8. The Lakes District
DAY 172
The plan was to go and shoot some night pictures tonight. I got the perfect place for it. I grabbed my gear and I got out and I set up my tripod and camera. I took some test pictures and they looked amazing. I'm taking 100 pictures tonight. I started the sequence and waited. Unfortunately, there were some late arrivals at the campground. As they drove around at 11 PM and setting up their camp under the lights of their headlamps, they totally ruined my picture set. The camera was set up for total darkness, and the bright lights totally messed up the exposure. Too bad, I was looking for a really good one tonight.
Not to be deterred, I moved further out from the camp and set up for a different composition. Again, set of pictures, which would take about two hours to expose. I was about halfway through the sequence when few people from the camp decided this is the best time to look for the local wildlife. They had high-powered search lights which they were flashing everywhere. Again, my camera exposure was messed up. I packed my gear and went back to the camp. I met the people with their ginormous search lights. They were looking at a friggin rabbit. Well, most of the night is gone, and I have nothing to show for it. The bad thing is that this is the perfect spot with no light whatsoever. What can you do, you win some you lose some. I wasn't on the winning side today.
The night was cold, but manageable. I didn't even bother with the rain fly on my tent. The temperature went down to 7° overnight. I knew if there is going to be clear skies in the morning, it would be great for a picture of the volcano which is facing east. And sure enough when I woke up the sun just started to lick the top of the volcano. They're not too many things or events that make me happily get up early but taking pictures is one of them. I can get up at any time as long as there is a nice picture to take. I shot out of my sleeping bag, quickly changed the lens and the settings from the fruitless night and I was heading out of the campground into the open. It was a beautiful setting, I love mornings like that.
Back to the campground and start packing everything. It was pretty chili as the campground is tucked right at the west side of the mountain and doesn't get any sun until late afternoon. But I was on my way soon and riding in the sunshine. The temperature difference was 10°. But I had my heated jacket and heated hand grips working overtime anyway.
It was sunny in the beginning then just partly cloudy. Beautiful scenery, mountains, trees, a small farms. I planned my route today along the coast of several lakes. It was a dirt road, very dusty. Luckily, there wasn't too much traffic. The lakes were huge, with many vacation houses along the shore lines. Everything looked like it could have been anywhere in British Columbia. It was a beautiful ride. It was a great workout, as I was standing on my pegs almost all day. It was a narrow road so again, I was being very careful because local drivers tend to cut corners. There are many times in the past and today where I was forced into the ditch to avoid collision. Today it was an encounter with a big truck with a trailer and big digger.
Hi rode through beautiful long and deep valley with beautiful river running in the middle. It was just perfect day. Definitely felt like it was a fall day today.
Closer I was getting to my destination the more traffic was on the road. My destination today was at Villarrica. It sits on the huge lake. There are a lot of fancy houses, hotels, condominium, and cabins. It is very touristy place. it is like Whistler on steroids. I found my place which I booked online yesterday. It is a nice big wooden cabin with two bedrooms and sleeping arrangement for six people. Maybe I should sublet the rest of the beds. I ran out of Chilean pesos so I need an ATM. By the closest ATM have been told is 20 minutes back where I came from. It is time for a ride again. I found the ATM got a money. No issue this time. And when I was there, I stayed for a dinner. The issue with my in South America is that most people and companies prefer hard cash. They don't like credit cards so you run out of cash very quickly. ATMs are not plentiful as where are you still in North America. so you have to plan ahead where and when to get the other cash out of the bank machine.
Back in my cabin it is time to write my blog and edit some pictures. I have a placed booked for tomorrow for two nights as I need to do some maintenance on the bike on Monday.
It was a great day today and I'm pretty tired. Not too much sleep last night and riding today was quite tiring as well. Looking forward to a good night sleep and tomorrow ride.