Monday - A relaxing days cycle

Hmm, it's almost like we are on holiday. It was a relatively short days cycle to Cochrane, and as our camping spot was safety hidden from the road, we had a relaxed start to the day. The road continued to wind between the mountains, although the dense forest had opened out slightly and there was now areas of grass between the trees. Within 10km, we hit the major climb of the day. Neither of us really had any power in the legs today, so we used some good excuses to stop and take photos and eat snacks. Despite the huge plate of pasta last night I was having a 'hungry day', and despite the fruit and biscuits we'd eaten on the climb, I was ready for lunch by the time we reached the top. We ate our cheese rolls with a great view across to the edge of the north Patagonia icefield.

We'd also managed to locate and solve the annoying clicking from the front of the drive chain (one of the screws holding the eccentric bottom bracket had worked loose and the eccentric was moving slightly) . The weather had also improved, and my nose needed a dose of suncream - the first for many days. Just before setting off again, we met a cyclist coming the other way. He told us it was 23km from Cochrane and we assumed he must of had a late start to the day, like us. Having freewheeled a significant part of the 23km into town, we decided he'd actually had quite a tough morning!

Cochrane seems a fairly relaxed place.  The campsite is good and has hot showers, cooking facilities (gas and BBQ), as well as garden furniture and sunshine. We've actually managed to dry the tent out for the first time since Argentina! After many attempts, we got cash out of the ATM. Despite advertising the fact it takes visa (debit), it only seems to work with MasterCard. It does mean that we have plenty of cash to see us through the next stretch, so we may stay here a second night to recharge the batteries.

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