The building of the Carretera Austral was begun on the orders of General Pinochet (a nasty man who caused the deaths of thousands of people and was a friend of Margaret Thatcher) in the 1970s and was finally completed in 1999.

Despite his reputation, one town has a memorial to him.

When I say completed, it was just a lot of ripio (a bit like fire track in forests) that stretched for 1200kms (with a few boat connections). The ripio, which still has stretches of over 100kms at a time, can get a bit rough in places, especially in road works as they lay loose stones before putting asphalt down. The high passes are still a long way from being attended to; hair pin bends and loose gravel with big drops made for an interesting day.

So far the bikes have held up well, we have only lost a few bolts, not run out of fuel or food. The main problem appears to be my kit.

Jean has to keep getting the sewing kit out, 1st to re-attach my tank bag straps.

And then my Jeans

But at least this makes a change from our usual South American pastime of fixing toilet plumbing.