Day 1,660

Cerro Castillo

After a long break in Coyhaique we hit the road again, though first we had one more visit to Patagonia Cycles. It was their first day back after the New Year break so us two appearing an hour before they opened probably was not the start they needed. Tom had an annoying click from his headset. We had debated stripping it down and cleaning it but thought it could need new bearings so we might as well let them check it. Awesome team that they are, Tom's bike was taken straight into the workshop, and fortunately all that was needed was a good clean, I felt guilty as really I could have done that myself. Still we were soon back on the road, click free. 

Our plan over the next two days was to cycle to Cerro Castillo and climb a mountain when we got there. At a push we could have managed the ride in a day but the weather had turned really hot, Chile was experiencing a heatwave just when we didn't want it! The road surface was all tarmac, we took our time, knowing that after Cerro Castillo the tarmac pretty much ends and the final rides on the Carretera Austral would be on dirt roads. The route was simply stunning, beautiful views all around us as we slowly climbed higher. Traffic wasn't too bad.

Sweet tarmac, even sweeter as we knew it wouldn’t last much longer

By late afternoon we decided to stop at a campsite. We had been warned this area was full of horse flies that like to bite, my left hand being a particular favourite spot for them, and they were buzzing constantly around our heads. It's hard to explain just how irritating they are. We hoped that the campsite would offer us some shelter from them. It did a bit! By 8pm they'd all gone to bed and our hosts created a little spot for Tom and I to chill in, with a mat, two bean bags, a wind break and tree lights, a real luxury treat.

The following day we reached Cerro Castillo. There is a campsite at the bottom of the climb so we opted to stay there, along with several hundred of our biting horse fly mates, who now have started biting my left hand, they do like a bit of variety. By now we were getting used to them though, plus fortunately they went to bed quite early. 

In the morning we were up and heading uphill by 5.45am. Technically the hike doesn't ‘open’ until 8am, but the guys at the check-in office let us register the night before. We were hoping to beat the crowds, the heat, and more importantly get some great photos of the sun turning the mountain red as it rose. Managed all three!

Hello Cerro!

Cerro Castillo gets its name, Castle Hill, from the shape of the rock itself, the steep basalt rock weathered by the endless Patagonian winds over many centuries looks just like a castle's ramparts. The highest point of Cerro Castillo is 8,776 feet, but we would be climbing up to just 6,850 feet. A steep but easy hike up to the Lagoon that sits below the remains of the glaciers that cover the rock.

Amazing views all the way up

Tom would happily have sat for hours just drinking in that view, it was simply stunning, but our new best friends, the horse flies, were biting and I dragged him away. Fortunately as we descended our friends abandoned us for the fresh victims trudging upwards slowly in that heat. 

We then had an unexpected day off as I lost my wallet, doh. Fortunately the helpful staff at the campsite found it and Tom cycled back to meet the owner halfway. By the time that was sorted it was lunchtime and was just so hot we chickened out of riding and hid in an air-conditioned restaurant out of that heat, then took a room in the back to stay the night. 

Pretty good views on the way down too!

The following day it was back on the road. We were treated to another sunrise view of the mountain, though not quite as orange as yesterday. After just 8 miles the tarmac ended and we were on the gravel, rough and loose, this wasn't going to be fun!