Carretera Austral : Getting Here

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.

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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! 👋🏻

20 thoughts on “Carretera Austral : Getting Here”

  1. love this & location will be gorgeous.
    i’d LOVE to ride this trip

    Great Divide scared me & big creatures in Australia intimidating. Love this

    Just read a book on a rider in these countries – will be reading all your blogs

    Have a blast !

    i drove to FL for month cycling then flew to Denver doe a wedding 3/ days

    ❤️🚲🚲

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  9. Hi Deb and Tom. I get to go on another adventure with you. So looking forward to it when all we see is snow right now. Prayers and safe travels along the way. How long will you be gone? Tish

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    1. Tish!! So great to hear from you!! It’s summer here (tho not that hot) and we sure were happy to leave the snow behind.

      Will be riding south for a month, then traveling to Peru 🇵🇪 and staying in a treehouse along the Amazon, then hiking the Inca Trail. Finally before we leave beautiful South America we will visit the Galápagos Islands. 🐢

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