ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST
Jan 30, 2014
Entre Lagos – Tirúa
I drop off my French friends at the bus terminal in Osorno before picking up Gerhard at the BMW shop. He has decided to ship his bike to Santiago for the repair, taking advantage of the truck hauling Moto Aventura’s rental bikes back and forth between Osorno and Santiago on a regular basis. We agree to travel North along the coast together until his bike and the required spare parts arrive in Santiago.
Dark clouds begin to move in as we are heading North on Route 5, then leave the highway to go West from San Jose de la Mariquina towards Mehuin on the coast. Somewhere between Mehuin and Nueva Tolten the rain is finally catching up with us, from there it’s rain showers on and off for the rest of the day.
A rainy day on the Pacific coast
North of Nueva Tolten we lose an hour in an unsuccessful attempt to find the road allegedly connecting to Puerto Saavedra via the isthmus between Lago Budi and the ocean. All roads we try end somewhere in the dunes…
The evening finds us at Hotel Curef in Tirúa, having beers and exchanging travel stories with Fernando, the friendly and worldly hotel owner.
Hotel Curef, Tirúa
Maybe I shouldn’t have taken his offer to check my e-mail on his computer. The message from Moto Aventura with the budget for my replacement parts almost gives me a heart attack: 6000 US$! In the US or Germany I can get a whole bike like mine for that money. There must be a better way! Fernando tries to help by calling a motorcycle mechanic he knows in Concepción, but to no avail. The internet connection is too slow to search for used parts in Germany, but I’ll follow that route as soon as I’m in a place with a faster connection. My brother in Germany should be able to help me, his small company is already shipping products to customers all over the world.
Jan 31, 2014
Tirúa – Dichato
I wake up way too early, my thoughts running in circles about the spare parts situation. I would feel much better if I could get on the web right away to tackle the problem, but I guess fate has tasked me with an exercise in patience. It’s too early to wake up Gerhard, who is still snoring peacefully in his bed across the tiny room. Instead I go for a walk through sleepy Tirúa, welcoming the return of blue skies and sunshine.
Morning mist, Tirúa
Tirúa
Sent off with a big hug and best wishes from Fernando, we continue our journey North. However, it is not the scenic coastal drive I had expected. Once in a while we get a glimpse of the ocean, but most of the dusty dirt and gravel road is taking us up and down the steep hills of the coastal range a few kilometers off the coast line.
Sometimes…
… we can even see the beach!
The monotony of endless eucalyptus and pine plantations makes us appreciate our midday detour all the more. Through vast areas of dead trees charred by a recent wildfire, a well paved road descends towards the ocean to end in Caleta Punta Lavapié, a quaint fisherman’s village. We have lunch at one of the simple seafood restaurants in town and hang out on the beach for a while before we resume our journey.
Above Caleta Punta Lavapié
Caleta Punta Lavapié
With Gerhard, Caleta Punta Lavapié
Despite a 20-km detour on a bumpy dirt road to a camping site on Lake Lanalhue (full!), our quest for a place to stay for the night remains unsuccessful for a long time. By the time we reach Dichato we are ready to settle for almost anything. Soon we find out why the town is so crowded and pretty much every free bed is already taken: Today is the 4th anniversary of the Dichato’s devastation by the tsunami of the 2010 earthquake. As a means to help the town get back on its feet, the town administration teamed up with national media to create the “Day of Dichato”, a nationally televised festival with the participation of famous performers. Of course we had no idea! In view of the circumstances we happily accept the offer to spend the night in a rickety shack for a few pesos.
Our five-star hotel, Dichato
Feb 01, 2014
Dichato – Roadside hotel
In spite of the very modest accommodation we had a good night’s sleep. Before the town gets busy with the festival we are already on our way out. After a few kilometers we stop for breakfast on a quiet, picturesque beach.
Breakfast on the beach
Our “breakfast beach”
Near Cobquecura a sign is catching my eye, pointing down the road towards the town and the shore. I don’t really know what “Loberia” means, but it sounds interesting – after all, “Lobo” is Spanish for “wolf”. Curious, I turn around to follow the sign. After crossing the small coastal town, the road ends on a parking lot near the beach. The murmur of waves is mixing with strange noises I can’t identify at first, but a look beyond the surf explains it all. It is the roar of mighty bulls overseeing a colony of seals on a rocky islet about 200 m off the shore.
Loberia Cobquecura
Loberia Cobquecura
As we stand and watch the scene with awe, we spot a black speck bobbing up and down in the water between the islet and the shore. A few minutes later, a baby seal is washed up onto the beach, totally exhausted. Soon the poor bugger is surrounded by tourists (us among them) taking pictures, wanting to help but not knowing what to do. A young man from town comes better prepared, picks up the helpless bundle to carry it away in a net. However, he explains that the rules of Chilean national parks don’t allow him to do more than let the baby rest before releasing it into the water again, left to its own devices.
The stranded baby seal
As we move further North, the towns on the coast are getting busier and busier, reminding us that it’s vacation season in Chile and that we are getting closer to Chile’s most populous areas around Santiago. Pichilemú, a popular destination for surfers and party kids, is welcoming us with the first traffic jam I have seen in almost two months. I already miss the solitude of Patagonia!
Not surprisingly our attempts to find accommodation are destined to fail. We move on, leaving the coast on Route 50 towards Marchihue. Soon we find a decent and inexpensive hospedaje in a small roadside village.
Feb 02, 2014
Roadside hotel – Valparaiso
It’s an easy drive from our roadside hotel to Valparaiso. In the early afternoon we check into our room at Hostel Ottavia, a very pleasant place in a historic house on Cerro Concepción, We enjoy the views from the roof terrace then we spend the rest of the day wandering around Cerros Concepción and Alegria and through the old city around the port.
On the roof terrace, Hostel Ottavia
View from the roof terrace
Evening on Cerro Concepción
SOUTHBOUND! 
Nice!!! Besos. Tuty
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