From Villarica (Chile) to San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina)

After an overnight bus ride down from Santiago, I arrived early in the morning at Villarica and set about reassembling the bike. Most things were okay and a quick trip to the local bike shop sorted the other minor problems out. Finally, I was riding. I spent the night in the pretty town of Pucon, 26 km from Villarica. 

The box will soon be history.

Hmm, got a bit of work to do...

Up and running at last. 

Pucon.

I rode my first pass of the trip, Paso Mamuil Malal at about 1200 m, which marks the border between Chile and Argentina. From there I followed the "Siete Lagos" route past many beautiful lakes to Sam Carlos de Bariloche. I fueled myself on prime Argentinian beef, each steak bigger than the last. 

Hola Argentina!

Volcan Lanin

Hot and dry. 

From the paddock...

...to the pan. And from small...

...to big. 

One of the many lakes along the route. 

Remote farms with dangerous guard dogs. 

Another lake. 

I never had better fruit than from this guy. The watermelon was the best I ever had. 

Lake Huapi Nahuel, on the way to SC de Bariloche.