Day 22– Friday March 18: Villa Amengual to Manihuales
We rose in good time, fell in to hearty fare at our fishing lodge, checked the iffiness of the weather (rain; showers; sun?), and hit the road. A relatively short day ahead: 53km. We rolled down the paved road as it pitched and rolled through the amazing countryside; as usual we were spinning alongside a river, the valley lined with towering peaks, some snow covered, some with spires jutting skyward. The road repeatedly seemed to end in a box canyon ahead, only to slide cunningly through a gap and run in a new direction. For the last 10 or 15 kilometers we crouched low on our frames and flew downhill with the wind at our backs. And so by mid-afternoon we came speeding into the town of Manihuales, a gathering of nondescript buildings with corrugated tin roofs and siding, but in one of the most glorious settings imaginable: fields and forested foothills with snow covered peaks in the distance.
We stayed at a somewhat down-at-heels hostel, the Residentiale Manihuales, ate out nearby that evening, and went to sleep early. At three in the morning we were all awakened by the sound of torrential rain pounding down on the tin roof of our hostel and driven against windows by high high winds. Famous Patagonian weather. We had dark fears for riding the next day.
