Talca - Curico – 73 km
On departing Talco, a good tailwind assisted us to Curico. The day looked
promising until a loud bang brought us to a sudden halt. Thank goodness, it was
merely Ernest’s tyre that had a blowout but I almost hit the deck and started
leopard crawling (I’m South African, after all).
The rest of the day was enjoyable riding through a wine region, and the farms
passed very much resembled those at home in the Western Cape. On reaching
Curico, the pleasant Hotel Prat lured us in. The place was rather convenient with
its guest kitchen and outside ground-floor quarters.
As with the other towns in the area, Curico was destroyed by an earthquake in
1928 and severely damaged by the previous year’s quake. Fortunately, the Plaza
de Armas (the main square) remained intact and the most frequented place due to
its trees and pretty historic bandstand.
Curico is situated 46° north. The sun sets after 9 p.m. and it darkens around 10
p.m., making for long summer days. I, therefore, understood their need to have
long siestas, as virtually all shops were closed between 12 and 4 p.m.
Curico - Rancangua – 112 km
Heading to Rancangua was a pleasant day of biking. Vineyards stretched as far as
the eye could see, with the ever-present Andes to the east. Following a few cold-
drink stops, we slinked into Rancagua. I didn’t expect much of the town but was
pleasantly surprised.
Rancagua had a historical section with an ensemble of old buildings. The town was
a fair size with a pleasant central square known as Plaza of the Heroes where the
Battle of Rancagua occurred. It is referred to as the Disaster of Rancagua, as
O’Higgins and his army had to beat a hasty retreat here and hide in nearby caves.