Helloooo!
A day of travelling adventure beckons today. I'm off on a bike ride with Mauricio and Lizette with the aim of arriving at Caldera in time for lunch. I'm hopeful of seeing some big sand dunes, more of the "Desierto Florida", and more scenery in general.
The day is glorious - not a cloud to be seen, no haze, gentle breeze. Perfect.
We head off at 11AM to the north of town for a few kilometres, then turn off to the north as the main road swings to the west. I've been along this road a month or so ago while visiting a potential property for the JV so I had a bit of an idea of what to expect, but today is so clear in comparison, it seems very different. Large hills/mountains, partially covered on the slopes by wind-blown sand, periodically dotted with historical mine workings and around every few corners, another small-medium sized operating mine. Spectacular! Just a beautiful day for tooling along at 70-80km/h, taking it all in, and fighting the urge to stop after every corner and take more photographs!
At one of our stops, there looks to be a few sets of wheel tracks disappearing off the main road and up onto one of the small hillocks next to the road. Given the amount of sand present, the fact that the bike is new (for me) and heavy, I don't give in to the temptation to fang it up the track, but I idly ride off the edge of the main road towards it, wondering whether it might be possible without getting stuck half way up and falling off. As I get off the edge of the road, I reckon I've made a good decision, as the sand is soft, with not much traction at all. I open up the throttle to listen to the engine note (have I mentioned that before?) and to throw a bit of a rooster rail of sand for Mauri and Lizette, hoping they had their camera out. I get back onto the road, turn around and ride back to Lizette.
It seems I've inspired Mauricio, who has fallen for the same urge to ride up onto the hillock. He takes a run-up and off he goes before I can say anything. Yep, the sand is soft. Yep, not a lot of traction. Yep, half way up, trouble. He tries to turn around, but falls to the downhill side and it's all over. After the initial concern that everything is OK, it is all very comedic and we all have a giggle about it. He gets the bike going and rides back down, bike and rider completely undamaged. Lizette has managed to capture the entire thing frame-by-frame on her camera (I think she just held the shutter button down), and the sequence is very good. Mauri is well pleased!
After another 20 or so k's we find the first evidence of flowers. Purples are big in this area, in clumps again (when seen from a distance) and with their green leaves in the mix, makes the plains and slopes of the hills look just beautiful - as usual, the photo's don't do it justice!
Further along (closer to the coast?) patches of white appear and we make yet another stop for walking, taking pictures and just taking it all in. Personally, I think the stops are fairly frequent to stretch sore buttock and leg muscles. It's certainly the reason I'm happy to stop! Despite my seat being advertised as a comfortable one for long distance travelling (it is not the original seat), it still seems "firm". I think I'll have to invest in a sheepskin cover for it!
The road has deteriorated since we passed the last mine on the track about 20 k's back. Plenty of corrugations and loose gravel, so we've reduced our speed to between 30-50 km/h, depending on how bad it is. At this last stop, Lizette abandons Mauricio for the apparent comfort of the KTM. Both of them appear happy with the outcome. Mauri's bike is "only" a 200cc trailbike, not really meant for two-up riding long distances. He's happy to be able to now zip along by himself and reports (I think) that the bike handles better without her on the back! For me, no difference in the handling of the bike at all, which is great. Only the added pressure of not doing anything dumb so that I damage his wife! So, steady-steady, as before.
Another few k's down the road and then a vast improvement in road conditions. No obvious reason why it might be, apart from one very lonely looking "house"(?). Still, no complaints as we both open up on the throttle and zip along at 80-90. A long straight appears and after consultation with Lizette about whether she'd be scared if we went a bit faster, I opened up. Despite the reasonable headwind, it is fair to say that we enjoyed our next few minutes. Just a little short of "doscientos", if anyone really cares. Oh yeah... We slowed down and waited for Mauri to catch up. "Why did we slow down?" was the later question from my passenger...
The breeze off the ocean has really picked up now and is buffeting us around. On the parts of the road where it is coming obliquely across the road, both of us are having to lean quite noticeably into it, but it is at least constant, rather than blustery, so we manage OK. It's also gotten a lot cooler, so we're all mighty relieved to make it to Bahia Inglesa (the touristy town adjacent to Caldera) for lunch.
My lunch is a great change from normal, having "chorrillana" for the first time. Apparently this one isn't a normal chorrillana, which should be Sauteed Steak, French Fries, Onions & Egg. The menu says this one has steak/chicken strips, with chips, vegetables, fried eggs and rice. Minus the steak/chicken, it sounds a great alternative to another bloody salad! I order it without meat, and of course get the "...so, chicken then?". No, without that too. Raised eyebrows at the Gringo Loco are again hilarious (to me). I'm sure I'll get tired of it eventually, but in the meantime, I still giggle to myself at the disbelief on the face of the poor waiter/waitress while they try to get their head around the request.
The meal that reaches the table is fabulous, all in a huge bowl. One third of it is stir-fried vegetables (tomato, onion, red and green capsicum), the chips aren't so bad, and I haven't had rice or eggs for a little while now, so they taste great as well. It is all topped off by a fantastically creamy creme brulee, which has Lizette and I in raptures. I completely forget to take a photo of the main until it is just about devoured, and then do exactly the same with the Creme Brulee. One day!
After lunch, the breeze has picked up even more and we take the coast road to Puerto Viejo, but we're riding directly into the wind. Mauri seems to be struggling to get more than about 60 km/h out of his bike, so it's a long ride, but worthwhile, as the coastline is beautiful. The last time I was in this area, I'd cut across to Puerto Viejo and headed south. The coast to the north is definitely the better bit and apparently very popular for camping in summer.
By the time we hit the turnoff to Puerto Viejo, both Mauri and I are cold. I've had to turn the heated hand-grips on, and am somewhat unimpressed with their hotness. They probably are quite warm, but having never had them before, I'd had expectations of more heat from them. After another stop for stretching and flower photography, I remember that the bike's electronic display has a menu item to show the ambient temperature. I flick over to that display and it shows a balmy 18 degrees. Off and riding again, the temperature read-out falls rapidly as the warm air from the engine is cleared from around the sensor, hitting a low of 13.7 degrees C, which explains why we are cold. I certainly don't have the gear for this temperature, but am very thankful for the screening provided by the bike, which is keeping the hypothermia at bay (OK, I know I'm exaggerating a bit, but it's my blog, so there!).
Blessed relief is provided by the bitumen road back to Copiapo, with the ambient temperature now showing 21 degrees. Aaaahhhh.
Pulling into Copiapo, the fuel alarm light comes on, which is a bit disconcerting, as we've only done just over 200 k's for the day, but I guess a fair bit of it was at low speed, so perhaps it's not so bad? We'll see after refuelling what the actual mileage was.
A hot shower and early night are calling, and I have plans to succumb to their seductive voices.
Chao.
A
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