A day of being lost, and motorways.
Leaving our sadly dilapidated campsite this morning around 10.45am, sat-nav said, turn left! We are on a dirt track about 1.5k’s from the main road, and should turn right to get back onto it. However, the thought of cutting off the 9 k’s appealed to me. Big mistake, as we are asked to follow a couple of old wheel tracks down the side of a bank, into a deep wide gully but the wheel tracks don’t take into consideration, the bushes and scrub that have grown over it since it was last used.
“Let’s go back” Jen says. “Good idea”! We have already wasted a good half hour. Back on a sealed road again, Jen consults iOverlander and says “we’re going away from the R5, the main north – south motorway. Jeez! So we abandon Tom Tom and head down whichever track will take us towards the R5. Ultimately we meet up with it, an hour later!!
The drive south is a constant battle with big trucks. We travel slower than them, but on hills, and there are plenty of them, we pass them again, and on it goes. I have taken to pulling into the passing lane when they are an inch away from the rear bumper, to let them through, without them having to go around us.
Filling with diesel at 965p/L, we are doing 26.186mpg. Down from previous trips but way more usable power, and it drives like a dream, even better than an Isuzu….:)
Looking for a campsite.
By 4pm we turn off the R5 towards the coast. There have been points along the way that we have touched on the coast, and a wild, inhospitable coast it is. We are headed for a camp about 20k’s from Vina del Mar, which is about 6k’s from the major port of Valpariso. Valpariso has been a historic point of call for centuries. Robert Fitzroy and the Beagal, with Charles Darwin aboard, had a near catastrophe outside Valpariso, with the wind stripping the sails and only superb seamanship keeping them afloat.
We are heading inland, to a camp 100k’s from Santiago. Once turning off the R5 , habitation is showing a distinct improvement. Some well built houses and obviously, many weekenders or holiday homes.
The camp.
The camp takes a bit of finding, like most business’, there is no advertising. IOverlander tells us we have passed it, with no obvious signs of a camp or road in. Sure enough, another 100m down the road there is a gate. with a 100m drive back to habitation. It’s pretty scruffy, the camp, but we only need a small piece of grass to park and erect the Caranex on. There are flushing toilets nearby and the showers, allegedly, have warm water.
It’s been a long tiring drive and it’s nice to sit in our deck chairs for a little time, and relax. The sun is warm but out of it, there is a chill in the wind.
Today has been a photo-free day.
Sleep will come easily.
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