One thing that it is important to say is that Francoise takes all the photos. And she can only take photos when she can take photos. Sometimes it is impossible to take pictures either due to the wind, the rain or the road conditions. Sometimes we might say things are tough, but it is not possible to reflect that in the pictures. That's because it was simply too difficult to take photos.
Clearly Argentinian road sign makers have to be given a job as even a 5 degree change in direction is worthy of a 'bend in the road' sign. Equally a small ascent deserves a sign, but the sign is usually halfway up the hill anyway. But there must be demarcation between different sign makers as there really aren't that many giving directions. Yes, we are noticing these details as there is nothing else to look at.
There are no trees. It is an arrid scrubland. The soil seems very sandy and not much grows. What has happened though is the winds. We thought that the West Side of Patagonia was going to be the big issue; it might well still be the case, but we are getting a fair dose on the East side. Petrol is also a major issue in as much as you have to plan in function. To paraphrase a Billy Connolly joke, never waste a petrol station.
Trelew to Comodoro Rivadavia was just short of 380km and all that was between the two was one functioning petrol station and two abandoned ones. Not a town, village, hamlet or house. Not a tree. But lots of wind. Temperatures, even without the wind chill effect are well below seasonal averages here, yet a couple of days ago we were sat on the beach in the sun! Having adopted a layer approach for our clothes we are currently wearing most of them. Francoise at this stage is definitely auditioning for Star Wars.
The roads are in good condition. There are occasional pot holes but you can see them coming. The roads are single carriageway in each direction but when the wind blows as it does constantly, a 3m width of carriageway between oncoming traffic and a gravel verge doesn't seem enough.
However as there is not much traffic it is highly unlikely that when we are blown over onto the opposing carriageway that there will be anything there. Without the wind these would be 85mph roads, but most days we are struggling to get to 50 for long periods due to the wind. And the 50mph feels like a 100mph! Neck, arm and thigh muscles getting stronger by the day. All this about lightly holding onto the handlebars to guide the bike , well sometimes it's more like hanging on for grim death. The surprising thing is that with all this wind there are so few wind farms. They could power the whole of South America from Patagonia, but instead it's still oil and we have seen the nodding donkeys in operation in Comodoro Rivadavia and south of there.
We stopped at a small insignificant place called Puerto San Julian only to find that this was where Magallanes landed when looking for a westward route from Spain to the East Indies in 1520. Magallanes of Magellan penguin and Straits fame. And then Sir Francis Drake a few years later. And then Charles Darwin a couple of centuries or so after. And then Antoine de Saint-Exupery who seems to have had something to do with founding Argentinian Airmail. Not a bad roll-call really.
We crossed the Magellan straits on a ferry in very rough sea. The sort of sea which would cause massive delays on the Dover-Calais route. It was an open ferry a bit like the Woolwich but with very high sides. No question about lashing down the bike but we stayed by it the whole (20 minute) crossing. The ferry is in Chile, but we had to cross back over into Argentina after we had landed. So the day consisted of two border crossings, a ferry and 400km. With winds described as strong by the BBC and quite a lot of rain with the actual temperature dropping to 4°C. Francoise was wearing seven layers today.
We had had quite heavy rain for over an hour and when Paul parked the bike on its side stand, there was a constant stream of water from beneath the radiator and a lot of steam from behind it. PANIC! But the cooling system temperature gauge did not indicate any increase in temperature and there was no explosion of the engine. It must have been rainwater building up in some pocket around the engine and tipping out when we put the bike on its side stand.
Tomorrow is Sunday and Presidential Election day here in Argentina. So we weren't allowed to have a glass of wine with our meal. Or any other alcoholic beverage. It's the law.
Onwards to the end of the world...
