4th day- The Patagonian Emptiness

01 Feb 2015
910 - 1,270 km
Rio Gallegos

Now we were finally setting out on the real adventure; to cross the immense expanse of Patagonia on Ruta3. Miguel had been kind to arrange accommodation for us in San Julián through the church he works for. Although the map showed a fairly straight road, there were complications awaiting us.

The morning started off with a strong headwind from the west, which honestly maked it tough to feel like you are flying across the wide expanses, especially on a small bike with two crazy people and their life´s belongings. - The reality is more like you drive at half the speed, constantly having your head thrown this and that way, always pushing the bike to stay at a decent speed.

Yet, the road was about to turn north and the rest of the day we had the wind from the side, which allowed for higher velocities. We were accompanied by a few cars, and loads of heavy trucks...until they had past us. We stopped every ~75 km to rest, move around, and marvel at the vast plains. 

The vast landscapes reached the horizon at 360 degrees, with little but small bushes on the side of the road. As the day was not too windy, we did not have to struggle too much to keep the bike going straight.

Still, with very little variety of the scenery, including the paved road that always reached the horizon, it made us both a little bit drowsy. Regularly the first stretch of the day proved challenging in this manner, and more so for Caro, who didn´t have anything to occupy her time with (and did not want to take a siesta (nap)!)

So I gave her the camera.

Caro took it as her new hobby as we rode through Patagonia. The Guanacos, llama-looking-animal, always ran away when we past by, elegantly jumping over the fence that run along the road. - At times we past fellow motorbikers, always with great enthusiasm. "We are all family"!!

Since the bike usually does some 270 km without the reserve tank, we were expecting to get to Piedrabuena without a problem, some 230 km from Rio Gallegos, but, that was barely the case. With far more left then anticipated, the main tank ran dry and I had to switch to the reserve. After some quick calculation we had done 195 km, and would just barely make it to the town.

I didnt say anything to Caro, but kept driving anticipating the engine to give in any second. With the margin on our side though, we arrived to a lagón-like canyon with a bright blue river running through it and a tiny city laid out before us. - We had arrived! With no intention to marvel at this very unexpected, amazing natural miracle, we headed for the gas station. The attendant commented that the tank was completely empty....!

The next stop was San Julián, well within reach to avoid any unnecessary out-of-gas-inconveniences.

It is quite amazing to ponder at the incredible length of the road, stretching from one horizon all the way to the other extreme.

In the afternoon, we had to stop regularly, not only to move around a little bit, but also to allow the bike to rest. It was obvious that the bike was struggling with the slopes, weight and the long days. But not much later did we lay our eyes on the tiny coastal city San Julián, we had arrived!

Surprisingly, despite its tiny size, we struggled to find where we had to go, but asking perhaps half the city´s population, we found it, could organize our stuff and prepare to drink "mate". But the first thing I did was Yoga. It was absolutely necessary to calm my mind, relax my body, and to be able to enjoy the beautiful evening. Then we took the "mate" with us as we left to explore the city and enjoy the sunset.

On the way back we bought some pizza. Although we both prefer "healthy" food, it was necessary to add a few carbs to the body, and I tell you... I have never eaten a pizza that fast besore, ever! As we had made good progress that day, we also had time to watch a movie before going to sleep.


A beautiful end to this long day on the bike. Although we were both very tired and had had our moments of temper, we were very happy to have arrived to San Julián.