54 miles, 515 feet of climb, 522 ft max
I did go to Nacimiento; it was only a few miles out of the way. I rode around the
town for awhile without seeing what was so special. I never did find the plaza so
maybe I missed the best part of town. Otherwise the ride was uneventful. It rained
off and on much of the day.
The photo shows Ruta 5, as the Pan-American Highway is called in Chile. I
crossed it just after leaving Los Ángeles.
The United States has Smokey the bear and Chile has Sylvestre the owl. The sign
shows him with some of his little animal friends and the slogan, "Help me protect
life!" Pretty ironic when you consider that owls are meat eaters.
I stopped at the tourist office just before you cross the river into town. For
lodging they suggested the Hotel Angol but I asked if there was anything less
expensive. They gave me the address of a place with rooms available but when I
went there I couldn't see any house numbers or signs advertising rooms and I felt
funny just ringing doorbells at random so I ended up at the hotel.
The reception is in the back of a nearby restaurant. Then you go a couple doors
down the street and up some stairs to get to your room. This was the most expensive
lodging of the trip (25,000 pesos, nearly $50). When I checked in I asked my
standard question about hot water. She smiled condescendingly and said of course
they have hot water. Well, I ran the water for 15 minutes without it getting hot.
By then I was undressed and didn't feel like putting my sweaty clothes back on again,
going back down two flights to the street, finding the receptionist, waiting for
them to fix the water, etc. So I just gritted my teeth and took a cold shower.
Strange that the most expensive place is the one without hot water.
Angol has a particularly attractive Plaza de Armas at the center of town. At the
center is a giant fountain with statues of women at the four corners representing
the four continents.
The town's main tourist interest is that it is the jumping-off point for Nahuelbuta
National Park in the coastal mountain range to the west. However I only have three
weeks here and I want to see Valdivia and a bit of the lake district so I will head
south and east tomorrow.