improved to a hot day

We both woke up during the night to the sound of rain.

In the morning things were rather wet. We managed to get in breakfast between showers.

Two very wet tent were packed. Once back on the road we negotiated it with caution. It is a concrete carriageway with no shoulder and is largely occupied by fast moving traffic

It took us alongside the Simpson for much of the way.

Soon we started to climb and were taken through a tunnel, once at the top we rested a bit and ate bread. Then began a descent. Still on  concrete.

Some way down a lookout offered a great view of the city, sitting on a huge terrace at the foot of a range.

All this with a northerly aspect. Great location.

From here we let the bikes go, it was a great descent until doing about 60km/hr ahead of Cal the concrete abruptly ended, my brakes were applied as heavily as could be. Still flying along, I was launched off the concrete into gravel.

Still doing 30 odd km , applying maximum concentration, the time for further heavy braking was over, it was all I could do to stay upright.

The absence of large stones saved the day, Cal saw the obstacle and was prepared.

To other cyclists, watch out for this break in the pavement, though short it is dangerous.

Dorothee emailed and said she had come off further south and was resting a sore shoulder. She is ok but we will be watching the temptation to gather speed on gravel

Especially on the gravel road descents. Changing channels at speed is so precarious, you really cant use your brakes in these situations or if you do, use them everso lightly and hang on.

There was a climb up to the location of the city.

Once in there some guys told me where to get the rack repaired.

We found a great hostal on Calle Simpson. The hostal that Sven and Sabina used had no wifi.

Our tents and other gear were hung up to dry while we feasted on cherries from a tree in the back yard.

The owners of the yellow bike shop hereon Simpson directed me to a place to get the rack welded.

The man that did it was in his 70’s, he knew what he was doing when working with the thin titanium tubing on the Tubus rack, using oxy.

The workshop is just down from the corner of Simpson and Libertad. We had a good chat with the guys in the workshop. A great job had been done.

From here we found a cafe and had burgers and chips. A good grease up, but who cares.
Things are getting incredibly expensive as we move south. especially all kinds of food items and fruit.

The tent had not arrived, the waiting game begins.

This town really is the last descent size place to Puerto Natales, at least another few weeks south.

Other cyclists have told me of problems catching boats across the lakes.

It appears that as the summer progresses these boats become more reliable and regular with their services. Some of the others were south quite early in the season.

Here we will stock up on porridge, coffee, Bencina, carnita, milk powder, soups, tuna and dulce de Leche in bulk.

The way Callum is riding his bike up some of the steep hills, he can do with some extra weight!

The cherry tree in the back yard is attracting us to its fruit like moths to light.

We cant stop eating the little delights. I have been climbing it to access its fruits.


Just thinking, whilst perched on a branch within the canopy. How ironical it would be should an injury occur from falling out of a tree after so many kilometres on the road.

With this in mind I hung on a little tighter and decided not to climb higher. Those fruit higher in the tree were like "The forbidden fruit".
The hostal is hospedaje is called Normi on Calle Simpson 18.
From the BBC
Great news for the children of Chile coming from families with not o much

Winning Chile's presidential election was pretty easy for Michelle Bachelet.

She led the contest from the start and never faced much of a challenge from her bickering centre-right opponents.

The hard part will start in March when she takes office.

Ms Bachelet will inherit a country with an economy that grew by 5.6% last year. Unemployment is low and inflation is under control.

But things are likely to get worse. The growth rate is expected to ease to 4.2% this year and the central bank warns it might drop below 4% in 2014.

The price of copper, Chile's main export commodity, is seen extending its recent decline and the bank expects the country's trade surplus to shrink to $600m (£368m) in 2014 from $2.5bn in 2013.

Copper is Chile's main export commodity, but its price has been falling None of this is good news for an incoming president who is promising sweeping and expensive social reforms.

Education first Ms Bachelet has placed education at the top of her priorities.

Students in Chile have been demanding free public education At the moment, Chile's schools and universities rely heavily on household funding to supplement the meagre contributions they get from the state.

She wants to change that, turning the entire apparatus into a state-funded system within six years.

By the end of her four-year term she has promised that the state will pay the tuition fees of the poorest 70% of Chile's higher education students.

"Her proposals reset the clock for the education system, and she'll probably have the support in parliament she needs to get them passed," says Kirsten Sehnbruch, professor of public policy at the University of Chile.

"But the big problem with this strategy, aside from it being a significant investment, is that is doesn't address the issue of quality."

Costly promises Even Ms Bachelet's closest aides acknowledge her education reforms will be costly, eating up an extra 1.5% to 2% of gross domestic product each year.

She says that money will come from taxes, particularly on big business.

Ms Bachelet plans to raise Chile's basic corporate tax rate from 20% to 25% over four years and to abolish a mechanism that allows companies to defer indefinitely the payment of tax on their re-invested profits.

"I expect the tax reform to be approved within the first year because it only requires a simple majority in parliament," says Claudio Fuentes, a political scientist at the Diego Portales University in Santiago.

"That will pave the way for education reform between 2015 and 2018. Some of the changes she wants to make in education require a fourth-sevenths majority in parliament while others require a three-fifths majority. So, on certain issues she's going to have to negotiate with the right."

New constitution The other big pledge of Ms Bachelet's campaign is constitutional change.

Ms Bachelet promised to reform the Pinochet-era constitution if she was elected She says Chile needs a new constitution to replace the one drawn up under Gen Augusto Pinochet in 1980, as well as a new electoral system.

The current one ensures that the two big coalitions get almost all the seats in Congress, split fairly evenly between them. Small parties and independent candidates do not get much of a look-in.

"There's a consensus on the fact that the electoral system needs to go," Ms Sehnbruch says.

"The question is: what do you replace it with? Constitutional reform is more complex and will need more negotiation."

Deep inequality Many Chileans want Ms Bachelet to address the country's deep economic inequalities.

Of the 34 countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Chile has the biggest gap between rich and poor.

Activists have been demanding a change to Chile's strict abortion laws She will also come under pressure from some quarters on ethical issues such as abortion and gay marriage.

At present, Chile has some of the strictest abortion laws in the world. The practice is illegal in all circumstances, even in cases of rape or when the mother's life is in danger.

Ms Bachelet, a paediatrician by training, wants to change that and has also come out in favour of gay marriage, although the majority of Chileans oppose it.

"I imagine that therapeutic abortion will be legalised but gay marriage at this stage is unlikely to be passed," Ms Sehnbruch says.

Ms Bachelet will have to work hard to keep her broad centre-left coalition united.

While Ms Bachelet has broad support, she will have to keep her coalition on board The last time she was in power, she governed at the head of a four-party bloc, the Concertacion, but his time around she has seven parties in her rebranded New Majority coalition.

"There are sure to be some problems," Mr Fuentes warns. "Managing seven parties is always going to be trickier than managing two or three."

That said, Ms Bachelet will at least enjoy a healthy parliamentary majority, something she lacked during her first term from 2006 to 2010.

Her coalition will have 68 seats in the 120-seat lower house and 21 of the 38 seats in the Senate.

This should allow her to push through basic legislation quickly and easily.

High hopes On foreign policy, Ms Bachelet will seek to improve ties with Chile's northern neighbours Peru and Bolivia, both of which have taken Chile to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague over border disputes.

The ICJ is due to rule on Peru's claim in January, before Ms Bachelet takes office. The Bolivian verdict is not expected for some years.

But perhaps the biggest challenge facing Ms Bachelet is the weight of expectation.

After four years of centre-right rule, marked by huge street protests organised by students, workers and environmentalists, Chileans are clamouring for change.

"Expectations are very high, and not just among ordinary people but among the centre-left political elite," Ms Sehnbruch explains.

"The opportunity to make significant changes has now come and yet the presidential term is only four years long.

"To reconcile those two things - the massive agenda of what people want with the reality of what you can do in four years - is going to be very challenging."

18-19/2013 Coyhaique

 Well the tent arrived, much to our relief, had it not got here we were going to ride to some lakes near the city.

Anyway, we spent some time practicing pitching it. Though it has 4 sets of poles it is remarkably quick to erect.

It is like a fortress and with almost vertical sides and 2 vestibules it is indeed a huge 2 man tent.

Hilleberg certainly do an unreal job making tents.

We were almost tempted to send Cals tent home with my old one and the tarp, there is almost room for all our gear inside.

Our cooking gear can now be left in one of the two end vestibules at night.

Inside the Tarra you could fit four people at a squeeze. I had a couple of footprints made up for each end, my old one suffices for the sleeping area.

The rest of the time was spent eating cherries and dining in town, we had a good steak with green veges last night.

The woman, Norma here keeps the place so warm with her wood fire stove, it is like a sauna upstairs.

Sadly, she has chronic bronchitis and is coughing terribly all the time.

She is a very like lady in her sixties I guess. We are the only guests here so it has been like our own house.

We are looking forward to moving on again, as always, there will be much to see.

It will be great to get into some cooler weather, it has been so hot here.





PictureFrom the front door Camp at Rio Santiago Bastia

PictureLupins and more Lupins

PictureMy matchbox size mirror calls for much concentration! I haven't quite got to the point of shaving with my glasses on, not quite!!

PictureThe old Dulce ritual, squeezing the contents from the bag into a handy old Mate can

PictureRio Simpson early morning between showers.

Picturebalancing act, in an effort to stay dry.

PictureThe road to Rio Santiago Bastia, with a welcome sign.

PictureCondors were seen aloft above these ranges.

PictureThe bird that typifies Patagonia, the finger like wing tips are a give away even at a thousand feet aloft or more

PictureLast night before Coyhaique, on the Simpson river

PictureTypical rural scene, most house are simple affairs, all have chimneys

PictureQuila is called Colihue here

PictureThumbs up for the Hilleberg "Tarra", the backyard at the hospedaje. Many hospedajes offer camping in their large backyards.

Picture
PictureSimpson River National Park

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