Saturday May 21, 2016, 214 miles (344 km) – Total so far: 17,656 miles (28,415 km)
May 18, 2016 Total combined miles 21,405 (34,408 km). After a nice night in the La Serena beach cabana we got a lazy late start. For the past few weeks we have been riding long days in the Atacama Desert putting in lots of miles so once in a while it is nice to get a slow start for the day. After 35 miles we saw what appeared to be a small fishing village and decided to drop down to the water and investigate the town of Guanaqueros. The coastal road is very hilly and all the towns are a large drop to the seashore and climb out in the morning. We love to explore small old fishing villages so when we came upon another cabana we stopped and decided to spend the night after a short day. This cabana like others we have stayed in is a great place to put our bikes in. Plus, there is always a kitchen! It is the off season in Chile, as we were in Spain, so the prices are cheap and we are usually the only guests on premises. We enjoy visiting the local markets and cooking our dinner. Today was no exception as we found an excellent fish restaurant for a nice lunch.
When we crossed the U.S. we wrote in our first book about crossing the country “one taco at a time”. We are now riding through Chile “one fish at a time, and one glass of wine at a time”. The fish is excellent and the wine unmatched except in Spain. A large bottle of local wine is less than $3. The wine is not just cheap it is excellent. After a tasty fish lunch we spent a few hours strolling through the fish markets watching the daily catch being cleaned, boats readied for the night fishing, and nets being repaired. This is the kind of place I could spend a summer in, eating in the many seafood restaurants daily, enjoying the local wine and swimming in the bay. Maybe someday I will return here with my wife, Andee.
May 21, 2016 We made it to Los Vilos, Chile after several days! Last night I made the quote of the day, “This is getting tough…after almost a year on the road”. The ups and downs are really hard but we continue to pursue our goal as we continue to ride the coastal mountains.
