If you haven’t already started hating me, I recommend you do so now. Because I’ve been having such a great time lately that I’m even jealous of my past self. This outing was a case in point.

Walter and Miriam told me that the Circuito Chico, a road that runs right past La Peninsula and then on to Llao Llao and beyond, would be a nice cycle ride. So, on a warm and sunny Friday afternoon, Thomas and I met at Cordillera Bike and hired a couple of bicycles for the afternoon.

We set off in typical Westwood fashion, with me forgetting which side of the road I was supposed to be on and narrowly avoiding being mown down by an ancient Chevy truck, then whooping with delight the whole way down the hill until I swallowed a fly.

However, even the fear of ingesting further insects couldn’t prevent me from emitting frequent ‘Wheeeeeeee!’ noises as we swooped along the easy, quiet road lined with trees and bright yellow gorse, with pretty chalets popping up every now and then. The squealing only increased in volume when we reached Llao Llao with its lovely harbour and grandiose Hotel.

Looking for a spot of lunch, we cycled up to the enormous edifice and poked around a bit, but when we were informed that we’d need a reservation to eat there, I went off the place. It’s never a good idea to eat in a restaurant that requires a reservation when you are slightly sweaty and have your pants tucked into your socks.

So we found a lovely little spot beside the road instead, where we shared a litre of Quilmes and demolished some excellent chicken pie and empañadas before continuing our jaunt.

After completely failing to overtake a runner, we decided another break was in order, so we took a stroll to find Lago Escondido. But first we went to look at the Punto Roman (Roman Bridge). We were intrigued to find out how Romans had built a bridge in South America. (Spoiler: they didn’t. It was built in 1937 in a Roman style. I’m still not sure why it’s down a woodland path leading nowhere in particular or why it’s considered something worth walking to.) Lago Escondido looked like a great place to return to with a picnic lunch and, as we continued the cycle, we realised that this would be a bike ride we’d probably need to do again.

Although five hours seemed like plenty of time when we hired the bikes, all our photo stops at scenic viewpoints cut into our time so much that, by the time we reached the Cervezeria that the nice man at Cordillera Bike had recommended to us, there was simply no time to stop and enjoy an artesanal brew. Ah well,  I still have a couple more Fridays here to do it all again…