Monday 13 March 2023 – 160Km
I am staying in Puerto Natales for a second night which gives an opportunity today to ride into Torres del Paine National Park. From what I remember the park has some good gravel roads with some spectacular scenery. Unfortunately the weather forecast for the day means that the views won’t be visible. Disappointing for me, but not as disappointing as it is for the other riders who have not been here before.
I enjoyed the ride through the park even though the low cloud and light rain made for disappointing views. I didn’t hang about and made one stop for a cup of tea and a few brief stops to take photos, no point in hanging around looking at what would have been some spectacular views in better weather.
30Km of roadworks as I left the park made for an interesting ride in the wet. At one point two young Guanaco’s ran across in front of me, no danger to me until one of them saw the bus coming from the opposite direction and turned to run towards me, it soon changed its mind and made it across the road, a very close encounter with a very large bus for the Guanaco and a heart stopping moment for me. Having avoided a collision the two Guanaco’s ran along the fence for half a kilometre in front of me before the they found a gap in the fence large enough to escape through. Following them as they ran gracefully along the fence was a real pleasure for the few moments it lasted.
At the entrance to Torres del Paine National Park there is a cave where the remains of the extinct Mylodon were discovered in 1895. A statue of this animal is in the centre of the roundabout as you enter Puerto Natales.
That evening I walked into Puerto Natales with Alastair to find the restaurant we ate in on our last visit here in 2018. We found the restaurant, which seems to have become recognised for serving fish, moules mariniere Chilean style and a bottle of wine, an excellent dinner.
