We started this
morning with a fairly long shuttle ride to the small and bustling
city of Cauquenes where we stopped just long enough to use the rest
rooms and ATMs, in order of need. This city was the epicenter of the
2010 earthquake, but they seem to have done a remarkably good job of
restoration.
It was quite cool at
the ocean when we got up this morning, but it quickly warmed up as we
went inland. By the time we started cycling at 11 am, just outside of
Cauquenes, it was near 80 degrees, and got even hotter as the day
wore on. We had a few long hills which, fortunately, were quite
gradual in slope. The paved surface was excellent and it was a good
ride.
We made a lunch stop
at a small farmhouse, where our hostess was preparing chicken
empanadas in an oven which had charcoal both below and above the
empanadas. We have had both baked and fried empanadas on this trip. I
tend to prefer the fried (wonder why?), but they have all been
excellent. While we were waiting for the empanadas, we sampled their
homemade “vino chicha,” the local wine that seemed to be for sale
at every farmhouse that we passed. This was really the juice of
recently harvested grapes – thick and syrupy. It had not yet
undergone the fermentation process necessary to turn it into wine.
Throughout this
trip, we have seen many signs proclaiming that charcoal is for sale.
At our lunch stop today we saw this oven in which charcoal is made.
The next stop was a
recommended ice cream store. The ice cream was served soft, and was
much like gelato in texture and appearance. It was excellent, and was
the perfect fuel to prepare us for the last 5 miles to the hotel.
Our hotel tonight is
located on the grounds of the Gillmore Winery. The rooms are by far
the largest and most modern of any on this trip. We will be having a
tour of the winery before our last dinner together tonight. Adjacent
to the hotel building is a small fenced area with 3 ostriches, and
two members of the world's smallest species of deer (whose name I
have forgotten).
The only drawback is
that there is no WiFi in the hotel, and the WiFi in the winery office
is so slow that I decided to compose today's blog offline and post it
tomorrow, probably at the airport.
In eight days of
cycling, we have pedaled 340 miles and done 12,437 vertical feet of
climbing.
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