First Week in Chile
I flew once more with my bike because the summer had already begun in the south. My first week in Chile confirmed this, with warm, dry weather and long sunny days. I'll follow the start of the season going south to Patagonia, and then turn around and catch the middle part of the continent that I missed.
Santiago was a fun city to visit! Compared to Colombia, it was a bit calmer on the streets, but also has larger, faster cars. There was a Sunday ciclovía, good transit, and tall buildings. The central park of the city is a hill - San Cristóbal. The main roads of this park are almost always closed to cars. This video is a weekday evening, descending the hill, and using some of the river bike paths.
Next, a few days or touring took me to Valparaíso. This city has a very unique relationship with the steep hills in it's neighborhoods. Inclined railways and elevators are scattered among the staircases, but sadly most are out of service. Instead, it is a great place to get lost meandering around alleys and stairs.
Lastly, I started heading south and reached Santa Cruz, and the wine-growing valley of Colchagua. In rural Chile, there are small towns and sporadic highway sections that have cycletracks. They don't connect much, but could in the future.
Link to my route: https://maps.findmespot.com/s/M4NS
