Ruta 3 in Argentina has a similar but lesser status. We rode the totality of it from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia and apart from the last 120km or so, we classified it as the most boring road we have ever ridden. The alternative top to bottom road in Argentina is Ruta 40. One of the surprising things about both the 3 and the 40 is that they are both quite quiet. We haven't seen any trains either. - so is there no North South traffic? Because there isn't much traffic, there are not many coffee stops either...
Amongst bikers the Ruta 40 badge is worth even more than the Route 66 one. This is all down to three sections of the road which have remained as a gravel road despite the authorities having allocated the necessary funds to pave them. Apparently on more than one occasion. Your badge becomes even more worthy if you can say that you stood up on the bike footpegs for these sections or that you have battle wounds from being hit by a Guanaco or similar. We avoided these three sections altogether. Some people we have met have said that one of our avoidance schemes was actually harder than the Ruta 40 section we were avoiding, but we will never be able to compare.
Nonetheless some of Ruta 40 has been very scenic and we are not finished on it yet, but an awful lot of it has been downright boring. If the only alternative is the equally boring Ruta 3 it's a bit tough on South American bikers. But the badges still count. At least Paul has his virtual Paso de Libertadores badge from the other day.
Argentina had a lot of Italian immigration and the Roman influence on the roads is apparent. Straight as a die for tens of km on end and if the only scenery is scrubland, well hence our 'boring' epitaph.
But the scenic bits are indeed, scenic. And the sheer grandeur of the plains between mountain ranges are quite something. Also the quietness when you stop nowhere, in particular to take a photo of a cactus.
One can also see for a very long way indeed. When it's hot and there is a heat haze the road has a mirage effect. And you also can see the weather from a long way away but, despite the very ominous clouds some days, we have so far avoided rain.
We don't reaĺly know what to expect when we set off in a morning - weather or scenery wise. So far most things have been good surprises.
We occasionally stop at the side of the road when there is a decent gravel verge to pull over onto. We had always said that travelling in the opposite direction to what most people do, would mean that we would cross people. It hadn't really happened. And then... a bike turned round whilst we were looking at cacti: an English guy who had recognised our UK number plate. Soon after what we thought was a couple of Columbians on their Triumph Tiger, until we saw that they had a Jack Russel sat between them.
The following day it was a Brazilian couple on a newer version of our Electraglide, followed by a guy from Hawaii who we met up with for dinner in the evening.
We are often thankful for Petrol Stations in Argentina. UK ones have something to learn. Yes, there is petrol and we need petrol, but most of them also have cafes. The cafes are heated or chilled as need be. The coffee is good. They have Argentinian croissants or hot empanadas and the toilet facilities are usually immaculate. And they take cards which was a godsend when we had no cash. The other night we ate at one as nothing else seemed to be open and we amused ourselves wondering whether the vehicles filling up would pass an MoT control in the UK. Yes you have the old Ford and Chevrolet pickups but Renault 12s and Peugeot 504s are still going strong here too. Most mopeds seem to carry more than two people (no helmets of course) and front and rear lights are clearly an option most people don't buy into. Same with the old cars.
Talking of petrol, it doubled in price here on Monday on the new President's first day. It's still cheap for us, but we wonder what would have happened in the UK if Rishi had done the same? The official exchange rate changed too. Instead of 375 pesos to the US$ it's now 800. This will have put all the money changers out of business if we understand the implications correctly. What we can't fathom out is how it is going to impact us and the hotels we have booked for Christmas? Annual inflation on household necessities is currently at 171% and rent annual inflation at 300% if we understood the banner headlines on the TV at the petrol station. There are long queues outside ATMs as people are restricted in how much they can withdraw. Whereas supermarkets do have goods priced, other shops don't as everything changes daily.
We still see bicycles. Not many but every single one of them has our deep admiration. We can't imagine them riding 200kms in a day and sometimes 200kms will be too short a distance. Although they don't need petrol they still need fuel. They need to carry the necessary food and water to cover for there being no petrol station stops. In Patagonia it would have been impossible to put up a tent in those winds, let alone hold it down if you did manage it. And it's not as though there were any trees or bushes to hide behind. And then the mountain passes and hills and the boring monotony of the straight roads. Another breed.
One last bit of cultural trivia - dogs. A large proportion of dogs here in Argentina are street dogs. They are clearly fed by someone and there is not a large amount of dog mess about. They have a certain road sense as they cross the road between oncoming cars and otherwise lie around in the shade or sun as it pleases them. We haven't come across one yet that has been aggressive. It was something we were quite concerned about and maybe we will have been right to have been concerned as we move farther North into other countries, but for the time being a dog's life seems to be a pretty good one here.
We are now in Salta which is at the very Northern end of Argentina and we will be leaving Argentina after Christmas. The plan is that we spend a few more days in (expensive) Chile and then cross into Peru. Uruguay, Argentina and Chile have not been that different to Europe in a lot of respects. We will see about Peru in a couple of weeks.
