We landed in Balmaceda (very small airport) around 3pm local time (2 hour ahead from EST). It was a quick 2-hour flight from Santiago (a total of 11 hours of flying and 26 hours of traveling). While Karel was waiting for our suitcases and his bike, I went to the Varona rental car counter (outside of the baggage area) to get our SUV. It was a very quick process and by 3:30pm we were in the car to make our way 1-hour to Villa Cerro Castillo (the location of Patagonman T2 - bike to run). It was a very beautiful drive and we couldn't believe how warm it was (in the 70's)! We arrived to our Airbnb (1.5K from the town center) and it was a little confusing to get in (the lady who met us did not speak English) but it all worked out. The cabin was super cute and so peaceful and quiet. The best part is that the cabin is on a farm and there are two dogs, lots of chickens and baby chicks!
After we unloaded the car, we drove to the town to get a few items from the grocery store. There are a few stores in town but they are very small and limited with items. However, we were able to get the necessities - eggs, butter, cheese, deli meat (for Karel), a veggie burger for me (I was surprised with the frozen vegetarian options!) and a few other things for breakfast like oats, frozen berries and granola. We also got milk and yogurt. We then went across the street to the only gas station in town to get some bottled water (although it's safe to drink the tap water here). Every place we went to takes credit cards so we haven't had to exchange our money yet. When we arrived back to our Airbnb, we made a light dinner - eggs w/ frozen peppers/onions and bread w/ butter. Shortly after, Karel put together his bike and then we went for a short run. I ran for 26 min (3 miles) and Karel ran for 32 min (4 miles). We both felt awful running but it was good to shake out the travel funk. And the views were incredible along our road.
View from our Airbnb
The sun didn't set until after 9:30pm but we seeing that we started our run around 8pm, we were ok with that. We were both exhausted from not having a full night of sleep in a day so we both slept amazingly well for 10 hours.
In the morning, we had oatmeal for breakfast and after catching up on emails and getting some work done, around 9:30am, Karel loaded up the car with his bike and gear and I drove him ~15 min up the road for him to do a ride. He ended up riding for almost 3 hours (54 miles, ~4300 feet elevation gain) and reversed the course to start and then road the last stretch of the Patagonman course into town (T2 area). While Karel was biking, I drove to the start of the gravel road outside of town (first left after the hairpin climb/descend leaving town) and went out of an adventure. My plan was at least 7 miles on the Patagonman course but I ended up with 8.2 miles as I really wanted to make it to the lake. The course started off with gravel for a mile, then 3 miles of rocky, grassy, sandy single track trail and then 4 miles on a windy, hilly, gorgeous gravel road. I stopped a lot for pictures. We don't have any service outside of Wifi areas so I downloaded a podcast on my phone to listen to (although I really didn't need it as I was so focused on the nature around me). I also had the
Patagonman run route on my phone (loaded on the Ride with GPS app, offline w/ a 7-day free membership) which helped a lot as the trail section of the course was very difficult to navigate.
During my run I covered 2400 feet elevation gain, 16.4 miles and completed the run in around 3 hours and 10 minutes. Sadly, I somehow accidentally deleted my run around 13 miles into the run. I was taking pictures of cows and I don't know how I pushed the wrong buttons but it happened. Ugh. So I am guestimating my time.
The run was absolutely beautiful. I saw so many animals and the nature around me was incredible. I wish I could have kept running but since I was reversing my route (out and back) I couldn't run too far. There were some steep sections that I walked. The gravel was loose in some places and there were also rumble strips.
I carried 2 x 16 ounce flasks in my Compress Sport vest (it's actually Karel's vest as he is going to wear my USWE vest for the race) with Never Second 30 in each of them. I also had a 16 ounce bottle w/ Skratch and a 12 ounce bottle with water. I also carried a Never Second gel as well as a few pieces of candy (Starburst). I had my passport and money/credit cards in the vest, as well as my phone. It was very warm during the run and the air is somewhat dry.
I returned to the car around 3:30pm and made a stop at the gas station and grocery store for a few more items and then made it back to our Airbnb around 4pm.
Here are some pics from my 3ish hour adventure on two feet.
After I had some food, Karel wanted to check out some of the run course that I ran on (he's deciding which shoes to wear for the race) so I drove him to the gravel road (~1.4 miles into the race course) and dropped him off. I drove to the town to check out the transition area and start of his run and then drove on some of the main road for 10 minutes to check out more of the sights. I picked up Karel around 30 minutes later. Karel ran 33 min (34 min) with some added stops for pictures.
I showed Karel the transition area and start of the run and then we went for dinner at one of the few restaurants in town - and it was delicious. I had a huge vegetarian pizza (Karel shared it with me) and Karel had a burger. We ate at Pizzería y hamburguesería D-LIZIA.
Tomorrow afternoon we will pack up and head to Coyhaique, which will be our "home base" for the rest of our trip.
