Indian Cyclist Survives in Chile 🇨🇱🚴‍♂️ | World Tour Ep. 26

Here comes a Mahindra showroom. Look at it – it already feels like India. Speed breakers like these exist only in Haryana!

Namaskar, Salaam, Sat Sri Akal, Ram Ram ji. Once again, welcome to the 132nd country of my world cycle journey – Chile. In the last few videos, you saw that I was travelling through Chile on the Carretera Austral, which is considered one of the most beautiful roads in the world, and I have now reached Puerto Montt.

At this moment, I am standing in the beautiful city of Puerto Montt, which was established in 1850. It was first settled by German people. Although Spain had control over this region, the Germans developed this city. This place is also called the “Gateway of Patagonia” because the Carretera Austral starts from here. It stretches for about 1,200 km, then there is a 600 km ferry section, and after that, another 400 km stretch of Chile. From here, around 2,000 km of Chile lies in one direction. If we go a little further from here, the northern part of Chile begins. So now, we have almost covered the southern part of Chile.

The total length of Chile is around 4,500 km in a straight line. By road, it becomes nearly 5,000–5,500 km. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari in India, it is about 3,300–3,500 km. If you look at Chile on the map, it looks like a long leaf – thin and stretched.

From here, after riding 20 km, there is a volcanic or lake city. We will go there and then start our ride towards Santiago. Santiago, the capital city, is about 1,000 km from here. So we are about to ride another 1,000 km gradually.

As we enter the city, I am getting an Indian kind of feeling. It feels nice. Local buses, small shops – the city spreads across about 4–5 km. We will cross this city and ride another 20 km to a small lake town where we will stay tonight. We will only ride around 20–25 km today, and from tomorrow we will begin our serious 1,000 km journey.

Today, I need to arrange some money and buy supplies. There is even a McDonald’s here. The city looks old, with some new buildings in between. An uncle is selling peanuts. I am crossing the city on foot because when you ride a cycle, your focus stays on the road and you miss the fun of observing the surroundings.

Oh wow, there is a Unimarc supermarket here. But I cannot leave my cycle unattended in the city. Outside the city it would have been fine. I need to load food supplies, so I will look for a smaller market ahead.

Here they have made a statue, and there is a barber shop. This is Route 5. From here, we will connect to Route 5, which goes all the way to Santiago. It will take around 10–15 days to reach Santiago, and I have about 14 days. I want to reach before 26 January. Today we will ride only 20–30 km. From tomorrow, we will shift gears properly.

That Mahindra place was actually a spare parts shop, not a full showroom. So this is Route 5. We will walk a little before properly joining it.

Now I truly feel like I am in South America – you can see litter here and there. Still, it is beautiful. FlixBus runs here too. Double-decker buses are operating. They stop anywhere to pick up passengers.

Here is an Arauco petrol pump. I can see another Unimarc ahead. This is where Route 1, from where we rode 1,200 km, separates from Route 5. Route 5 will take us to Santiago and then further north. In some sections, cycles are not allowed. We will see what to do when we reach there.

Today we will stay in Puerto Varas, about 6 km ahead. There is heavy traffic here, so I need to be careful. It feels like two cities joining together, like Noida and Delhi. Riding needs attention.

I stopped at a petrol pump for coffee. Had coffee and now moving again. Only 5–6 km to our stay, so we will reach comfortably. It is 12:30 pm. The hostel check-in is at 2:00 pm. They messaged that entry is not allowed before 2:00. I said no problem, we will arrive at 2:00. So I will roam around the market for about an hour.

From tomorrow, we will push hard. Today I need to wash clothes, clean shoes, withdraw money, refill supplies and explore this beautiful city. After this, till Santiago, it will mostly be highway riding.

There is a toll here even for bikes and motorcycles. It was about 300 pesos (around ₹30). These speed breakers remind me of Haryana villages where you find dozens of them one after another.

This is a small but beautiful town. There is a big mall on one side and I am riding along narrow paths. People are enjoying themselves, eating and relaxing. There is a nice restaurant and a Chilean bar here.

Actually, my hostel is slightly behind. I went ahead to explore this historic street. I still have one hour before check-in, so I came towards the lake. It is a beautiful lake with seating areas. Some birds are fighting there. I parked my cycle and thought of flying my drone once again.

Let’s move.

Look at this lake – the water is so beautiful. And that gentleman there is feeding a duck with his own hands. I have been sitting and watching him for quite a while. The other birds are fighting and making noise, but he is calmly feeding that one duck by hand. The rest are quarrelling loudly.

And look at this lake – it is stunning. It feels like I am walking on Marine Drive. The entire city has been built along the shoreline with a lovely road beside it. This is not the sea, it is just a lake. Look, two more ducks are coming.

Now I have reached my hostel. I have parked my cycle here. There is one room with four beds. One other guy is staying here. I have put my drone on charge and taken this bed. I already had a shower, but there was a problem – suddenly the water turned cold. So I will take another shower later. First, I am going to get a haircut. My hair has grown too long and I feel strange myself. After the haircut, I will talk to you again.

This lane is inside the city centre, not very far. My hostel is behind that building you see. The owner lives alone and has converted one back room into a hostel. He has put four beds and even set up a tent. Around five or six people can stay. It is a good idea. If he gets even four customers daily at 25 dollars each, that is 100 dollars a day. He can easily manage his expenses sitting at home.

There is a small flea market in front. Let me check it out. We are now in Puerto Varas – V-A-R-A-S, Varas. You can just call it “Varas”. This is a small town and it is called the “City of Roses”. You will see roses of different varieties and colours on every street. Look at this one – a different variety. Every rose has a different colour and type.

There is a small market ahead. Let me check it before going for a haircut. The whole town fits within about one kilometre. It is a bit of a tourist place. My friend Setia bhai told me not to stay in Puerto Montt but to stay here in Puerto Varas. This flea market seems to sell old clothes and handicrafts. Not much here – just a few small stalls.

Look, even this lane is full of roses. Welcome to the City of Roses. Here is a whole row of white roses. And look, a tractor is passing through the city – quite a powerful one!

Around this town, there are two volcanic mountains. One of them is called the “Chile’s Mount Fuji” because it looks very similar to Mount Fuji. The other one is about 3,200 metres high, while this one is around 2,200 metres. The 2,200-metre volcano had an eruption in 2018. You can see it from here.

Now let us go to the barber. After that, we will eat something and then return to the room for editing.

Here I am at the barber shop wearing my glasses. My hair has become very long. I last had a haircut before going to Antarctica. It has been three months. The haircut costs about ₹100 (in local value). It is expensive compared to India. Our desi rates are much better. I explained to the barber about money; I do not know if he understood, but he has started cutting. Let us see how he does. If he charges well, he should at least make it worth it. They usually use machines here. He asked, “Number two?” I said, “Number one.” Not too short!

Haircut done. I have groomed myself. Thank you so much. Now I will go back, take a proper shower and eat something. First, I will check for a supermarket nearby – probably Unimarc. I need to buy supplies for two or three days because things are quite expensive here.

While searching for the supermarket, I came back towards the lake. There are more handicraft shops here and roses everywhere. You can see the volcanic mountain in front. From here, I once travelled to Peru for a week and took a view of this from above during transit.

I bought vegetables – tomatoes, oranges, lemons, onions, plums, pumpkin, watermelon – along with chickpeas, paneer, bread and rotis. Let us see the bill. It came to around ₹3,233. Quite expensive.

I have started cooking. I am making pumpkin curry; it will take just five minutes. I bought lemons because it is going to get very hot – around 35°C. On the road, I will mix salt and lemon in water and drink it. That will help in the heat.

Now I am preparing for the next 1,000 km to Santiago. I plan to cover it in 7–9 days. For the first time, I will try to push hard and see how fast I can go. My target will be between 100 to 150 km per day because it is mostly plains now. The mountains are over. Near Santiago, there will be some small hills again. If there is headwind, it will be tough; otherwise, I will manage well.

The temperature near Santiago is around 35–40°C. So I will try to ride in the morning and evening and cover maximum distance. I want to finish this stretch quickly. I need your support.

Food is ready. Rotis are done, the curry is ready. Look at it – it looks good to me.