A tale of my travel to Chile in motorcycle                                                     By Gonzalo Aziz In 1884, the English Edward Butler established himself to the world making the first morotcycle. This new invention took 15 years to get mass-produced and in the new century found thousands of Europeans riding this "motor bicycles". What Butler maybe didn't think was that one century later, and in the other side of the world, an Argentinean would be very thankful to him. Without the intention to complete a "san martiniana" feat, but with the anxiety to cross Chile mounted on a mechanical horse, I crossed Los Andes a sunny day of summer. Leaving behind the international passage Cardenal Samoré I arrived to Osorno, where the "trasandinos" friends of MotoAventura waited for me, Sonia and Roberto, experts in moto tourims. For my surprise one of the guides, the German Peter - who is also a chef- gave me a welcome with exquisite Mexican tacos accompanied with guacamole, rajitas to the cream, tinga Creole and sauce of mushrooms.

Around the lake LLanquihue 9:00 am of a sunny day. We took breakfast and Roberto prepared three motorcycles off-road (600 cc)  to get ready for the adventure. These type of motorcycles combine the strength of the cross with the comfortable ride of the classic route motorcycles, what makes possible a gentle use in the asphalt of the big routes or in the gravel of the mountains. The mechanical team was completed by Sonia, who traveled with us in a 4x4 support van taking bags, a medicine kit, food and other necessary stuff. We took the predicted trip: to travel around the lake LLanquihue. I confess that my previous experiences crossing Los Andes left a strong image of the rigidity of the Chilean police of transit, that was why I was so nervous everytime we crossed with a police. They are very strict with the laws. We took the 34 route (to Puerto Octay) and then the detour to Las Cascadas, a summery center for the local people ubicated 70 km away. From Osorno, to the sides of the Llanquihue and in the Osorno Volcano. There we made the first stop. We continued the travel around the lake and the road became gravel. In about 20 km we found the way up to the volcano. The road was not simple but we confronted it anyway.

There are 14 km way up from the intersection to the base of Osorno. There is the old ski center La Burbuja wich is out of service at the moment.  But the most impressive was to keep going "out of route" from the base of the steep hillsides of the volcano. It is something that can only be done in motorcycle (always with guides) or walkig. I felt the desire to stay in the environs of the Osorno, but we had to keep going because more atractive places waited for us.  We retook the way inverse of the road we took to go up to go back to the ruote. From the intersection we continued drawing the siluete of the lake. In the 15 km we arrived at Ensenada and we left the Llanquihue momentarily to visit another water mirror, the lake Todos los Santos. Where expeditions for the Nacional Park Pérez Rosales take place and you can even cross the homonymous step to Bariloche, crossing the area of the imposing Tronador Hill. The Todos los Santos watches the Petrohué river born, its watercourse caused seven water jumps when the volcano's lava came down form the Volcano Osorno. Here the midday found us.

Time to stop the motorcycle and have some ham sandwiches and cheese with fresh fruit juices. Ready again we returned to the Llanquihue lake and from there to Puerto Varas, one of its beautiful coasts wich deserves a stop. The ruote is full of chapels from the german colonization from begings of the XX century. Puerto Varas  is located in the shore of the south west of the lake and watches the volcanos Osorno and Calbuco. Is a small but dynamic city, with an attractive architecture and with a good touristic infrastructure. We continued then and took the detour in the route 5 to Puerto Montt, considered by many people the capital of the region of Los Lagos. Its harbor hyperactivity, its street market, the great human agglomeration, plus its aspect of a large marine city that extends to the hills  (the surrounding hillsides are covered of colorful neighborhoods of wooden houses, so typical of the south of Chile), give to Puerto Monnt a very particular charm. We retraced steps to return to the Llanquihue and to be closer to one of the chilean paradises, Frutillar. Thousands of pictures of Germany came to mi mind while I crossed the town, very small and

perfect in its design of noreuropean houses and gardens. I was driving in that zone feeling like I was in a dream in wich a motorcycle furrowed gardens. ¿What is better, then, than stop here to have some tea? The afternoon was faling and we decided to embark on the way back to Osorno with a stop in Puerto Octay,  colorful enclave of the north of the Llanquihue. Its inhabitants, like in all the region, are in majority descendants of Germans. The travel in Octay was quick because the night was above us. Luckily the chilean roads are in excellent state, so in half an hour (45 km) we were already back in Osorno. End of the first journey.   The course to the Pacific We started the day with good weather, essential detail to enjoy a motorcycle.  The plan of the route took us to the northeast, with destiny to the old Valdivia, founded on 1552. Roberto verified the state - excellent - of the motorcycles and got ready to guide us. we took the Panamerican, wich divides the country in two, from north to south, to Puerto Montt  (the line of the route wich is reinitiated in Chaitén and continues to Villa O'Higgins, is the Austral Highway ). We had to drive

To Puyehue, the route 215. In front, the Petrohue river;  stopping place in the Todos los Santos Lake; Osorno, the city; way to the Osorno Volcano.       with prudence due to the great amount of cars that circulate in this highway. After about 50 km we turned to the left by the R49; in its sides of the road, before arriving to Valdivia, still terrible sequels of the flood that suffered the city in June 1960 can be seen.  The son of the middday saw us entering the town, whose urban design follow the curves of the river Calle-Calle and adapts to the irregular topography of the land,  a constant of the region. The architecture is a sample of it's origins in the forts raised by the conquerors, and of the contribution - very later -  of the German colonists. We made a stop to have lunch in a fast food restaurant, and later we walked a while in the Main Plaza, a classic of any  - absolutely all - the towns of a region with an historical past. We returned immediately to the machines and crossed then the Calle-Calle to

to enter to La Isla Island.  There is the Saval Park, the central office of the Austral University: beautiful  recreation place whose lagoon is totally covered with Loto flowers, here they are called roses of water. The temptation to stop was strong and we did not repress it: we continued the talk at lunch under the shadow of a tree and with Sonia's cool drinks (she brought a mini refrigerator in the van that carries a drink for each stop ). Later we started the travel again to the east through route 15.  So we arrived to the Pacific Ocean, more exactly to the beaches of Niebla, a spectacular place where we stopped the motorcycles in the top of a cliff to contemplate an infinite horizon. Because it was already the hour of the tea to 5 o'clock, we returned to Valdivia - by respect to the English Edward Butler - and enjoyed the evening devouring exquisite regional cakes.  Don't ask me why, but  one of the conclusions I came to in this trip is that traveling around in a motorcycle opens the appetite. At least that was what happened to me. Before the fall of the sun we undertook the return to Osorno, doing the route to the inverse. In one hour we were already back and giving us a repairing shower.

Before eating, we made a nocturnal ride in the town, in motorcycle of course. Osorno is an important urban center in the south of Chile, calm but vey dynamic. It counts with a population near to the 100 thousands inhabitants (as a reference is worth to say that Bariloche has 120 thousands), increased by the tourims. Because of its location, it is a center of touristic distribution of the Chilean Patagonia, this is demostrated by the constant movement of people. I loved its Main Square; there I stopped the motorcycle and decided to walk and mix with the people to hear opinions, one of the fantastic aspects of a travel. The urban ride lasted hardly one hour. What came next is a classic of MotoAventura: a dinner that Sonia and Roberto offer in their house one of the nights of the trip. The owner of the house distinguished himself with an exquisite roasted meat. ¡Yes, roasted meat! PUYEHUE: mountains and hot springs As the great end of the travel the last journey was left.  In this case corresponded us to go in direction of the mountain range to visit the National Park Puyehue, well known because of its homonymous lake and hot springs.

The sun took a break and left us with a completely covered sky and threatening rains. But it didn't matter because we had to do 70 km  of good asphalt in the international route 215 that goes from Osorno to Argentina. In less than an hour we were already in Puyehue . As soon as we arrived we went directly to the hot prings that, sticked to the Chalefú river, relaxed our tense muscles after the travel. There are two hot springs centers: one belongs to the Puyehue Hotel and the other one - Hot Waters - is public.  Both are very good. In the water, you can only enjoy of the heat and the view of the  surrounding landscape; but without  staying more in water: 15 minutes is the maximum time of stay in water because of the pressure loss that produces.  Happily relaxed, we ate something fast before initiating the way up to the ski center Antillanca. The rain was more and more close, reason why we rushed the lunch.  The way up to Antillanca are 14 km of pure gravel, crossing some streams and avoiding the green lagoons.  The Charm and The Bull and the Mirror Lake. The road is narrow - we had to circulate with a lot of precaution - and with a lot of trees, they were so many that I felt that I was going through an incredible green pipe, to conclude in a beautiful brown complex at the foot of the mountain.

We arrived with all the feelings to continue the road to the volcano, but the dense fog forced the forester  to close the path. So we parked the motorcycles and drank coffee in the Antillanca Complex: hotel and restaurant plus a ski center.  But there wasn't more time to rest; it was about to start raining and we started the way down to Puyehue and, without stoping any second, we took the route 215 to return to Osorno.  At last we arrived, before the nightfall. The adventure in the chilean Patagonia was over, a place in the world where it's beauty grows in a good motorcycle.  I collapsed on my bed, looking at the window I saw how the first drops of water started to fall from the sky that, generously, allowed us to enjoy the journey without rains. so I felt asleep.

Puerto Varas church; Gonzalo in front  of the Llanquihue; Puerto Varas; street  stalls en Puerto Montt; typical houses of the chilean south; Puerto Octay; only at meters of the  Osorno Volcano;  the beach of the Todos los Santos lake.   Usefull information   Telephone: (00 56-64) MotoAventura Chile is in charge of organize the complete travel.  It is only necessary to put into the hand of Sonia and Roberto: P.o. box 1336, Osorno. Tel: 249121/23. E-mail: roberto@motoaventura.cl . In the Web: www.motoaventura.cl How to get there: Andesmar travels everyday from Buenos Aires to Osorno; they are very  comfortable buses, with a service of food. Consultations and reserves, through the page:  www.andesmar.com.ar