Angol - La Piedra del Águila (the eagle rock)

I had arrived at Angol the day after 7 Tazas, and decided to make a short detour to see the Eagle Rock which I had been told was just 30 min away from the city of Angol and offered a panoramic view from the Andes mountain range to the Pacific Ocean. But, the day did not turn out as I had imagined. Not even remotely! 

It was just one of those days you when should really go back to bed and try to wake up again to a new day. But I paid for my accommodation and hit the road despite the sour mood I was in. I debated in my head whether I should visit the eagle rock and possibly get lost on the forest roads in the mountains, or simply avoid possible complications and hit the highway for a peaceful drive south. I concluded that taking a deep breath should set me right and ready for a visit to the Eagle Rock. -How hard could it possibly be to find it?! 

The gravel road from the city immediately led me higher up into the mountain, and I kept track on my progress on my map, but realized soon that such a task was meaningless with such a lack of detail. With steep inclinations, sudden bumps and rocks in the way, and a lot of gravel, I had to be ever alert and to limit my speed to ~30km/h. At one point, the road led on out into an open landscape with farms, lots of animals, and even worse road conditions at times. As I passed the 2 hour mark, I finally came to the guardhouse at the park entrance (some 30 min!).

View to the south

Now, I had to pay a ridiculous fee to see this special rock. Moreover, there was no exit to the south as shown on my map, but I´d have to take a detour of aprox. 100km. - With a far too long detour already, I was feeling the hanger (hunger + angry) come to a boiling point. It was time to cool-down, eat some lunch, and take a quiet moment to reconsider my options. But I had come too far already to turn around! "I had to see this rock!" So eventually I paid the fee and continued the last 10km up to the rock.

to the east

to the west

I must admit that walking in the old forest was soothing for both body and soul. I took a good while to enjoy the tremendous panoramic view from this famous Piedra del Águila. Although I was not able to distinguish the ocean out west, it was nothing that made the experience any less enjoyable. I also came to the conclusion that I was not going to reach Temuco as I had hoped, but was left to look for accommodation along the way. 

Despite reaching the rock, I was still agitated with a sour mood. Still, by the time I was leaving the park, I started to get comfortable with the gravel road and could safely increase the speed and I found myself enjoying it. At one point I came to a cross road, with a road leading south to a city on the main road, "a shortcut for sure!" Even though the road changed color to orange - now a real dirt road, I set out south with high spirit!

I soon started to notice deep tracks in the road, from heavily loaded lumber trucks (??) without a doubt, the road now offered a lot more surprise-obstacles such as deeper holes and bumps, even steeper slopes (where I had normally seen switch-backs) and some flooded parts with water up over the wheels. With a serious lack of road signs, one try to stay on the main road and hope for the best, but in this case there was really no telling where the main road continued.

Around one corner, I stumbled upon some lumberjacks (much like the miners I met when I was lost in a mining area up north), starring at me perplexed. "What #$%& is this guying doing out here???!" But with a plead for direction, they enthusiastically told me to continue straight on. I seemed to still have a lot of kms to go, because there was really no sign of coming closer to civilization. As I drove on, I asked some farmers and cow herders for counsel, and my spirit was momentarily lifted with hopes of seeing paved roads again.

Just 2 hours short of dusk, I had found myself with an amazing nature around me. I navigated through and between steep mountains covered with thick forest and a frisky stream running by the road. Instead of a dirty forest road, I enjoyed a gravel road along the mountain side with a full view of the valleys I passed. Eventually I came upon a perfect camping spot by the river well covered from the road. I really wanted to stay out in the nature, which almost immediately ruled out looking for accommodation in the nearest town. 

After putting some pasta to cook, I quickly set up my camp, enjoyed a bath in the river entirely alone (apart from the cows cruising down the other side). When my delicious tuna-tomato river-pasta dish was done, I sat down to regard the long and eventful day. 

"Could this day really have come to this! Sitting and enjoying a warm meal, next to a river, in the middle of a forest covered valley!" We all have our bad days, but working through all the obstacles on my way really paid off this day! A day I will not easily forget! Moreover, I have rarely seen a brighter night sky when the sun had finally set and the stars appeared.

- 

The next day I started to see power lines along the road, "can´t be far now!". Eventually I was on paved marvellous roads again, and bound for the beautiful summer paradise of Villarrica and yet a surprise I had not anticipated!