March 4: Puyehue to Puerto Octoay, Chile 128 kms, 80 miles!

Today is the longest ride of the trip. We are leaving the mountains behind us and traversing the ranch lands and vineyards of the heart of the Chilean Lake Region. From Termas de Puyehue to the Pan-American Highway (which runs from one end of Chile to the other) and then on to the town of Puerto Octay. This area was originally settled by the early German settlers and is home to a museum dedicated to the stories of the lives of those first "white man" inhabitants.

Most of the route is flat with very little variance in the degree of incline or decline. The traffic as the group approached the Pan-American Highway increased making "sharing the road" a little difficult, but the Chilean driver is much more "giving" when it comes to allowing a non-motorized vehicle "lead"!! A couple times in construction areas it was comical to watch large trucks and buses being "slowed" to a crawl as they "followed" a biker through the one way lanes!!

Rain joined the parade at the end which adds nothing to the pleasure of riding. The final 5 kms were on a winding road up a hillside. While not anything to insurmountable -- at the end of a day, not a welcome sight!! But alas, once again we are overnight in a quaint resort on the lake.