La Junta

4th November 2025

Woke up to the sound of bird song this morning. The hotel is on the outskirts of town and they set with a wonderful gardens and it was here that the birds seemed extremely happy. I’met Tim for breakfast for the usual selection of scrambled egg ,breads and cold cuts. And then we packed our bags jumped on the bikes and headed out of town.

Today we were heading directly north en route seven and the scenery as we passed through the valleys and hillsides of this part of Chile was spectacular. The roads were good,the sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky. such a difference from the last time I was here where it was raining with low clouds and you could not see the tops of any mountains. The experience of 2017 led me to believe that this part of Chile was not a spectacular as the Argentinian side on Ruta 40. But that myth was exploded today when these mountains revealed themselves in their full glory. What a wonderful day to be riding.. We continued on Route 7 and came to a small town El Carmen. It was like stepping into the pas. Men and boys rode horses through the streets and there were broad walks and small cafés and restaurants located on each side of the road. Friendly dogs wandered about and life seemed incredibly peaceful and tranquil.

We stopped to take a few photos and tried to get a coffee although this was impossible and so headed out of town again.

After about another hour, we turned

onto the part of route seven that crosses over the mountains and down to Puyhuapi... In 2017 this was a miserable experience because the road was terrible. The clouds Wild and the and the trucks had difficulty stopping on the wet slippery roads. What a difference this time round . this part of Route is now paved all the way to the top of the mountain and it was only on the backside as it snaked down towards Puyhuapi that the rope o started again. This section is just as tough today but thankfully not as wet. The only issue being now that the dust kicked up by the cars and trucks makes visibility difficult. We slowly wound our way down the mountain and onto the long flat that heads towards the coast.

After a good ride, we finally reached the Pacific Ocean. We joined the Atlantic in Buenos Aires and now have gone to the bottom of the world and back up the other side to meet the Pacific here in Puyuhuapi. We stopped to admire the steep sided fjords of this part of Chile with the trees coming down from the tops of mountains right to the side of the water. the scenery today was beyond spectacular.

We then continued another 40 km north to the town of La junta.. Here we found what was supposedly a two star hotel but turned out to be the equal of any four star that I’ve stayed at. Beautiful wooden rooms such amazing scenery.

The only problem being that their restaurant did not open until seven and therefore no beer was unavailable until that time. After a long hot day it was what both of us wanted so we unloaded our bags Tim got on with washing his bike down and I jumped on my bike right into town and picked up some beers before heading back to join Tim sitting outside in the Sun enjoying the afternoon beverage.

We had dinner in the hotel restaurant which was pretty good and then took an early night tomorrow we cross the border again back to Argentina.