We left Rio Grande even though I still was not over that cold and my throat was very sore and my sinuses were all blocked up – big day ahead with a border crossing at San Sebastián and then 50 km dirt road to the campground “Los Pioneros” in Camerón. We had carefully researched petrol stations and filled up both fuel bladders and the two fuel bottles as reserves. We fuelled up in San Sebastián, ate our last apple on the Argentinien side of the border and had all our paperwork and on-line declaration for entry into Chile ready and another smooth border crossing. Nice to be back in Chile and we enjoyed the 55km of good sealed road until the turn off for the Pingüino Rey reserve- it was 15km dirt to the reserve where we stopped for a break and to check out what it is like as we had a tour booked for the next day at 1:00pm. A tour had just finished and people arrived for the next tour – we went to the entrance and asked whether we could join this tour instead of the one we had booked for the next day – the guy asked us to wait and see how many other people would arrive but thought they would be able to fit us in – there were 3 other people who travelled on bicycles – one of them from Sydney Australia – he was the first Australian we have met on our entire trip so far. We ended up being able to join the tour which was awesome as it meant 2 times 35 km less travel on the dirt road back and forth from the campsite which was not only a relief for my weakened state and health issues but also for the concerns about fuel range. The tour was amazing – we walked along a roped off area and across a little creek on a hill were the king penguins – they mostly still were incubating eggs although some chicks were already born – the king penguins are up to 1m tall and they keep the eggs and the chicks in a fold just above their feet – there is one fluffy chick visible outside the fold in the middle of the flock – enjoy zooming in and finding it 🐧 we sat on a wooden bench and watched them and listened to their loud noises. The wind was ferocious and icy cold – we were so glad we had the opportunity to see them – what an experience and the place is all privately funded. We got back onto our bikes and continued another 35km on a gravel road that wound along the Bahia Inútil up and down gentle hills and farmland – it was very picturesque but required full concentration with sections of deep gravel, sandy areas and very large sharp rocks on the track – throw in the cross wind and wildlife (guanacos) and my far from 100% health status and it made for an interesting ride – luckily the DRs are made for this and just keep bouncing over anything 👍🏍🏍

We got to the Camerón and were very surprised that in the middle of nowhere was this beautiful township with farm buildings and a hospital and a library. Just as we came around the corner and down a steep hill into the township I had enough signal for a phone call from my Mum to come through and I could tell her we were almost there 👍 We made it to the campground and checked in at the general store which is so well stocked – you could get just about everything there (except for honey) but we bought rolls, cheese and frankfurts and pickled gurkens for dinner and found a spot right at the river to set up camp trying to find some shelter from the relentless freezing wind. As I went to unlock my top box, I realised that obe if my 3 keys was missing from the key ring – it was the one for my padlock we use to lock the bikes up every night. I had no idea where I had list it and after a quick look around I had given up on finding it. I just had enough energy left to get everything off the bike and start setting up the tent when I found the key in the grass – incredibly lucky and very relieved. We used the yoga mats we had bought in Vienna as a second insulating layer under our thermo rests for the first time and even used the inner liner for the sleeping bag for the first time which turned out to be a very good move. The campground had a great sheltered camp kitchen area where we made our dinner and met a British guy who had travelled for 8 months on his bicycle and two Swiss guys who were in a rental car and camping for the first night as well as a Dutch woman in a camper van. It got cold quickly and we retired to our tent – it was a very cold night with the temperature inside our tent not exceeding 4 degrees Celsius but we were cozy warm and I tried to get a good night sleep but the razor blade pain in my throat did not let that happen – the next morning everyone had left and we had the place for ourselves for most of the day – I was not up to walking to town or the beach – and stayed in the tent trying to get some sleep between steam inhalations and honey teas while Andrew walked into town and to the beach. The location and the place were so stunning and peaceful and I am glad we made it there – another highlight of the trip – we considered staying longer until I would feel better and had more strengths to ride out but several things worked against that plan – we had accommodation booked in Puerto Natales for Feb 14-15 (which we could have cancelled), the wind was going to be a lot less the following day but would get really bad again the next day, and I had run out of honey which was essential to keep my throat from getting so sore that I could not sleep – so the decision was made that we would try to leave as planned after two nights but instead of another night wild camping along the road which I was just not up to, we booked a hotel in Cero Sombrero just 130km away.