Carretera Austral Day 7: Villa Santa Lucia to La Junta | 42 miles, 2,451 feet elevation | Policia!

Riding Stats | (Link to Tom’s Strava)

Accommodations (daily mileage, elevation, etc.)

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

That’s right… old rule-following Grandpa and Grandma over here got stopped by two Chilean Police officers today. 😅

The two youngish, cutish officers tried to explain we needed to ride single file on bicycles. They spoke no English and we, little Spanish, so that was kind of comical.

The funny thing is we most ALWAYS ride single file however just this one time we were riding side by side on a single lane bridge without any oncoming cars. Personally I think they wanted to get a good look at Conrad the condor on the front of my bike.

They were smiling as they tried to explain but they went all out with their police car lights on. No pic of the officers but taking this one of Tom riding at his left side on the bridge might have been the problem.

More rain today but we had a fabulous unexpected breaky prepared by Giesela. It was simple yet so carefully prepared and it was so perfect before setting out on this rainy morning.

Another fellow cyclist joined us for breakfast. Meet Gavin from Canada! He recently graduated from college (microbiology I think?) and generated so many laughs and warmth at breakfast.

Youngsters are so positive and fun to be with. They rarely worry and just figure things out. I hope Gavin and Yannik (whom we met a week ago) meet at some point. We still often think of Pippin, Sarah, Amelia and Zach, our “kids” from our bike tour in New Zealand last year at this time.

So yes, the rain continues but we had periods of sun so at times the layers came off. I snagged this pic off of Facebook. It’s in Cerro Castillo and we will be riding through there in a couple days. Look at the snow! Loco Patagonian weather! 🤪

Chilean drivers continue to be among some of the most courteous we have ever encountered giving us plenty of room when passing and even slowing down. There are only a few tour buses to contend with and VERY few RVs, thank goodness.

Although I didn’t get any decent pics because it was raining when we arrived yesterday, we are staying at the most fantastic place, Espacio y Tiempo. Thanks for the recc, Beth! And thanks to Austral Bikes for the discount. Ironically, Senora Palacios Holguin who checked us in, attended Purdue University in the 1990’s. Small world.

Hoping to get to Queulat National Park tomorrow and that weather clears so we can see the best of what she has to offer. Thanks for following along and especially your comments and prayers. 😘😘

Click on the image below to view today’s video AND our Doggo of the Day 🦴🐕🐾: