So where are we? Sometimes a map helps for the big picture…..
An amazing part of the world to be sure. From Perito Moreno we had a short ride west to the border crossing near Chile Chico on the southern end of Lake Buenos Aires, which we learned is the second largest lake in South America, the largest is Lake Titicaca which is not only fun to say but is an interesting place we hope to visit on our way north. Continue reading
We’ve been putting on some miles and distances lately. In less than a month we’ve been south to Ushuaia and now back about almost as far north as where we started in Buenos Aires. A big reason for the miles is that there is literally nothing at all in most parts of southern Patagonia. No towns, no fuel and very few points of interest other than the vast tundra-like terrain. There is no choice but make it the 200 miles to the next small settlement and hope for fuel and maybe some chips for lunch. That is our routine in this stretch. Continue reading
I’ve learned that in the remote southern reaches of Patagonia access to the internet is a luxury and certainly not a necessity. We’ve just spent a series of nights in hotels that claim to have internet access only to find it’s actually not existent or very limited. Finally we are in a a bigger city with good access for uploading pictures and getting caught up. Thanks for not giving up on us! Continue reading
Fin del Mundo. Not a political statement, not the second coming, no, just Fin del Mundo, is what they call it here. The end of the world. The most southern most road in the world and we made it to the end. It is a loooonnnng way down, trust me.
Fresh from a day off the bikes we headed south from El Calafate to the end of the world. I knew it would be two days, I didn’t know how long those days would be. Good thing it stays light out until 10:30PM. Continue reading
Ok, it’s been a few days without internet so I will try to get caught up. We are truly in the remote parts of southern Patagonia. It seems like Alaska with long stretches of nothing at all. We need to carefully plan out fuel stops and we are glad to now be carrying extra fuel containers. When I left off we recovered Deby’s bag and were in the city of Gobernador Gregores. Bag in hand (on bike) and full fuel we got an early start back to the most difficult part of the route, now for the third time. Continue reading
Excerpt from the Moon travel book Patagonia Trip of A Lifetime:
From the Bolivian border near La Quiaca to it’s terminus near Rio Gallegos, RN 40 has been Argentina’s great, unfinished interior highway. Some segments have been smoothly paved while others remain rough and rugged. None of those has enjoyed the notoriety of the segment between the El Calafate junction and the town of Pertio Moreno, on the cusp between the Patagonian steppe and the icy southern Andes.
January 7, 2017, our plan was the route above going from north to south, from Perito Moreno to El Calafate. We never made it….. Continue reading
We are slowly making our way west and south, the first few days after leaving Buenos Aires it was just HOT, near 100 degrees F. The terrain is flat and not much to really see or do except put on some miles. Continue reading
I received word that after even more problems with customs the bikes were finally released. Somehow, the crates were delivered to the air freight company but the original titles were in an envelope with the Miami shipping company. Do I need those to import the bikes into Argentina? After a couple of frantic calls and e-mails the response was an emphatic “maybe.” Continue reading
December 22, 2016, Buenos Aires San Telmo district.
We’ve been in Argentina three weeks today waiting for the motorcycles. Not the worst place to be but it’s getting old. Since this is a blog about motorcycle riding and since there are no motorcycles to ride I haven’t posted lately. We have been doing things, some of them interesting and I’ll share some of that further below. First, the short version about the motorcycles. Continue reading
If this isn’t one of the wonders of the world it should be, Iguazu Falls. According to Wikipedia (Click HERE for more)
“Upon seeing Iguazu, the United States First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly exclaimed “Poor Niagara!”[3] (which, at 50 m or 165 feet, are a third shorter). Often Iguazu also is compared with Victoria Falls in Southern Africa, which separates Zambia and Zimbabwe. Iguazu is wider, but because it is split into approximately 275 discrete falls and large islands, Victoria has the largest curtain of water in the world, at more than 1,600 m (5,249 ft) wide and over 100 m (328 ft) in height (in low flow Victoria is split into five by islands; in high flow it may be uninterrupted). The only wider falls are extremely large rapid-like falls, such as the Boyoma Falls (Stanley Falls).” Continue reading