Day 1,656
Seis Lagunas
Pop quiz, what do cycle tourers do on a day off? Go cycling!
Tom and I have had a bit of a break in Coyhaique. It really is a stunning area and it's a shame just to ride straight through. So we've hiked up the mountain that looms over the town and cycled up into the local National Park, to ride up super steep gravel hills. We've seen some stunning trees, lakes, birdlife and awesome views, but we still had a day or two to kill. Our Airbnb host had given us a few recommendations from shopping, dining out and places to explore. So far every suggestion has been a winner, so on our last free day here we decided to try another one of his suggestions and cycle the Route of Six Lakes. Tom shortened the route a bit, taking out a couple of out and backs, leaving us a ride of 38 miles with a third of it on gravel and a good few hills.
We packed a picnic and without our pannier bags set off to explore more of this stunning area. Well our Airbnb host's suggestion was another winner. Magnificent views of snowcapped mountains all around, the verges a riot of colourful wild flowers, none of the hills were too hard without the bags, and the ripio? Well OK that was bumpy but not a Ruta 40 nightmare. We ate our picnic by one of the lakes. Apparently they are famous for their stunning colours, which I have to say they weren't today, but beautiful all the same. The highlight? Oh no question, a Ringed Kingfisher, the Martin Pescador, sat at a waterfall, completely unfazed by Tom and I. Just wonderful. Just after we left the ripio we bumped into a couple of Northbound tourers. They were heading out to ride the route we'd just ridden rather than take the main road into Coyhaique. We could reassure them it was pretty much traffic free and stunning, but we couldn't lie, on fully loaded tourers they were in for a tough ride. We headed back to our Airbnb for our New Year's celebrations and also to celebrate being a couple for 16 years. We've packed a lot in during those years, can't wait to see what 2026 and the next few years have in store for us! Happy New Year!
ndgj
