On November 9th finally the cargo ship came to Le Havre. The responsible Agency told me that two more bicyclists were embarking the same day!
They also told me that we, of security reasons, probably were not allowed to go by bicycle all the way to the ship. They strongly recommended us to take a taxi. But my suggestion was to try early in the morning and if it did not work out call a taxi.
In the morning I met the two dutch cyclists and together we managed to find the ship called" MS Genesis" and to bike all the way without taking a taxi.
Next to all container ships we passed you did not feel very big!
The Captain was a very nice young guy from Poland.
After some days we had a 24 hour stop in Lisboa and were allowed to explore the city.
It was very nice!
In Lisboa the rainy weather changed and suddenly it was more than 20 degrees warm!
Soon I was tired of doing nothing on the ship so I told the Captain that I wanted to work as a volunteer on deck. He organized so I got a helmet, an overall and working shoes. Almost every day I worked four hours with derusting and painting the ship.
But I also partipitated in "a guided tour" to the engine room. But it was more than a room! It was four stores high and tens of meters long! Really impressive!
Somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic we had an emergency exercise together with the 21 crew members. We tested the life jackets and the dry suits.
Finally we even climbed into the life boats checked the equipment there and started the engine!
The day we passed the Equator was a very special day. Everyone who had not done it before with a vessel had to get baptizied. Two of the crew members plus the bicyclists on the ship could not show the special certificate for the captain you get after this ceremony It was a quite complicated ritual which included smudgy things in your face, pretended shaving, drinking horrible drinks and so on. But we were happy that the ceremony did not longer include keelhaulning (to get pulled on a rope under the ship)! Instead we were supposed to climb into an oily barrel filled with a mixture of seawater and milk and then crawl though a long tunnel with another oily barrel and even here a shower of salt water.
Finally I got my certificate!
After that we had a party with kareokee and a lot of delicious food!
The food actually was very good every day and thanks to the friendly Captain (which you can see in the middle of the picture) we had a really good time on board! The Captain also gathered us every evening to play cards for at least one hour!
Finally on November 24th early in the morning, we arrived in Rio De Janeriro. After more than two weeks I was ery eager to disembark but the customs in Brazil are not so fast. I had to wait 15 hours!
I slept in the home of a member of warmshowers. He recomended me a bicycle tour through the Tijuca National park west of Rio.
It was a wonderful tour with fantastic views!
Somtetimes the cliffs were so steep that the road was almost a tunnel in the rock.
Finally I came to the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer.
There I found a lot of tourists taking selfies and pictures of the view on Rio.
And the view WAS very nice!
Then I biked downtown...
...and explored the beaches
...and watched the skilled surfers.
Next morning my host family took me to the market and introduced me to Brasilan food culture.
Then I said good bye to them. On the way out of Rio...
... I spent some hours in the beautiful Botanic Garden.
The following days I followed the coast towards southwest.
The weather was hot and whenever I felt for it I went for a swim i the ocean. At some places I felt so safe that I decided to stay at the beach in my tent for the night.
The road was quite hilly but finally after five days I could take a ferry into Santos.
There I tried, without success, to find some gas for my camping stove.
Instead of cooking my own food I ate a lot of fruit. Sometimes I found Mango trees with ripe Mangos falling down, sometimes I bought them cheaply. Even Bananas were very cheap!
But after a while I discovered that at almost every gas station in Brazil there was a restaurant and they very often offered a self service buffét. I ate a buffét almost once a day.
In Iguazu at the border to Paraguay and Argentina I found the very cheapest offer!
Not far from there I entered the National Park for the famous Iguazu Waterfalls.
And they really were impressive!
It was not free to enter the National park and it was for me a little detour...
...but it was absolutely worth it!
You could come very close to the "Devils Throat" where it was very wet.
In the Park there were also a lot of reptiles and birds.
Next day I arrived without a map, a sim-card and money to the northernmost warmshower-host of Argentina. He helped me with all that things and told me that the first part of Argentina is very hilly, so if I really wanted to come to Puerto Montt before New Year it was a good idea to take a bus for some hundred kilometers. And I wanted to be in Pto Montt before New Year because my plan was to meet Stella, my fellow bicyclist for the Careterra Austral.
Eduardo followed me to the bus station and forwarded me to a friend his in Posadas.
So there I met another wonderful family the same day!
From there I biked south on very good roads but unfortunately with a headwind.
The gas stations in Argentina most often dont have restaurants but still I could get free water, shadow and see nice cars.
When I came closer to Buenos Aires I decided to take a bus the last part...
...and late at night I changed bus in Buenos Aires to take another bus to Santa Fe in the Pampa.
There I bought food for a week to cross the Pampa.
In the beginning the the Pampa was quite green and I had a good tailwind.
The second day early in the morning I found a backpack in the ditch. The zip was broken and not far from it I found a lot of money (15500 Pesos/ 100 Euro) and a wallet with a driver license. I contacted Eduardo who had hosted me and asked him for advice. Because of corruption he thought it was better to try to find the owner with Facebook than giving the backpack to the police. And he found the owner!
The next days I cycled with the backpack through the Pampas because the owner did not answer immediatly. It was very hot and I consumed 7-8 liters of water a day.
But around me I only found salt lakes...
There was also a problem with the roads. Sometimes I had to push my bike. Despite the headwind anyway the biggest problem was the heat and the fact that there was no shadow anywhere.
Finally I came to the valley of Rio Negro where suddenly the landscape changed. Farmers were growing apples, cherries and peaches there! I followed the river to Neuquen...
...where I left the backpack and the money to the sister of the owner with the name Marcelo. He had recently moved to Villa La Angustura and during the move the backpack had fallen off the truck. My plan was also to pass the very same village but it was a physical and psychological relieve to get rid of the backpack. But Marcelo invited me anyway for Christmas in Vlilla La Angustura!
And he paid me one night in The Global Hotel in Neuquen. Breakfast included!
I had 480 km to vVilla La Angustura and the forecast predicted strong headwinds the following week...
I struggled for two days but then it was impossible. When I pushed my bike on a road where there was no village before more than 90 km a van stopped and offered me a ride.
He drove me about 150 km until it was evening and the wind had decreased.
Next day the terrain was more hilly which made the the wind weaker.
Soon I also could see trees on the side of the of the hills which was not exposed to the wind.
The landscape was really scienic!
You could see more and more trees
I even could find wild apple trees!
This site they call Anfiteatro. The actor is the Rio Limay...
Finally I came up to the lake Nihuel Huapi and decided to make a detour to San Carlos de Bariloche on the other side of the bay.
I had heard that it looks like in Switzerland there and agreed with it.
After a day sightseeing I took Routa 40 to Villa La Angustura...
...and arrived in Marcelu's house on Christmas Eve. He and his family welcomed me warmly and offered a lot of strawberries to me.
In the evening we had a barbeque
and at midnight the kids found their Christmas gifts under a tree.
The following days I found out that Villa La Angustura was a real tourist village all around the year. You could find almost everything there. Even gas for my camping stove! But it was VERY expensive and I had still enough for one meal. So I decided to buy it in Chile instead.
I really liked Villa La Angustura!
One thing I anyway could not find was a tube for my tire. I only found for mountainbikes 26" 27,5"and 29". And I needed 28"
So I decided to cross the Andes without a spare tire. I left my wonderful host family...
...and the beautiful lake
to visit the national park in the international zone between Argentina and Chile.
One day I spent there hiking. This is the waterafall Ana
It is an untouched natural forest and some of the trees are very old. Because of the many volcanoes around the fallen trunks are covered in thick layers of ashes.
At one part of the trail I had to cross a river. A sign told me that I should calculate 35 minutes but for me it took 5.
The waterfall Dora was wonderful!
Next moning I continued to climb the Andes with my bike. Here you can see the "chimney"of an old volcano. The cone of ashlayers around does not exist any more.
The real border was in the middle of the 40 km wide international zone, on the highest point of the Andes. But there were no customs, only this sign.
Then it was downhill. After only some kilometers suddenly my rear tire exploded!
Because I had no spare tube I had to stop a car and ask for help.
Finally a family with 6 persons in a Renault Kangoo stopped...
...and offered me a ride to Osorno where I could fix my bike.
The good thing is that in Chile everything is much cheaper than in Argentina. I found out that the camping gas costs about 75% less!
The bad thing is that I was not able to speed downhill on my bike...
From Osorna I biked south along the lake Llanguihue...
with a nice view on volcano Osorno.
It was a warm day...
so in the evening even I took a swim.
On December 30th I arrived in Puerto Varas,
a very nice place!
And on the 31st of December I went to the airport to meet my friend Stella.
But unfortunately her bike was not on the same plane as she! So this is what we are waiting for today!
