We finally left Puerto Natales after cleaning off cat urine from our tyres and motorcycle covers – the place we had stayed was called “the red cat house” for a reason 😂🐈

The rain had finally stopped – it was a sunny but cold and windy day. We fuelled up on our way out of town and followed along the foreshore – it was nice to be healthy enough to be out on the bike again 😉🏍

Our first stop was 26km out of Puerto Natales at Milodon’s cave which was on the way to Torres del Paine National Park on Ruta Y-290. We had bought entry tickets on-line and it was so windy when we arrived that we had trouble parking the bikes so they would not get blown over. We walked to the main cave passed information signs about the extinct fauna which included the sable-toothed tiger (Smilodon populator), the extinct horse Hippidion saldiasi, the Macrauchenia, and the Milodón (Milodon darwini) after which the caves are named. At the top of the walkway at the entrance to the cave is a life sized statue of a Milodón which everyone gets a picture taken with 😉 (yes, we had to get one too 😉)

The main cave is huge and was formed through a glacier and a lake over 18,000 years ago. Remains of humans who used the cave for shelter were also found here. We walked up into the cave and the pictures do not capture how humongous the entrance and the cave itself is – look for the tiny dots of people walking on the path into the cave.

After returning back to the entrance, I had to burn off my new found energy and feeling so much healthier that I decided to climb to the mirador (lookout). Andrew did not feel the need to hike up to the lookout and was happy to sit and mind my motorcycle gear which I stripped to hike up in more comfortable clothes. It was a constant ascent partly steep to the mirador where the wind howled so much that it was hard to hold the camera still to take video footage without getting blown off. It was a great view over the valley, the Last Hope Sound (Seno Última Esperanza), the road we came in, the snow covered mountains in the distance, the ranger station and car park with our bikes below and also a view of the “silla del diablo” a rock formation that looks like a giant chair and hence the name (Devil’s chair). I returned down to the bottom and we bought some stickers, a calafate juice and a jar of calafate jam from the café and souvenir shop and signed the guest book and left one of our stickers there.

We continued riding towards Torres del Paine National Park and after the road turned to gravel we arrived at the “Comuna Torres del Paine” sign which was only inaugurated in April 2023 and is such a great piece of art with all the local fauna within the letters and the tree bent by the wind included – what an amazing welcome to the area. After taking pictures, we continued and stopped at a lookout over Lago del Toro – the wind was so strong it almost blew our bikes over but Andrew needed a rest and a break as he was not feeling well with an irregular heart beat and not a lot of energy. We continued on and made it to the ranger station, where we checked in and had to take a picture of the park rules. We continued on the dirt road and found a short dead end road near a bridge over Lago del Tore and we rode the bikes past a barrier for the perfect picture with the bikes in front of the lake and the mountain peaks in the background – and were told off by a park ranger and asked to park before the barrier – we explained that we just wanted one picture with the bikes and he kindly allowed us take the iconic shots 😍🙏🏍🏔️.

Shortly after that, we arrived at our campground at Lake Pehoe. We checked in and were told we can pick any available site – after a quick ride around both camping areas on either side of the road, we settled for spot 49 – although it was close to the road and a fair walk to the toilets, but the view over the lake and the mountains was incredible and the shelter had two side walls for protection from the wind. While Andrew rested, I set up the tent and just got everything organised and set up when it was time to go for dinner at the campground restaurant – what a treat after a long day riding and walking being out of the relentless wind in the warm cozy restaurant with a view of the mountains – they offer a 3 course meal with vegetable soup, choice of chicken, beef or salmon grilled on the open grill as mains with salad and one side dish and a small dessert. It was the perfect ending to a great day – we walked to the lake after dinner, saw one of the bird of preys close up – the Southern Crested Caracara (Caracara plancus) and then checked out the rest of the campground including some dome tents one can rent (pricy $$$ 😉) and took a few final pictures of the red hue of the sunset before collapsing in our comfy and cozy tent – which will be home for 5 nights 🏕️🏍🏍🏔️