The thought of not reaching the resevoir was such a disappointing one that I knew I had to plough on. At km 11 I had a mini break-down, my legs were screaming for me to stop, my whole body in pain and I felt as though all the energy had been sucked out of me. At this point Roberto took all of the load from the back of my bike and put it on his. This greatly improved things but the exhaustion was overwhelming. At km 13 I said to Roberto, “the next truck that passes, I’m going to stop it”.
Luckily one passed us almost immediately, it stopped to pick us up and we spent the next 45 minutes on a very bumpy 12km ride, absolutely exhausted but relieved that we would finally see the resevoir. The men that picked us up were incredibly kind and took us right until the end of the resevoir, to a secluded spot where we could pitch our tents. We said our goodbyes and they continued on their journey.
Luckily one passed us almost immediately, it stopped to pick us up and we spent the next 45 minutes on a very bumpy 12km ride, absolutely exhausted but relieved that we would finally see the resevoir. The men that picked us up were incredibly kind and took us right until the end of the resevoir, to a secluded spot where we could pitch our tents. We said our goodbyes and they continued on their journey.
The scenery was breathtaking, the water shimmering in the setting sunlight and the colours of the Andes changing with the approaching darkness. A group of fishermen arrived to camp in the same area and luckily they had a bottle opener so we could drink a glass of wine and toast our (almost) achievement. We pitched our tent, heated up water to make noodles and then heated up the wine with sugar to fend off the creeping cold. Exhausted we collapsed into our tent and fell asleep almost immediately.
The morning arrived with a chill in the air and absolute silence. Climbing out of the tent we were greeted by the stillness of the water, the ever-changing colours of the mountains and a line of fishermen catching trout for their lunch. We took a walk along the water’s edge, marvelling at the beauty of this place so close to Santiago and proceeded to make a simple breakfast in readiness for the return. After packing our tent away and saying goodbye to our new fishermen friends we set off back along the edge of the resevoir towards Santiago. There was an abundance of photographic moments, and a feeling of disbelief about the beauty of the place as we cycled along.
The downhill return was much easier and we soon reached the end of the off road track. We stopped to eat at the same kiosk where the “Tías” served us with the same enthusiasm. Our stomachs full of fried empanadas, lemon pie, homemade cake and coffee we wended our way back down the mountains to Santiago.
WRITTEN BY KATY CHESTER
