Las Trancas 05
Originally posted to El Cantar de la Lluvia on Friday, December 02, 2005
The idea had been going around in my head for quite a while. Certainly the length of the trip made one stop and think; it was the first time that I'd be trying a trip like this, of almost 500 km.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/lastrancas_smaller.jpg)
It's just a question of packing the bike and setting off. The trip to Las Trancas took me about 8 hours and a half, something like that. I rode at between 85 and 95 km/h, what's the point of going faster. I didn't want to stress the engine, or tire myself. The result was a relaxed journey, no rush, seeing the sights, how beautiful scene after scene rolled past, being a part of the picture (as has been famously said before), feeling the wind and sun on my body. A trip really acquires an extra dimension when you take it like that. In a car, everything is flat, framed; the sky is not over your head, instead, there's a piece of sheet metal. You've got your cubicle, the toll booth receipts, the radio, your luggage, a can of soft drink, and the horrendous monotony of the windows, the steering wheel, the dashboard. On a motorbike, all that disappears,
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4104-410.jpg)
...and there is nothing above you. As the narrator of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance said, on a motorbike you are part of the scenery.
I crossed rivers and bridges, one after the other. On one hand it's nice to recognize the name of a river from your school geography lessons, but on the other it's also nice to forget the name, to stop and feel how the bridge bounces violently with the passing trucks.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4111-410.jpg)
And sometimes, inexplicable things; artificial forests in the middle of nowhere, with a regularity and perfection that were extremely calming.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4119-410.jpg)
Having turned now to face the Andes, I noticed the clouds hanging over the valley I was headed towards.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4125-410.jpg)
Once I was in the valley, the real mountains came into view, those that surround the Termas de Chillán.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4131-410.jpg)
And above the cabins, the waterfall. During the days of rain and wind (of which there were three), the waterfall fell diagonally, its white vertical thread unravelling like a battered feather.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4132-410.jpg)
We were near a volcano, and where there are volcanoes, there are lava flows, escoriales. I took the road to Shangri-La, a lost valley just like all the other Shangri-Las in this world. To get there, I rode through a forest, following a stony track, which then took me to the escorial.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4148-410.jpg)
At the end of the track, a large house, clearly abandoned. Its windows were black gaping holes. The track to the house was cut off by a stream and a large slope of volcanic sand, which I was able to scale with difficulty, the rear wheel spinning as if it were some crazy steamboat on the Mississippi.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4152-410.jpg)
And it turned out not to be a house, but a mountain lodge, owned by the University of Concepción's Mountaineering group, according to a hiker that was taking a break in the shade after walking down from the Cordillera.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4162-410.jpg)
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4163-410.jpg)
The next day, I decided to go back to the waterfall, like I did last year, but this time on the bike. I left the bike as close as possible to the base, in the middle of the forest, and I set off.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4173-410.jpg)
The climb is an easy one, if taken carefully.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4180-410.jpg)
And I'm there! Rainbow and all.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4183-410.jpg)
The view from up top was amazing.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4186-410.jpg)
The valley's drinking water is taken from the waterfall, either from its base or from the top, and is sent via these black tubes to its destination.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4187-410.jpg)
The return to Santiago was quicker than the outward leg of the journey, and on the way I saw several interesting things.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4204-410.jpg)
In the distance, you can just make out two walking figures.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4205-410.jpg)
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4207-410.jpg)
Finally, after 7 hours, I was back home again. An unforgettable journey, no?
The idea had been going around in my head for quite a while. Certainly the length of the trip made one stop and think; it was the first time that I'd be trying a trip like this, of almost 500 km.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/lastrancas_smaller.jpg)
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4104-410.jpg)
...and there is nothing above you. As the narrator of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance said, on a motorbike you are part of the scenery.
I crossed rivers and bridges, one after the other. On one hand it's nice to recognize the name of a river from your school geography lessons, but on the other it's also nice to forget the name, to stop and feel how the bridge bounces violently with the passing trucks.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4111-410.jpg)
And sometimes, inexplicable things; artificial forests in the middle of nowhere, with a regularity and perfection that were extremely calming.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4119-410.jpg)
Having turned now to face the Andes, I noticed the clouds hanging over the valley I was headed towards.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4125-410.jpg)
Once I was in the valley, the real mountains came into view, those that surround the Termas de Chillán.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4131-410.jpg)
And above the cabins, the waterfall. During the days of rain and wind (of which there were three), the waterfall fell diagonally, its white vertical thread unravelling like a battered feather.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4132-410.jpg)
We were near a volcano, and where there are volcanoes, there are lava flows, escoriales. I took the road to Shangri-La, a lost valley just like all the other Shangri-Las in this world. To get there, I rode through a forest, following a stony track, which then took me to the escorial.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4148-410.jpg)
At the end of the track, a large house, clearly abandoned. Its windows were black gaping holes. The track to the house was cut off by a stream and a large slope of volcanic sand, which I was able to scale with difficulty, the rear wheel spinning as if it were some crazy steamboat on the Mississippi.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4152-410.jpg)
And it turned out not to be a house, but a mountain lodge, owned by the University of Concepción's Mountaineering group, according to a hiker that was taking a break in the shade after walking down from the Cordillera.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4162-410.jpg)
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4163-410.jpg)
The next day, I decided to go back to the waterfall, like I did last year, but this time on the bike. I left the bike as close as possible to the base, in the middle of the forest, and I set off.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4173-410.jpg)
The climb is an easy one, if taken carefully.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4180-410.jpg)
And I'm there! Rainbow and all.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4183-410.jpg)
The view from up top was amazing.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4186-410.jpg)
The valley's drinking water is taken from the waterfall, either from its base or from the top, and is sent via these black tubes to its destination.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4187-410.jpg)
The return to Santiago was quicker than the outward leg of the journey, and on the way I saw several interesting things.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4204-410.jpg)
In the distance, you can just make out two walking figures.
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4205-410.jpg)
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4207-410.jpg)
Finally, after 7 hours, I was back home again. An unforgettable journey, no?
![](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c231/individual61/IMG_4208-410.jpg)
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