Hi everybody,

After few days resting and relaxing in Puerto Montt, we continue now toward North. From the ospedaje the street climbs  directly up and offers us a nice view on the ocean and the city.

Puerto Montt from the hill.

The next village on our road is Puerto Varas. This is one of the historical german and swiss colony in Chile (link) and it is located in a lovely position just in front of the lake Ranco, the second biggest of Chile, and in front of the Osorno volcano.

In the background the Osorno Volcano, the south american cousin of the Fuji Yama... 

Volcan Osorno in all its elegance...

We take the road which, following the lake, will bring us just at the feet of the volcano. Beautiful, smooth asphalt, almost no cars, sun in the sky, fresh air, lake on the left, volcano on the front: pure pleasure!!!! 

There are worst conditions to ride....

After some tens of km we enter in the National Park Vicente Perez Rosales: the oldest and one of the most visited of Cile. 

National Park Vicente Perez Rosales, the first protected area of Cile.

The road is just renewed it runs between the lake and the volcan and it incluedes a large cycle line.

Definitely swiss or german road style!!!!

Maybe is the influence of the colons?

On our right the volcano Osorno....

...on our left the lake Ranco....

...and behind us another volcano... 

No doubt we are in the lake and volcan region!

The road has been excavated on the side of the lake....but here in Chile the soil mechanics rules should not be the same as in Europe...Very steep ground slopes seems to be stables, in our country the same excavations would be bolt and reinforced...ehm sorry for the geothecnical engineering degression...but when you have to pass below the slope you start questioning yourself... 

No fear of landslide the chileans, isn'it?...

The volcan Osorno is very impressive and we have the chance to see it from all the sides during this whole sunny day.

Happy rider nº1....

Happy rider nº2...

The next day we start our approach to the volcano Puyehue. This new volcano, is not high, is not nice, it is in itself nothing special...

The new volcano we are visiting is the kind of ill on the horizon in the clouds on the right...

Mmmm...clouds?...a bit too dense...a bit to fixed...maybe is not a cluod...maybe is an hash eruption....

And actually this is the special feature of it: is in ininterrupted eruption since 8 months!

No, definitely is not a cloud...

Well, one would say that is not such a big issue looking at the nice landscape...

WRONG!

Is not such a big issue for the Chileans because the wind in this region is mostly directed East-West bringing all the ashes on the other side of the border (just behind the volcano) on one of the most turistical area of Argentina, exactly in the are where we wanted to go!

Therefore we have now two solutions from the village of Entre Lagos (guess the reason of the name...):

-solution nº1: continue on the Cile side through other lakes and hills which definitely remind us something between Zurichberg and the Jura (should be always the colons influence...).

-solution nº2: keep our original plan, cross the Andes through a pass just at the feet of the volcano, reach Argentina and continue north toward the famous Seven Lakes Road.

Even if love swiss countryside, the solution nº2 is without doubt the more beautiful, more exotic and...more exciting...Come on, how many time in your life you have the chance to ride at the feet of volcano in activity?!?

No worries we are not risking to receive a rain of lapilli on our heads, this was done from the volcano in its first moths of eruption, now it is just annoying pople with a very fine,grey ashes cloud...of course we risk to wait one or few day if the wind is too strong and lift the already fallen ashes from the soil creatying  kind of "Pianura Padana" november fog... depends of the days...

Of course we decide to choose the second solution playing with elements...We will cycle the international pass Samore (1321) at the feet of the volcan. 

Let's sleep and see tomorrow how is the weather...

Ilaria is resuming the day on her book....

Arthur is cooking.....

Hopefully, the fortune is on our side: this night it has rained a lot, the wind is very weak and the ash on the ground being wet and heavy can't fly...let's go!

Km after km in direction of Argentina, the landscape becomes more and more strange. All around us the ground is covered by a large layer of grey powder...hash.

Hash every where....

The wood is buned by the hot ashes.... 

Summer looks like autumn...

Nice to not have been here when those stones felt from the sky... 

Arriving at the pass

Lunar scenery...

With no wind and ash fixed on the ground by the rain, the Andes crossing is less difficult than expected

and we reach quickly the pass.

On our first Andes pass....

After 1 month and a half in Chile we come back in Argentina.

Welcome in Argentina...

Kind of repetitive, isn't it? 

Downhill at Samore pass...or on the moon?

Now we have just to ride down till to Villa La Angostura, a city which was one of the most turistic of argentinian andeas beying the departure point of the famous seven lakes roads...But the first lake we find is less attractive than on the postcards...The volcanic stones pumice have a density minor than the water and float on the lake...Almost no turist are there... 

Sense of sadness...

The volcano eruption has destroyed the turistic attractivity of the region for, at least, this season. Not an easy life for the people who live only of this. 

Another beautiful lake, just close to the city, but everything is grey...

After a recovering night in Villa la Angostura, we start the seven lake road trying to imagine how beautiful shoud have been before the eruption...

Mountains of hash on the road side....

Hash fog obscure the sky....

Above it is a cloud, below it is hash... 

But the ash cannot, still, completely kill the beautyness of this region and we can still enjoy our ride in this wird and, st the same time, fascinating landscape. 

Above one of the seven lakes....

We spend a night half way between Villa Langostura and our next arrival point, San Martin de los Andes, and leave early the day after in order to have better conditions (the wind is weaker amd therefore the sky generally cleaner).

Leaving early in the morning....

Professor Cousteau cleaning the mirror before taking the road...

The ash is in reality still there, but the lights given by the sunrise toward the fog is magic... 

Light playing....

On the road we enter in the Lanin National Park (Lanin is another Volcano...) 

then we start approaching San Martin de Los Andes where the visibility is better, because todat the ash cloud remain syspended high above! 

Arriving at San Martin de los Andes.

San Martin is as well a touristic city, full od nice mountain chalet and expensive shops...kind of argentinian saint Moritz...

From here one can make plenty of different winter and summer outdoor activity, in between, it is also the departure point for the Volcano Lanin ascent...(see next article)

We spend good time relaxing at the lake side, eating pizza and icecreams: great italian influence in Argentina!!!  

Relaxing in San Martin...or, better, recovering after volcano ascent...