Canete - Conception - Rio Itata - Curanipe - Putu - Bucalemu - Litueche - Valparaiso
Hi every body,
FIrst of all we want to share with you our great day in Canete to update the blog with this photo taken on purpose for you...
Typical expression after one internet point day...
...meaning 8 hours without eating and drinking in front of a computer in a claustrophobic internet point with 10 kids playing war video games with the sound at max, of course!
The day after the internet session we have such an overaccumulation of energy and need of spend it that we simply decide to ride in a stretch the whole distance Canete-Conception:144 km of straight paved road through neverending pines woods...
Only 127 km left for today...
Today is really the perfect day to ride this section because is sunday...
...the other days of the week hundreds of enormous camions drive at full speed birnging the wood from the forest till to the Arauco cellulosa factory: the biggest of the country...
...moreover they are enlarging the road and there are field works every ten kilometers...
...but today nobody is on the road!
Apart some few inhabitants of the area...
After 80 km, at the end of the pines plantations, we finally stop for the lunch and beach pause at the most famous and, according to our guide book, the most crawded beach of the area...
...but seems that the souvenir of the tsunami has demotivated the most of people...
Now only few tens of km are left to arrive in Conception! We are sure that nothing can now stop us!
...almost nothing...
...something close to an highway is in front of us, but seems that is quite usual in Chile to ride in this kind of road with the bike. They are, usually, even safer than other kind of roads because of the large security line on the side of the main road...
Let's give a try!
And infact nobody is surprise to see us arriving at the paynig station. They welcome us with a big smile and let us passing without paying.
We are on an highway now. Let's go!
Well...our trial doen't last longtime...maybe some others are safe and good as well for the bikes, but certainly not this one!
When is a question of security there is no way: we take a bus and in 20 minutes we make the remaining 30 km till to Conception.
We apply the same security policy when we leave the city and we skeep the first 30 km till to Tome and only there we start cycle again. The first village we meet is Dichato one of the very touristical village at the north of Conception before the earthquake.
Looking toward what was the beach in the beautiful bay of Dichato
Today, 29th of February, two years after the tsunami, the reconstruction works are far from being finished.
Still, Chile is a coutry relatively well prepared to natural catastrophy that, with volcano eruption, earthquakes, tsunami, affect since always the country.
During this last extremely strong 8.8 magnitude earthquake around 800 people lost their life.
This is an enormous amount of broken lifes, but, unluckily, is a very small number compare to the 230000 people dead in Haiti after the 7 magnitude earthquake which happened only one month before the one in Chile (link).
After Dichato the coast become much wilder and the road unpaved...
...apart on the incredibly steep section to pass from the top of the cliffs down to those amazing beaches...
...luckily the nature is so great that repay us from the effort of those continues up and down...
Finally the cliffs finish and we arrive close to the Itata river...
The little problem here is that there is no bridges to cross the river...
Usually people have to ride 40 km inland and then 40 km back to cross the stream, but 40+40 km by car are not the same history than by bike...
We need another solution!
At the border of the river is a very very small village, with very nice people...first we ask for a place where to stay for the night and the offer us to sleep not in the tent but in the community party house...
...then they give us the address of the river fisherman of the village which offer us to bring us the next morning on the other side of the river!
Here are the images of the next morning...
Arriving at the border of the river...
...waiting for our taxi...
...loading it...
...I guess you realize that there is no motor on the boat...
...during the arms powered traverse...
A very impressive lesson of rowing...
Now we are on the otherside ready to go...but this morning we waked up very early and we are still half asleeped...
...no problem! here is your 5' natural shower arriving to refresh and wake up you!
Happy (and wet) rider n° 1
Happy (and very wet) rider n°2
Hopefully the wind blow away the clouds and offers us our usual sunny day.
The road is one more time wild and scenic up and down just along the ocean.
Few farmers live here and the architecture of the houses is differents than before. For example walls are made with stones or mud and roofs are covered by tiles.
There are worst places where to live....
Since few days we have the tradition to stop for a small tea break around 12 AM in order to carry energy till our real lunch and enjoy the immensity of the ocean.
Our homemade berries jam is the most efficient combustible to continue until the lunch.
The ocean is very inspiring for meditation, but not really motivating to take a nice bath...
...water is quite cold say 13° and waves are huuuuuge...
Let's go surfing!
Few km after we arrive at the sea lions islands. Hundreds and hundreds of fat sea lions are roaring and sleeping on the rock.
Sea lions getting a tan
After lunch we had the first small accident of the travel...Lum looses the control of the bicycle on a very steep sandy descent... Fortunately she is more frightened than hurt and after a quick intervention by Doctor Bac grazes are treated!
Yeah, yeah, this is nothing really important,Lum...but, tell me:did you distroy the bike???
Hopefully the bike is not damaged and the day finishes with a beautiful sunset in Curanipe...
Nice view from the hospedaje room at the sunset
...and at the sunrise...
We follow the Ruta del Mar toward north and enter in the zone of the Caletas del Maule wich is a succetion of small tipical fisher villages.
On the Ruta del Mar....
All along the landscapes are very varied...
...sand dunes...
...cow fields and light houses....
...pine forest...
For the next lunch we decide to change our menu: instead of the usual avocado and tomatoes sandwich today we will have a pumpkin soup!
The coach is changing in pumpkin...
All along the coast we can observe birds.
Nice from far apart but....
...more frightening close by!
At a certain point the road leaves the ocean side to climb on a ridge.
It can't be flat all the time...
In this section of the Country, Chile is really narrow and when we reach the top of the ridge, the view is amazing: on our left is the ocean and on our right the Andes!
Ocean on the left....
Andes on the right...
Joining the sea level again we have the surprise to encounter a salt exploitation.
Let's take salt provisions
The day after we find again the pampa...but with sun and backwind we really enjoy it. We also know that we will soon join again the ocean in the south of Valparaiso.
Back wind in the pampa on pool asphalt...a dream.
In the afternoon we reach Tilueche. From this location (50km from the ocean coast) you can reach many beaches famous for surfing and windsurfing. So we find a surfer style bar to take a beer and ask for somewhere to stay the night.
Althought he offers rooms and bathrooms the owner of the bar propose us to pick the tent in the patio for free. For us, more than the economy, it's perfect because quiet and fresh.
Our base camp in the patio of the bar...
We now join the very popular coast south of Valparaiso and not far from Santiago. The atmosphere changes. Many people. More than one third of the whole Chilean population lives in this region (Valparaiso/Santiago) and comes there for vacations.
On the Chilean "Cote d'Usure"...
Hopefully, after some dishonest propositions, we manage to find a nice cheap accomodations:
No view and private bathroom or...nice view and shared bathroom...NO DOUBT!
Our favourite activity during the last weeks: sunset catching...and this evening nature is generous with us...
Sunset and local wild faune....
Tomorrow will be another day....
Our next touristic visit is the visit of the famous Pablo Neruda house of Isla Negra. Now this zone is largely constructed but we find a quiet beach waiting for the entrance of the museum.
Paparazzi shooting....
The waves are enormous and breaks on the coast with a magic sound and a deep blue. An invitation for meditation.
Beach meditation....
Finally we enter the fascinating hause of the Poet:something in between a vessel and a train where thousands of varigate objects are collected from this incredible man...
Regresé de mis viajes. Navegué construyendo la alegria... Pablo Neruda
The visit is extremely interesting and touching...
At the end of the visit of the hause in front of the ocean which inspires most of his poems...
La gran lluvia del sur cae sobre Isla Negra como una sola gota transparente y pesada, el mar abre sus hojas frías y la recibe, la tierra aprende el húmedo destino de una copa. lAlma mía, dame en tus besos el agua salobre de estos mares, la miel del territorio, la fragancia mojada por mil labios del cielo, la paciencia sagrada del mar en el invierno. lAlgo nos llama, todas las puertas se abren solas,
relata el agua un largo rumor a las ventanas, crece el cielo hacia abajo tocando las raíces,
y así teje y desteje su red celeste el día con tiempo, sal, susurros, crecimientos, caminos, una mujer, un hombre, y el invierno en la tierra.
Pablo Neruda
At the end of the day we finally reach by bus the big and charming city of Valparaiso. There some french friends are waiting for us. They live at the top of one of the nicest and most famous "cerro" of the city...
Last climb to reach the hause of Lucile and Julien at Cerro Alegre...
One week of city life is now waiting for us!!!
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