We’re not really one for tourist attractions. In actual fact, we often go out of our way to avoid them. There’s something about the over-hype, the mass of people, the unnecessary expense and the shops full of chinese made tourist tat, that make us run in the opposite direction. It often leads to some awkward conversations. People never really know what to make of us – What do you mean you went to Sri Lanka and didn’t climb Sri Pada (Adam’s Peak)!? It’s almost like people don’t think the country is worth visiting unless you tick off all the ‘must do’ sights.

For us, a lot of our favourite memories and best experiences of the countries we’ve previously visited, have been when we have thought for ourselves and done something different to the tourist norm. It’s one of the reasons we love travelling by bike so much. You experience all the places in-between. You find yourself in backwater towns and villages in the middle of no-where and you experience the reality of a country, not just what you see in the screensaver images from Google.

But, all this being said, as we travel back and forth over the border of Argentina and Chile, the tourist attractions are the incredible scenery and nature that we are riding through. We therefore find ourselves among the tourist attractions, and often unwittingly become an attraction ourselves!

Heading North, you’ll be pleased to hear the wind hasn’t continued in the same vain as the last post (But we have had a few pre-dawn starts to avoid the afternoon winds). We set out from Puerto Natales (Chile) to cycle a classic loop through the Torres del Paine National Park to Cerro Castillo on the Chilean/Argentinian border. Immediately on leaving the town we could see the snow capped peaks in the distance, and knew thats where we were heading for. Unlike the typical tourists, who fly, enjoy the comfort of a private driver, or the luxury of a reclining seat on a bus, and whizz through the National Park in a day or so, we experience the roads in between the tourist attractions. For us this often means a 2-4 day cycle ride across wilderness without resupply of food. It means stocking up on multiple days of food before leaving town and knowing where our water resupply is likely to come from before we set out. But we’re starting to get used to this now. Although I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the amount of food we seem to be able to munch through in a few days (everyday is like a day in the life of the Very Hungry Caterpillar!)

Riding through the National Park was incredible. Every direction another stunning view, another azure blue glacier lake, another mountain top, another rock face or another geological feature – I’ll let the photos do the talking for me here, but safe to say it was an unforgettable experience to ride through such amazing landscapes.

The road through the National Park is not paved, so it made for some dusty days when the tourist cars/trucks/buses drove by. But most of them also gave us a wave and a toot of their horns in encouragement, so I always found it fun to enthusiastically respond. Each tourist tour was a strange conveyorbelt to watch – a minibus would pull up to a viewpoint, the driver getting out and pointing to the view saying ‘You take picture’ following which everyone would line up and take the same picture before jumping back on the bus and driving on to the next viewpoint, then the next minibus would pull up and the process would be repeated again. We’d stand, stuffing our faces with snacks, watching this and trying to hide our amusement. But as our few days in the National Park wore on, we noticed people were turning their cameras on us and taking photos of us and our bikes. It left us feeling pretty uncomfortable and like monkeys in a zoo. I’d usually dutifully pull a silly face for them, but much preferred it when they actually spoke to us or asked if it would be okay before snapping away. On one occasion an enthusiastic American lady I was talking to  grabbed my thighs for a squeeze unannounced – How do you respond to that!?! I was pretty surprised to say the least – Now I know how pregnant ladies feel when random strangers stroke their bump!!

We reluctantly paid English campsite prices to enjoy a hot shower at the National Park campsite after a very dusty day, but even I drew the line at paying £8!! for a coffee at the tourist cafe. After we had pitched our 4 season tent (that had taken us months of deliberation to choose) and secured it with the 18 tent pegs, we stood back and laughed at it in comparison to the festival tents with no pegs that were pitched around it by those who only needed their tent to survive the one night.

As well as riding through the park we took the time to hike up to the base of the Torres, which was also an amazing experience. We set off just after dawn to enjoy quiet trails and the early morning light – well worth the 5am alarm. Again, the photos can do the talking here.

We left the National Park after a relaxing afternoon at the campsite. Riding through the evening, after the tourist buses had gone home, meant we enjoyed quiet roads, evening golden glowing light and hardly any wind – A perfect end to a special few days playing tourist, and perhaps, reluctantly, I can see the attraction!