PATAGONIA Tour on Motorcycle-21/24 January 2018 Days 1-2-3

SOUTH AMERICA / PATAGONIA TOUR with MOTORCYCLE
Riding to EL FIN DEL MUNDO between 21 January - 10 February 2018.

We flew from Santiago to Osorno on Jan, 21st,2018. We had taken the LATAM flight at 09:00 o'clock in the morning. It took around 3h15 minutes. We stayed in the Sonesta Hotel Osorno. It is a 5 star Hotel with nice food. Most of the members of our group came together during the afternoon and we have had dinner at the restaurant of the Hotel.
In the market downstairs I bought 3 pairs of bamboo socks which are very comfortable in the riding boots. As planned and booked, together with Sadik we shared one double room. This is also for the rest of our trip.
Next day, on Monday, January,22nd, 2018 we have had a briefing in the hotel lobby and then we put all of our luggage and gear into the Van which took us to the Moto Aventura premises in Osorno. Thomas is our friend who is technically responsible for the motorcycles on behalf of Moto Aventura Chile (Argomedo 739 Osorno-Tel.+56.64 224 91 23/24/27).
In the yard of Moto Aventura we took our motorbikes as arranged. I have a BMW 700 GS
of 2016. The milage is 35042 km. The tyres (model scout) were brandnew and maker is Heidenau-Germany. We had been given waterproof 60 lt bags and I packed all my stuff in it.
I gave my big luggage for being transported to Punta Arenas where from we are flying back to Turkey at the end of our tour. I only took may daily needs together with me and put them into the two side-cases and tank bag of my motorcycle. 

Now we are ready to ride. The weather is clear and sunny. We took the route 5 to the North.
After 20 minutes we took the direction to the Lago Ranco. The road conditions are good. In some places we had to take gravel roads. Gravel roads are very common in Chile and in Argentina as well. Therefore it is always on the safer side to be equipped with off-road tyres on the motorcycycle. We passed the towns Panquipulli Conaripe and we came to Lican Ray. This one is a village at the Lago Calafquen. There are lots of people in the town because of holiday season. It is summer in South America and it is hot in this region.
After having lunch at the restaurant having a view over the lake we took some pictures and spent some time at the lake.

Restaurant/Motel in Lican Ray

Lunch Stop at Lican Ray

At the Lago Calafquen:- Lican Ray

After the lunch we continued in the direction of Villarrica and then we reached to Pucon where we stayed in the Pucon Green Park Hotel. It is a nice hotel in the green field with a swimming pool and nice surrounding. Our room is in the basement having an easy access to the yard. Together with Sadik we went to the pool and I swam and took sun bath.

Pucon Green Park Hotel

At the pool:-Pucon Green Park Hotel.

We ate at the restaurant of the Hotel. The group members introduced themselves around the table. After the dinner I went for sleep.

Approx 590.- Chilean Pesos are equal to 1 USD. In most of the shops and hotels credit card is acceptable  but it is worth to have some cash Chilean Peso in the pocket. This can minimize the time spent at the fuel stations. The roads and signs at the roads are good enough and there is no problem to follow the maps. Pisco sour is a national drink in Chile and it is always refreshing and cool after arriving at the target.

Day-2 (23 January 2018) : Pucon-San Martin de los Andes
We departed around 09:20 from the Pucon Green Park Hotel. This is the utmost northern point of our route. We will ride always in the south direction. At 12:00 o 'clock we passed the border from Chile to Argentina. The border pass is at the Volcano Lanin.

Volcano Lanin at the border crossing

Leaving from Chile is not a big deal. The papers of the motorcycle should be checked and stamped and the passport as well. The customs/police control of both countries are not close to each other. Someone should drive/ride maybe 2-3 kms. 
We arrived around 13:15 at Junin de los Andes where we have had our lunch. The Argentinian Restaurant Nueva Ruca Huaney is in the down town at the corner looking to the park. Together with Sadik we paid 1,020.-Argentinian Pesos (approx. 19.-APs=1 USD)
This restaurant is willingly changing money. Good for having Argentinian Pesos !!

Junin de los Andes(Argentina).

Junin de los Andes(Argentina).

In front of the Handcrafts' Association, Junin de los Andes.

It is a small village. We made a short tour in the village and then we departed at 15:15 for San Martin de los Andes. It is a short distance on the Route 40. 
The Argentinian "Ruta 40" which is running 5000 kms in the North-South direction is very famous.

Christmas tree made out of PET bottles:- Good Idea from San Martin de los Andes.

We arrived around 16:30 at our "Le Village Hotel" in San Martin de los Andes. It was 28-29 deg C and the sky was clear and sunny. After having a rest about 1 hour we went out to see the town. The town is located at the Lake Lago Lacar within the mountains very similar to Alpine Villages or towns in Europe. The lake side is good for having sun bath. There are lots of people having fun at the beach of the lake. 

Beach of San Martin de los Andes

There are three main streets going in the sense of lake. Two of them are with restaurants, cafes,  shops etc. From one end to the lake it takes about 10 minutes to walk. We fixed some restaurants for having dinner. There is also small brewery shop called Fassbier.
We went there and we took IPA beer. They also served a small cup with peanuts. It was joyful to rest outside and to drink beer.

Fassbier :- Home made beers

We bought some audio CD. For the dinner we went to a restaurant with pink siding. It is an authentic restaurant with nice food and Malbec wine. We paid 880.-APs (approx. 45.-USD) for two. Then we came back to our Hotel.

Day-3 (24 January 2018) : San Martin de los Andes >>> El Bolson

We departed from our Hotel around 09:00.  We took the coastal road at the Lago Lacar. After riding 15-20 km on the asphalt road (Route 40) we took the gravel road in the direction of Va. Meliquina. The road took us through a beautiful kind of canyon the view is awesome. 

At the Lago Meliquina

Then we took the curved gravel road to Casa de Piedra and Caleufu. In a point where we can see the mountains left behind we stopped and took pictures.

At the junction with the Route 40 the place is called Confluencia we stopped at a fuel station. After having 1/2 an hour break there we departed on a wonderful road on the eastern side of Andes. A very beautiful section took us to Bariloche.Just before the city Bariloche we stopped at 13:00 for the lunch at the El Boliche Viejo. 

Lunch break at the El Boliche Viejo

We ate a variety of meat (Hey ! We are in Argentina !!) and sausages. 

The weather today is very nice and the sky is clear. It is around 24-26 degrees C.

The cook of the El Boliche Viejo

The city Bariloche has a population about 130,000 and is located in the middle of the National Park of the same name. This lake district is well famous for the summer and winter activities. The building are made mostly out of wood.
After more then 1 hour after the lunch we continued to ride on the Route 40 in the direction of El Bolson. We enjoyed the asphalt road and the view around us. There was some wind though.

In some place on the mountains we stopped for a coffee break. It is a café house on the top at the left hand side of the road. The name is something like Café Montana. We enjoyed the nice weather and coffee.

At the Café Montana 

At the Café Montana Philippe and Sadik

We arrived at El Bolson at 18:00. We had today 280 kms behind us. We stayed at the Hotel Cumbres in El Bolson. It is right in the city  on the main road which goes through the down town. We parked our motorcycles in the safe yard of the Hotel.

After changing and resting a little bit in our room we went out for seeing the town and for having dinner. It is a small city. We sat in a open beer pub and took some beer together with Sadik. The girls who served the beers in the beer garden were very friendly. Chatting with them was funny. They mentioned a good restaurant and we moved to the Agusto. It is a restaurant on a street close to our Hotel. We sat in the front yard just at the edge to the street and I drank two frozen Margarita. Then we enjoyed our meal. We paid 930.-AP for it.