Rural Patagonia is famous for its wonderful nature. A Google search for "bicycle tour Patagonia" led my friend Rachel and me to the Carretera Austral: a 770-mile stretch of mostly unpaved highway. We packed our bikes into hoxes and flew to Puerto Montt, a port city some 650 miles south of Santiago. From there, we continued south for several days and set foot on the Carretera.
It took about two weeks to cycle the route through wild forests, windswept plains, and snow-capped mountains. On our last full day along the Carretera-and three days into a constant rainstorm-we found ourselves at a loss for where to sleep. We were cold and wet.
We were still 30 miles from Villa O'Higgins, which marked the end of the Carretera and the promise of a hot shower. From there, we'd ride about 600 miles further along somewhat better roads to Ushuaia.
There was no way we were going to make O'Higgins by nightfall. We hadn't passed a nice campsite in hours. We'd just stopped beside a small stream when we spotted a cowboy-looking man walking out of the trees. And we saw that the stream led to a small house.
The man came to the road. "Do you know a dry place to camp?" Rachel asked. The man invited us into his home. We shared hot chocolate and conversation in his warm. rough kitchen. He brought out an old copy of Patagon Journal, and we were amazed to see a photo of our host, Erasmo Betancourt, on the cover. It turns out that our new friend was a well-known cowboy-turned-activist who had been an outspoken opponent of the damming (筑坝) of Patagonia's rivers. In recent decades, local farmers, fishermen, and conservationists have fiercely resisted the construction of hydroelectric(使用水力发电的) dams on the region' s mighty rivers. Our adventure wouldn't have been possible if not for their fierce love of this beautiful land and devotion to its protection.
The next morning, we thanked our host and hit the road. Is there anywhere on Earth so remote that one cannot encounter humanity?
