Day 18: Remote

Sunday, February 8, 2026. Cochrane to El Risquero Camping. 47 miles.

We left the town of Cochrane on a cloudy day, heading southwest back toward the western coast as bad weather loomed on the horizon. Cochrane is the last post along the Carretera heading south that has enough infrastructure to have a bank and a pharmacy. From here on, we are going to be out there. We hoped to complete the entire Carretera Austral in just four more days of riding: two days to the small village of Caleta Tortel on the coast, and then another two days southeast to Villa O'Higgins for the finish. However, impending bad weather in the next few days was beginning to make us feel a bit apprehensive.

The road from Cochrane to Caleta Tortel marks the beginning of the more remote and

rugged section of the Carretera Austral. This stretch features some pretty tough ripio, with extreme washboard conditions at times. It also crosses a significant pass as we ride back west from the more arid lee side of the rain shadow into the temperate rainforests of the coastal regions. Surprisingly, even in this remote section, we

encountered several other cyclists: a young group of three from Germany (who were wearing t-shirts, shorts, and water sandals despite the colder temperatures), a gentleman from Switzerland whom we had met during the first two days of our journey—he was already on his way back—and, improbably, a family of four: a husband and wife with two young daughters tackling the steep switchbacks of the pass!

Our destination was a campsite called El Risquero, located a few miles past the pass. There are no other settlements along this stretch of road, just a few sparse farms and even fewer camping options. All day, the sky threatened rain, yet somehow, we lucked out and didn’t have to don our rain gear. However, when we reached our campsite, the weather turned blustery and very cold.

Our host—a wonderful middle-aged farm wife—showed us to her refugio, where we were to sleep. It turned out to be a fantastic octagon-shaped structure, just big enough for two. She also had a shed converted into a cooking area equipped with an old-fashioned cast iron wood stove. We were incredibly grateful. We built a fire in the stove, heated up some soup, and made quesadillas. Sitting in the dusk in front of that stove, we reflected on how life was for many people only 150 years ago, long before electricity.