Greetings from Coyhaique, Patagonia.

Ok. so we´re back in civilisation - well, what passes for civilisation down here - after 11 days on the sometimes very hard Carretera Austral from Puerto Montt. The road ( 1200km long, only 200km currently paved ) was only finished in 1982 and prior to that, many of the comunities here relied on boat , air or horse to communicate with the outside world. The scenery is spectacular with thousands of hectares of untouched forest surrounded by snowcapped mountains, glaciers and ice caps containing a third of the entire world´s fresh water.

We´ve taken a ferry or two, battled with horseflies the size of elephants, met up with other intrepid cyclists and been photographed by tourists as we struggled along sometimes appalling gravel ( imagine cycling on Brighton Beach with a 20kg backpack and you´ll get the idea.. ) roads.

We have a few more days cycling left as we cross back into Argentina where we´ll take a bus and maybe a plane back to Buenos Aires. In the meantime, for your delectation.......

A rare bit of paved road....

Some people travel by bike, some by other means.

Everything is made of wood down here.

Deforestation. :-(

Lovely forest walk in Queulat National Park.

Hanging glacier, Ventisquero Colgante from the road.

Ventisquero Colgante a little closer.

Typical Chilian Hostel. Ramshackle is the norm here.....

Fishing boats in Puyuhuapi.

River Palena.

Tough climbs on gravel roads. Steve got to the top first though!

Waiting for the ferry at Hornopirien with fellow bikers and cyclists.

Day one of the Carretera.

Ash - devastated Chaiten.

Filling up at the only tap in town.

The culprit. Volcan Chaiten.