Paying the Piper

After 3 1/2 weeks of warm, dry sunny weather, we started out this morning in the same steady rain we finished in yesterday. Well, 3 of us did and Sam lost the flip with the guides as to who would be riding with us stubborn ones. The rest of the group opted for a shuttle to the next destination. So EFI is still in tact with 3 days to go!

Today we road 120 km and climbed 3500ft.

When it rains, it pours. We rode in rain for the first 10 km, then it stopped for the next 25 km but stayed dark and overcast. There were 2 lakes(Rupanco, Llanquihue) and 2 volcanos (Osorno and Canuck) we were supposed to see but the cloud cover was too thick. Then the rain came back with a vengeance. With the roads in this section not being very good, it was quite tricky descending because the rain was forming little rivers and filling the potholes. Could not see through the glasses. The ensuing climb up brought an end to the rain. We decided if it started up like that again, we would call off the ride.

We did not have rain again today.

At 45 km, the vans with the rest of the group greeted us so we could get some water refills and a banana etc. And the sun had started coming out. The rest of the day was sun and cloud and got warmer.

Puerto Octay

Puerto Octay was founded by German immigrants in the 19th century. It has a rare Lutheran Church with a steeple in the centre of town. We had a quick stop here to remove our rain gear and warmers. What a nice break it was!

A steep 15% climb took us out of town and back up onto the ridge line

Frutillar

We exited the lake and headed inland to climb some steep ridges before dropping into Frutillar Alto, a rough and tumble town. From there the road dropped quickly to the lake

Rhodendrons grow huge!

Frutillar is a cute lakeside town right on Lago Llanquihue the Orsorno volcano at the end of it. It is known as the ‘City of Music’ with concerts all year round at the Teatro del Lago. This theatre is the largest in all of Chile and is said to have the best acoustics in South America.