5126 km Valparaiso

After leaving Mendoza I enjoyed about 30 more kilometers of flat road and then it all started. Time to climb through the Andes and make my way to Chile. The first day went remarkably well and I made it into Uspallata in a single day. The weather was nice and the views breathtaking. There was not much snow yet on the first day because it's all under 3000 meters. The second and third day the conditions got a lot tougher. Obviously it's colder higher up in the mountains, but the wind is also a lot stronger. Wind funnels between the mountains and can reach very high speeds. I had to continuously lean forward even when I stopped to eat and drink, to avoid being blown back. The last 30 km or so was the toughest part. The road gets a little steeper, though it still was quite doable climbing up on the Argentina side. One nasty little side effect of climbing was the freezing of my waterbottles, meaning I had no access to water for some hours.

Luckily the top was not far anymore. After making it to the top it was time for some tedious paperwork at the Chilean border. I made my way into Chile and got ready for 'Los Caracoles' Smack in the middle of the descent I got my second flat tire of this trip. probably one of the worst places I could have gotten one. I managed to fix it however with trucks passing me closely on one side and the ravine on the other. I must have rushed the fixing a little though, because later that day near Los Andes my tire exploded after I pumped it to higher pressure at a gas station. The tire must have been lying incorrectly in the rim. I bought some new inner tubes the next day and after that I was ready for the final stretch to Santiago. Got a bit more climbing in the wet snow as a desert but I made it into Santiago without much problems. I stayed a few days there to learn more about the history of the town and of course to try out the Chilean cuisine.

Contrary to most cities in South America, Santiago was actually never fully under Spanish rule. This is illustrated by the main statue of the founder of Chile, Valdivia on Plaza de Armas in Santiago. The horse he rides has no reins to show that Valdivia was never in control of the city.The Mapuche Indians sacked the city of Santiago a number of times. A broken head of the Mapuche is also displayed on the square illustrating the difficult life of the Mapuche indians in Chile. 

I took some time and visited the national museum to learn more about the more recent history of the country. How pinochet came to power in 1973 and what this has done to the country. I also went to the pre Colombus museum to learn more about all the indian communities that lived here before the Spanish arrived. 

After a few days in beautifull Santiago I decided it was time to move on to Valparaiso. On google maps this seemed an easy enough ride of 120km. This assumes your on the autopista however where you can conveniently cross mountains by this little invention called 'tunnels'. On the bicycle this is not an option however so I had to get there the hard way over the mountains. I faced a number of pretty tough climbs and wanted to sleep in a town called Casablanca. The hotels where full however, so I had to push further all the way to Valparaiso on a single day. It was about 150km of cycling of which nothing really flat. I can rest a bit now though here at the coast. I joined a tour through the town here and had a look at the beautifull murals painted on the walls here. 

Of course I am also taking the opportunity to eat some great seafood, while I am on the coast again. Lunch today consisted of merlusa, a local fish, with pisco sour. This is the good life. I'll stay a bit longer here to see the rest of the town and all the beautifull artwork and then it's time to go north and check out the less populated areas of Chile. Cycling through the atacama dessert will be a whole new adventure. 

Next blog you will hear all about it. For now all the best from Chile, Erik