It’s been sometime since I last communicated on this trip. We were heading south on a very bad stretch of ripio (gravel) below El Bolson when my phone was jarred out of its mount on my bicycle and onto the road. I didn’t notice when it happened. We were now about 11K out of town. I started backtracking to try to find it.
When I was planning for the trip there were, of course, many decisions having to do with weight and volume on the bike. There is only so much room to carry things. Weight is definitely a factor. I have to be self- sufficient. Tent, sleeping bag, clothing, food…you get the picture. Do I carry panniers. Do I use a seat bag. What tools to bring, All of the little decisions can have consequences. Most can be adjusted for somewhere along the way to varying degrees.
I carry a Garmin GPS unit to help stay on course. I used to carry a Canon G – series camera for quality photos. I also would carry my smart phone for communications. As the trips evolved and smart phones become great little cameras, the phone became more the central piece of equipment. Other than the bike, of course.
So my decision this trip was to buy a new phone (iPhone 11 Max Pro) with a great camera and forgo the new Sony camera. Only one piece of equipment to carry. Less volume, weight, and simple to keep track of…..unless you lose it. Or a car runs over it before you find it.
Lee found it in the middle of the ripio. Face-down. Screen smashed. No more photos with this one. The touch-screen was gone. You couldn’t even open it up. All the info I had researched and saved for our trip now gone. Contacts gone. Maps and websites. At least a few things I had printed out. Ferry ticket. Basic itinerary.
All this to explain why you haven’t been getting my blog.
There are no iPhones to buy along these remote routes we are biking in Patagonia. No way to pull it all out of the Cloud. I did get a Samsung phone in Coyhaique that will keep me in email and FB contact. And take some adequate photos.
And the trip has been fantastic.
Great scenery. Wonderful people. Fresh air and wilderness. Good weather. All one could ask for.
I miss my phone for all the obvious reasons.
But the trip has been just as wonderful without being documented.
Tomorrow we enter Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. The next chapter in our bicycling route of Patagonia. I’ll try to get a few photos and a blog post out your way.