South America, Blowing The Kids’ Inheritence

[gbags]

Hi Pat,
We left Puerta Yungay on the 27th of October which was a bit before the season started so the most bikes we ever saw was three others.
We did see a fair few groups of Brazilian riders on Ruta 40. They all do big loops down to Ushuaia.
Isn’t Patagonia something? Where did you get to?
We went down the Austral and back up Ruta 40 then north. We’ve now hopped the Gap and are about to cross into Guatemala from the lovely Honduras this morning.
All the best,
G

[PatC]

Oh wow, what an amazing trip you're having. As I said time was limited for us so it was what we could squeeze into three weeks, which is actually quite a lot. I have good friends living in Coyhaique where we worked together twenty odd years ago. We hired bikes from a local operator, Motorent Adventure (can't praise them highly enough), and headed down to Villa O'Higgins on the Careterra. Then the 41 hour ferry trip from Puerto Yungay to Puerto Natales. We crossed to Tierra Del Fuego via the northern ferry crossing then rode to Ushuaia via Rio Grande the next day. Came back via Punta Arenas, Torres Del Paine, Calafate, Chalten and back into Chile via the remote Paso Raballos. We were going to get the ferry from Chile Chico to Ibanez but couldn't get on so went back into Argentina and round lago Buenos Aires and back to Ibanez. Spectacular! I know what you mean about riders from Brazil, we met loads as well. Isn't the camaraderie of other riders brilliant?

Don't want to steal your thread, I'll start my own as soon as I get the pictures sorted. Good luck, look forward to more updates from you.

[mark vb]

Great stuff, Graham, nice to re-visit Patagonia exactly a year after we were there! Looks like you stopped at the same layby as us...

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PatC - that wind on Ruta 40 is something else! We had to stop a couple of nights at Perito Moreno so my right arm could recover...it lost a lot of power and went sort of numb, I couldn't even grip a biro. This was due to having to constantly steer the outfit into the westerly wind, up the easterly road camber. One way to lessen this was by riding on the wrong side of the road where the camber dropped down to the west. My one regret is not getting a sticker of the desert rose (a miniature version of the orange road signs with the black tree blowing over at 45 degrees). If ever I got a tattoo (which I surely won't) it would be of the desert rose, to remind me of Patagonia - I'd happily do Ruta 40 again, tomorrow!

[PatC]

Hi Mark VB,

I don't think I shall ever moan about road conditions or wind in thew UK again. On one of the better stretches between Tres Lagos and Bajo Caracoles I had the throttle wound to the stop (XT660Z) but couldn't get more than 100km/h out of the bike and was watching the speedo drop further. Insane amount of wind. I was looking for the same sticker, plenty of variations on the Ruta 40 theme but no luck with the tree in the wind. Picked up a cool T-shirt in El Chalten though: Viento ... Mucho Viento

Right, I'm going to stop hi jacking this thread. Will try to start one of my own over the next few days. Still need to work my way through a few SD cards.

[gbags]

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Guanacos were everywhere in Patagonia

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The signs you spoke about early. The wind was ferocious and the distances between villages very long. At one point I was so stiff and tired that I decided to just stop and lie down flat beside the road for a rest. Before I could get the kick stand down, the wind knocked us down.
Don’t let it put you off though; I’m proud of my Ruta 40 sticker.

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Out of sequence photo. This is the ferry run from Torla down to Puerta Natales. I’d read a book saying the ride down to Patagonia should be Ruta 40 all the way but I strongly disagree. The Chilean side is fantastically lush and unspoiled, very green with hundreds of lakes, forests and rivers. You CANNOT miss this route, the Carretera Austral. Go south on this and then come back upon the arid, bleak, windswept R 40. Get the season right though. I spoke to a Yank who met only rain, snow and wind and hated the whole experience.

[gbags]

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The lovely Torres del Payne

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Crossing the Andes from Bariloche to the Chilean Lakes, this route was gravel with monkey puzzle trees everywhere and lots of volcanos

[Tonibe63]

Loving the ride report and also others chipping in, looking forward to the next instalment when you get chance .

[mark vb]

Hi Graham,
great Patagonia photos, makes me so want to return. Looks like you rode the Route of the Seven Lakes, and is that Volcan Villaricca in Chile? Where are you now? We crossed back into Chile after Bariloche, possibly on the same route as you did! And those monkey puzzles......

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

Great pics thankyou. Really fancy going to Patagonia now

[gbags]

Thanks peeps,
Yes, those border crossings between Chile and Argentina were one of the highlights of the trip. Later on we were forced to stop as they were closed for the season.

We’ve just got back to the UK a few days ago.