Osorno 28-2-12

I left Barioche early(ish) to give plenty of time for the border. Nice bit of road but very high winds negated much of the breathtaking Lake District scenery. It's difficult to look at the views when you're concentrating hard on not being blown under a truck.

The rain started just before the Argentinian border. Not too heavy at first and the exit from Argentina was straightforward. My first proper international border on a bike. After leaving Argentina, there is the Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass over the Andes, followed by the Chilean border and the Puyehue National Park.

The rain got heavier as I got further up the pass, the fog got thicker, my waterproofs and gloves started leaking and I couldn't see anything of interest at all. The only consolation was that I wasn't on a push bike unlike about a dozen folks struggling up the hills.

I wasn't searched at the Chilean border; unlike most people. Even though I'd ticked the box to say I was carrying animal and vegetable products.

More rain in the Puyehue Park, I had the occasional view of waterfalls and Jurassic Park vegetation but mostly it was grey and thick with dust. It turns out that there's an active volcano in the middle of the park but it was hiding in the weather.

The rain got heavier, I took shelter for about an hour in a bus shelter but decided to press on to Osorno as it was only about 60km away figured I could change clothes when I got there.

A change of clothes and a trip to the supermarket later, I can confirm that you can also get English styled craft beer in Chile. A most welcome surprise.

Decided to have a rest day due to the weather forecast and took the bike to Moto Venturas so they could take a look at my bouncy rear shock. They confirmed that the shock was indeed knackered and said they'd have to send it to their office in Santiago to fix it but they could have it done by Thursdayfor about $US200. Not a bad turnaround compared with Argentina.

I declined as I'll be passing through Santiago anyway and figured I'd just drop the bike in while I'm there.

It's going to take a couple of days to get to Santiago but it looks like I'll be staying a few days while I have stuff sent from home and get the shock fixed.

Probably heading for Los Angeles tomorrow, it's about half way on the map.