Day: February 5, 2026

Riding Stats (link to Tom’s Strava)

Accommodations (daily mileage, elevation, etc.)

Route Tracker (track our southbound ride on a Google Map)

Let’s start with this thought: sopaipillas are bread from heaven. We had our first taste of them today and oh my are they ever tasty!

Our shuttle driver arrived early and Tom very carefully loaded the bikes and bags in the back of the van. Finally we were off to Peurto Montt to find the start line of the Carretera Austral! And find it we did.

We put the bike bags back on, Tom went to the money spitter 🏧 for more pesos and we were off.

It was sunny day, a bit windy and we were surrounded by water, flying Chilean flags and the most free roaming doggos (all friendly) I’ve ever seen.😂 Not kidding – a LOT of dogs, although no chasers.

Beautiful animitas were lovingly placed along the route memorizing the loss of loved ones.

Staying true to taking our time so as to not “waste time” we rode at a slow pace and wanted to get our bodies acclimated to the new bikes. We sit completely different on a mountain bike. There’s a new saddle, different handlebars and coordinating our gear stow is a bit spicy. The only things we brought were our own SPD pedals. It takes a day or so to get squared away with new bikes and gear organization.

One of our favorite experiences when bike traveling is meeting people. At the ferry we met Gilles, a Frenchman who last year rode his bike from Vancouver to Panama. He is finishing the ride this year riding from Panama to the southern tip of Argentina. Amazing!

Just one ferry ride today through the Estero Reloncava Inslet.

There were so many places to stop and enjoy the remarkable views and I’m pretty sure we stopped at every one.

We ended our ride in Contao today and grabbed dinner in town (fresh salmon and merzula) before finding a campground and setting up the tent.

This was Yannik’s (from Bielefeld, Germany) first day too. He’s planning on spending the next year in South America riding his bike, learning Spanish and doing all the things people on tour do… smile!

Digs for the night!

Click on the image below to view today’s video recap of our day.

Ya don’t get to visit a magical place like Chile without a bit of planning. Ours started in May 2025 with a What’s App call and ended with three flights totaling more than twelve hours (not including a nine hour layover in the Santiago airport). 🫣

We’re no longer in blustery Indiana and have arrived to summer in the southern hemisphere where we begin riding the Carretera Austral route tomorrow.

One of the smartest things we did in preparation for the bike tour is rent bikes and coordinate with Austral Bikes. We’ve rented their mountain bikes and bike bags and although they offer everything you’d need in the way of sleeping bags, tents, stoves, etc. We opted to bring our own gear. They will pick up their bikes and bring down our duffles with clothing we didn’t take on the bike when we finish in Villa O’Higgins in early March.

Whereas yesterday we travelled, today we dialed in the bikes and bags.

You may notice something new in the cockpit of my bike. Meet Conrad the crocheted condor who’ll be riding along with us on the CA. I’m hoping Chile’s national bird will invite friendly convos so we can practice our Spanish.

Speaking of español, is there such a thing as pidgin Spanish? ‘Cause if there is, that’s what we are speaking. Determined to learn as much as we can about Chilean culture, her flora, fauna and her people, we are giving Spanish our best effort and actually so far, either people we meet speak some English or are happy to work with us. And well there is always Google Translate.

Tom’s efforts in planning the logistics of the ride and subsequent adventures in Peru and Ecuador have been over-the-top amazing. If you know Tom, then you know there is a multi-worksheet spreadsheet involved that can be shared and accessed offline.

To reward his exemplary efforts he enjoyed his first empanada and a tasty meal of Chilean salmon. BTW did you know Chile is the world’s second biggest producer of salmon (after Norway). I sure didn’t.

So far our biggest mistake has been buying three litters of sparkling water instead of regular water so we might be burping a lot tomorrow but at least we’re likely to avoid water contaminants with us being bacteria-intolerant Americans. 😂

Per usual, we plan on blogging daily but anticipate many areas without cell or wi-fi, so there will be some catchup over time.

Thanks for joining us on our journey. We are so grateful to be able to do this and appreciate your interest and prayers.

Hasta pronto! 👋🏻