3rd Day - Back to Argentina / Rio Gallegos

31 Jan 2015
650 - 910 km
Punta Arenas - Chile

Although we really enjoyed our stay in Chile, their excellent coffee, cheese, and beer (my list of things better in Chile), we were off to Rio Gallegos where Caro´s brother Miguel was waiting for us. He had already arranged accommodation for us. On the map the route looked fairly quick and easy, with just a boarder crossing to worry about, it seemed.

As we were navigating the streets to leave the city behind us, we could not help but notice the strong winds. True enough, when we reached the huge flat lands outside the city, it was quite a struggle to stay firm on the road, especially when buses and trucks flew by and hit you with a huge wind gust. I must say my previous experience with Patagonian winds came in handy, as I could sit back and not over exert myself to keep the bike upright!

Dont leave the bike unattended! ...it will fall over

We met some bicyclist later on when we were adjusting the luggage. The Italians were quite skeptical to keep riding, and I can only imagine what it would be like to on a bicycle.

(Very) fortunate for us, as the wind came from the west, the road where we were going took off east back to Argentina and Rio Gallegos, hence we had an incredible tailwind for the rest of the day (which is a luxury rarely enjoyed for too long). Incredible!!

The boarder crossing looked like a chaos with cars everywhere and too many crammed inside the office. However, we had to go to the Argentinian side to do all the paperwork, so we left it all behind us! Phuu...! - Still, the Argentinian side was not that much better. We spent two hours at the boarder (always checking on the bike because of the winds) before we could leave again. 

At the end of the day, we found Miguel in Rio Gallegos and he introduced us to our host, a ninety year old (super) woman. After a shower and a chat, we headed out to eat, drink some vine, and finally try "the best ice-cream in the world"! We had a stellar night out with Miguel, eating great food at The British, and some of the best ice-cream I have eaten yet at Don Tito! ...keep in mind, Rio Gallegos! 

The following day began the long journey though the vast Patagonia along the Argentinian east coast. Ruta3!