Day 12: 45 Degrees South Latitude

February 1, 2026. Coyhaique to Villa Cerro Castillo. 60 miles.

We had a wonderful three-day break in Coyhaique. It’s such a charming small town with a great vibe. We felt well-rested when we set off this morning for the second half of our journey to Villa O'Higgins, the end of the Carretera Austral.

Today was a beautiful bluebird day—sunny skies, rolling green hills, and wide-open vistas with the peaks of snow-clad mountains in the distance. We thoroughly enjoyed the ride during the first half of the day, especially with a lovely tailwind to boost us! We were riding at around 45 degrees south latitude, which holds special meaning for me as I grew up and live at 45 degrees north latitude in Oregon.

After about 40 miles, the road turned west and began to climb into the mountains we had admired from afar earlier in the day—the peaks of Cerro Castillo National Park. We were eager to get our first real views of what was supposed to be a magnificent mountain area. However, as we ascended, we noticed the clouds were gathering quickly, and the winds were picking up, blowing straight out of the west and directly into our faces. Never doubt that mountains create their own weather, and these mountains chose to bring us some unfriendly conditions. The temperature dropped remarkably fast, and by the time we reached the top of the pass, I was quite cold, facing a steep downhill into Villa Cerro Castillo. I looked forward to arriving and warming up with a hot shower, but the steep switchbacks, which should have been exhilarating with spectacular views, were instead cloud-soaked and frigid.

Once we finally rolled into Villa Cerro Castillo, we looked back and realized we had indeed passed through a classic summer mountain storm. We stayed in a rustic cabana where the reception room featured a lovely wood stove going full blast, and I just melted from the warmth! How good it felt!

And that was our introduction to cycling the lower Carretera Austral.