Chaitén, Chile - Polarsteps

On our stage from La Junta to Villa Santa Lucía (~70 km), we were lucky because it didn't rain in the morning - as expected. Again, it was a beautiful ride with easy climbs, stunning views and unexpected encounters! After a few kilometers, we ran into a woman from Mexico who is has been walking down South within 13 months to raise awareness for the importance of exercise for the physical and mental health. We also crossed paths with a cyclist who had a broken gear shifter and another German cyclist with two broken spokes. Unfortunately, we couldn't help them. However, after seeing their situations, we didn't mind the afternoon rain as much anymore. We arrived to the tiny village of Villa Santa Lucía completely wet and felt like we deserved to eat a small pizza each. Finding a dry place for the night turned out to be a challenge at first. The only campsite in the village was a little overpriced and had nothing to offer. We even checked out an abandoned bus full of cat pee which wasn't really an option for a good night's sleep. We were about to go back to the campsite when out of nowhere, a local invited us to tea and bread. Nino is a warm-hearted person and ended up offering us a room and a hot shower. We could also dry our clothes next to the fire place and enjoyed our sleep in a real bed (after having slept on air mats for three weeks)!!!