Day 44 – Calafate to El Chalten

A bike friendly bus.

Caught the 'Chalten Travel' bus to El Chalten. The bus driver was fantastic. No charge for the bikes and he offered a low entry compartment at the back for our bikes and all our separate panniers. Fed up of squeezing the panniers and rolls into our lightweight holdalls we thought pack them as separate bags and today was our lucky day. The journey was meant to take 3 hours but with a strong headwind and the usual stop all buses seem to do (no matter how short the journey) at a restaurant and gift shop in the middle of nowhere, it took nearly 4 hours. The weather when we arrived was like a wild wet day in Glencoe….the usual strong winds whipping the rain horizontally past stunted vegetation…..water was even being blown out of the puddles! Unfortunately, the rear of the bus stopped in a puddle which required a leap into our private compartment headfirst. Once inside I took advantage of the shelter and changed into a full set of waterproofs and emerged feeling quite clever until the wind immediately filled my hood and drove rain straight in! For some reason I couldn’t tighten my hood and it acted like a sail flicking my head back whenever I turned in the wrong direction. The storm alarm (on my little weather gizmo) was constantly beeping so we headed to a Hosteria (Posada Altus Cumbres) for the night. The room we had was among the best so far and definitely the most spacious and clean. The wind tore at the corrugated tin roof above the timber rafters and moaned through any tiny gaps sounding like a child making ghosty noises. With the rain hammering it actually felt quite cosy as we knew (hopefully) that we were safe and dry. Apparently the views from the windows here are quite spectacular but today it was a view of people either being bundled along by the wind (whether they wanted to go in that direction or not) or people walking at 45 degrees into the wind holding onto their billowing hoods. We had a beautiful dinner in a small restaurant up the same road (Ruca Mahuida) with a barrel stove, local art on the walls and views to distant mountains and glacier Viedma. Despite the glacier it felt a bit west coast of Scotland at this level, maybe it was the weather? When we arrived at the Hosteria I made the big mistake of nodding in apparent understanding and even laughing with the lady at reception as she chatted away at top speed, pointing in various directions and at one point gesticulating to her chest. I had no idea what she was saying but managed to leave without any awkward silences or inappropriate expressions at the wrong time. When we returned to the Hosteria I knew that we would talk again at some point and she would discover that all her chat about her pets and recent romances had fallen on deaf ears! I almost ran through reception avoiding her gaze until I realized she had the key to our room. Thankfully, the number 9 was not a problem and I got away with it for tonight. I wonder what we’ll talk about tomorrow? It’s now nearly midnight and the rain is still hammering down…..hopefully we might get a few bright interludes tomorrow.

Our Butch Cassidy stop.

Day 43 - Calafate to Perito Moreno Glacier - 12km cycling

Perito Merino Glacier

Set off just after 8.00 on a cloudy and worryingly windy morning. It felt great to be back on the bikes and travelling under our steam at last. As we rode out of town the wind started to howl through the overhead cables and whip the heads of the ever popular Poplars back and forth in a frenzy! We struggled on hoping it might just be a temporary squall, but after just 7km we were being blown off the road and struggling to stay upright, never mind hold our line. Windborne grit and dust accompanied the increasing pitch of the shrieking wind and we knew it was game up. It was both unpleasant and physically impossible. We shouted our concerns to each other above the wind and despite the fantastic scenery ahead forced ourselves to turn around and return to Calafate. It was a heartbreaking decision and we felt the grand plan was being torn apart by the fickle wind. We cycled straight to the bus station and booked a bus to the glacier (the wind was not going to stop us seeing one of the worlds few advancing glaciers) and a bus to El Chalten the next day. Our plan was to change our mode of transport from wheels to feet……the wind couldn’t stop us walking…could it?! The glacier did not disappoint. It was yet another spectacular sight. Ice blue shards and splintering towers of ice toppling into a sparkling blue/green lake with sounds like gunshots and whipcracks. It sounded like a firework display with ooohs and aaaahs whenever a chunk toppled, sending a bow wave across the lake. It was addictive and at each viewing point we had to drag ourselves away and continue the trail. As soon as we did, there would be a splintering crack with shrieks and whoops as the biggest slab yet crashed down! Stayed for 5 hours until our eyes hurt squinting at the reflections and brilliant white and blue colours. At 8.30 we got on the bus and had to search for spare seats as the bus seemed to have aquired more people, the people directly behind us on the way didn’t get on!! Back in town at 10.00 we went to a local restaurant (very expensive here) and ate before grabbing an ice cream and spending an hour downloading the 300 photos we seemed to have taken !!!

 Setting off under threatening skies.

Sheletering from the wind. Not happy! 

The amazing Moreno glacier.

 The beautiful world of ice.

Day 42 - Calafate

Calafate ice cream!

Walked into town for breakfast and coffee. El Calafate was surprisingly big with plenty of places to buy food, get money out and choose the most tacky souvenir from each shop window. It was probably the cleanest and greenest town we had visited so far...but there was still a lot of stray dogs and I made the mistake of giving one eye contact. It followed us down the road and into the shops.....trotting along between the bookshelves and staring with us at the maps. His noisy claws tapping along the floor gave away his presence and he was rugby tackled by a member of staff and buddled outside. Bought our first 1:50,000 maps which made a pleasant change from the 1:1,000,000 we had been using for emergency blankets! We decided to visit the local Laguna Nimez Reserve which seemed to be located next to an old land fill site. It was a lagoon/wetland habitat, part of which appeared to be in the process of being reclaimed for development! They even had a pipe (running from one of the wetalnd areas) which appeared to be siphoning off the water to keep the dust down on the adjacent access road! People were wandering around asking each other whether they were in the right place. We eventually found a suprisingly rich habitat that supported a huge variety of birds including flamingos, grebes, southern lapwings, geese, coots, shoveller ducks, pintails, buzzard eagles and much more which we couldn't identify unfortunately. Definitely worth a repeat visit one evening. Cycled back to the campsite and gave our bikes some love after such a long time apart. Packed up the panniers with food and got everything sorted for tomorrows trip west towards the Merino glacier. Dashed back into town when, to our horror, it dawned on us that we had not eaten an ice cream that day!!  Found a huge ice cream parlour and, whilst deciding what flavours to try, a lady offered John a taste by holding out a small spoon with some on. Eyes widening he stretched over the counter,  mouth open and eyes closed waiting for the flavour to hit his deprived taste buds....the women withdrew her spoon slowly but John followed and, with one leg off the floor to counter balance, she dissolved into laughter and intimated that he might, perhaps, like to take it into his own hand and feed himself. See above picture just after!!

Day 41- Rio Gallegos to Calafate

Bikes..... 3 days after .

Woke early and got a taxi back to the 'Express' office where we handed over our sheet of paper. To our relief he disappeared around the back and wheeled our bikes (not Barbie bikes) over piles of boxes, with no concern for their contents. We took them off him and lifted them over, checking for damage….they had been knocked about quite a bit but were still in one piece. We were too relieved to complain about the service (3 days to bus 2 bikes 900km) and even said ‘Thank you’ before we realized what we were saying! We dashed across to the bus station to book the 12.00 bus but were told the last tickets had gone and we would have a 9 hour wait until the next at 6.00! We put our bags in a storage cupboard and rode into town. It hadn’t improved much since the night before and a seriously strong wind had suddenly developed which blasted little rocks, grit and large cardboard boxes into our faces. We looked a right pair…John with his seat fully lowered (no quick release.....tools within the holdalls somewhere) and me with a bent mudguard which made it sound like a moped! The low saddle was a blessing for John as he used his legs to scoot safely along when the bigger gusts blasted across and forced me to stop. Hair full of grit and cardboard we arrived at a Café in town and lashed our bikes outside with bungies to stop them blowing away. We sat in the window watching plastic bags, boxes and at one point, a small child, blow down the street. Our bikes shook and vibrated but didn’t blow away. We spent the day drinking coffee very slowly and sitting in a lovely green plaza packed with low trees which made an excellent wind baffle. The noise of the wind through over head cables and street furniture was quite scarey at times……a sort of high pitched shrieking/howling with the occasional deeper rumble as it forced its way through the trees. Our skin, hair and eyes were impregnated with dust and grit and when we closed our teeth together they would crunch. We looked at each other with horror as we suddenly realized it would probably be a lot worse in the mountains. It could be a case of leaving them somewhere and walking for 2 weeks instead…once bitten, twice scaredy cats! The cycle back involved a bit of tacking into the wind but we got back in time for more coffee! The bus arrived on time, the driver was very nice and lashed the bikes inside himself! Although it was a single decker, the bus was still pushed around in the wind…the landscape of the Pampas is relentlessly flat so distant objects that stick up become objects of intense fascination until you realize it’s a particularly tall shrub or a road sign on one of the few bends in the road ahead!! We arrived ½ hour late and in the half light unpacked our holdalls and attached our panniers for the cycle to the campsite. The reception and restaurant was still open so we put the tent up and (when in Rome) ate a meal at midnight.

Another Eva statue

Day 40 – Rio Gallegos

Rio Gallegos

The bus was supposed to arrive at 10.00 but eventually rocked and rolled in at 13.00! At 8.00 we opened our eyes (after just dropping off) to a group of 5 toddlers staring at John! They had gathered at the back of the bus where an impromptu crèche had formed…..and at times they looked like a little group of dark haired Midwhich cuckoos. They didn’t smile, just swayed and staggered with the rolling bus, staring. Eventually, one of us must have looked away and they left silently…leaving behind just one young girl who sat in the seat opposite and stared so much we eventually felt obliged to entertain her. We opened a packet of crackers and ate them slowly….2 mins later she left and returned with her own bag of crackers. Without catching her gaze we then bit around our crackers to make the shapes of whales, guanacos and almost managed a Rhea until it’s neck broke. From the corner of our eyes we could see tiny crumbs dropping down and listened to a sound like a hamster eating a cuttle fish….we eventually could not resist the urge to look, and expecting to see the coastline of Norway or an Armadillo we saw instead…… a triangle! Well, we won that competition! The boredom was finally broken when we stepped off the bus and jostled with passengers to retrieve our bags. We staggered across the road to the ‘Express’ office to collect our bikes and discovered it had just closed and would not open until 3.30! We found the time of the next bus to Calafate but decided to hold off from booking until we had the bikes. It was at 6.00. At 3.30 I returned to the Express Office and chatted with a local who was there to collect some car parts for his Garage. The office opened at 3.45 and he kindly waited next to me whilst the staff looked at a computer screen shaking their heads. He said that the bikes were not here (even though they were sent the day before) and we would have to return the next day at 9.00!! We said our goodbyes and I went to tell John the bad news. As we were sat tired and despairing Garage man suddenly appeared and gave us his telephone number in case we needed any help. It’s amazing how often we go from exasperation to amazement at the kindness and hospitality of the Argentineans. We got a taxi into ‘the most boring town in Argentina (according to Garage man) and stopped outside a hotel recommended in the Rough Guide. We made a mental note to e-mail them and tell them it was a building that was in the process of falling apart and went onto to the next hotel which thankfully had 4 straight walls and looked v. nice. It even had wi-fi so we added a photo for each day since the Lake District. Slept well!

A day that required a drink!

Day 39 – Puerto Madryn

Puerto Madryn

Had the usual flasks of warm coffee and medialunas at breakfastand checked out. The man at the desk kindly agreed to allow our bags to be stored in their office. Walked into town and had a coffee at Balcarce, where they had wi –fi, and updated the blog. It was really hot and we had to move outside where there was a breeze in the shade. It was almost too hot to do anything that involved movement so we sat under the shade of one of the few remaining unoccupied trees. Even the tiniest trees had somebody sat beneath! It was 35C with a hot dry wind. Had another coffee in Havanna where the air conditioning made the afternoon wait for the bus bearable. They seem to go for cheese and ham toasties here in a big way….which is fortunate as they tasted delicious. Returned to the office where we got changed and collected our huge bags full of panniers and food….without the bikes they were just too heavy to carry so we arranged for a taxi to drive us the 600m to the coach station!! Poor effort! The heat at the station was awful and we couldn’t wait to get on the bus to cool down. It arrived late and everybody rushed to get on it. Found our quiet seats right at the back and were pleasantly surprised at the amount of space for a semi-cama. Feeling quite smug we settled back and waited to depart. As we waited we realized the temperature was just as stifling in the coach….everybody reached to the vents and rammed their fingers into them in frustration. Eventually we set off and at the first corner a cascade of water poured from the roof directly behind my seat. We were sat under the air conditioning unit which clearly wasn’t working! The water ran along the floor under seats soaking our bags. At the next stop I let the driver know (after looking up ‘waterfall on my head’ in the phrase book) and he said ‘OK’. When we set off the co-driver came upstairs and stopped just before our seats before turning round to go back. I shouted at him (nicely) to stop with the help of passengers who grabbed his arm for me. I pointed at the dripping roof above my head and he gave the Latin American equivalent of a gallic shrug and said something like ‘....and?’ The passengers laughed as he carried on downstairs and suggested I use an umbrella! It was going to be an arduous 18 hour journey! The heat was oppressive but at least we had the advantage of an occasional shower to cool us down. The flasks came out 2 hours into the journey and the herby smell of mate wafted down the aisle accompanied by sounds of gentle sucking  of bombillos. Then overhead TV’s suddenly sprang to life and we were subjected to Scarey Movie 3 dubbed into Spanish which just made it even more hilarious…..followed by ‘Shooter’ at full volume….which jammed near the end! The highlight of the journey was the occasional sighting of a Guanoco or Rhea at the side of the road (alive) and a fantastic sunset. At 12.30 the lights came on and the Police boarded for identity card checks. A young serious man with a clipboard had doodled a huge swastika on the back of his notepad! The lights went out and I leaned back to adjust my position. The backrest went with me without pulling the lever and I realized the seat was broken…which meant I would probably end up with my head in the direct trajectory of the water at some time during the night. It was a long, sleepless night with the added excitement of a strengthening crosswind which made the bus rock alarmingly back and forth and occasionally leave the road and bump along the gravel hard shoulder!

Always a welcome sight

Warming up

Are you sitting comfortably

Day 38 – Puerto Madryn

Lunch spot

Spent the day booking a bus south, getting our clothes cleaned and drinking coffee. The only bus available was a standard semi-cama which would mean less reclining and less space for 18 hours….but would possibly be better than our last bus trip?! We had to go back to the bus station with our bikes at 12.00 where they were taken from us and sent to our destination today!!! It cost $145 which was a lot more than our last previous payments but we were told we would be able to pick them up at their office on our arrival. Need to make sure we don’t lose the paperwork! We might arrive and be issued with 2 child Barbie bikes as there was no description of the bikes on the receipt!! We returned to the hotel where I started to remove John's stitches.This involved a bit too much tugging for John to endure without seeing exactly what was happening!! Demonstrating some impressive body contortions he managed to remove them with a pair of nail scissors and allowed me to tug at bits of skin (which looked incredibly similar to cotton thread) with a pair of tweezers. Apart from looking a bit red (after my efforts) the scar had healed really well.....so much so that we could barely believe that such a puny looking scar could have caused so much trouble.

Everyone's on the beach

Day 37 – Puerto Piramides to Puerto Madryn

The elephant seal colony

Enjoyed a large and delicious breakfast and set off for an elephant seal colony on the south eastern corner of the peninsular. A small group of buildings and a light house called Punta del Gada. It was another sunny and still day (which is quite unusual here) which helped make the drive less arduous. It was actually quite exciting to drive on gravel roads...even at 50km/hour which is the speed limit (not that the buses take any notice!)! Any inadvertant twitch of the steering or brakes would send the rear end sliding (a bit like driving on a slightly icy road)  so after 1 1\2 hours of dirt road John was relieved when we arrived at the viewing area and I could uncurl his fingers from sides of the seat. We called at the restaurant where we were advised that we needed to buy a meal before we could get access to the beach! Despite our initial reservations about the exclusivity allowed to those who could afford to pay for a meal we did actually enjoy learning lots of interesting facts from an enthusiastic and very interesting  guide who spoke excellent English and took us down to within 20m of the colony. Apparently, when they return to the sea their diet is mostly squid which is why they have to dive to over 1500m. The females are short and weigh about 500kg and the males weigh up to 3-4 tonnes  reaching a gigantic 6m long!! John and I could instantly relate with them. We had a long drive back to Puerto Madryn and returned a v. dusty, stone chipped car with an extra 530km on the clock. We tried a few local cabanas with no joy and ended up back at the Hotel Gran Palace! We had a different room this time with a bed that collapsed as soon as John sat on it! We almost suffered of a cheese overdose when we followed the advice in the Rough Guide for the best pizzas in town…they seem to like a bit of bread and tomato with their cheese ….it was so bad we both left most of it .....which is a first. Whilst sat in the window we turned our heads to see  a collie dog stood on the roof of an old car doing about 30 miles an hour down the main street, adjusting his paw positions as it swerved! Either the driver didn’t know there was a dog on the roof or it was the dogs favourite position as he seemed to be enjoying himself!

A typical ACA sign.

I see no ships!

The more petite females!

Walking to the beach.

Day 36 – Puerto Madryn to Puerto Piramides

Magellanic penguins

Packed our bikes (which the helpful staff allowed us to store in an old office the night before) and cycled just 500m down the road to the car hire office. Picked up a 3 door Fiat Piado (a small punto) and surprised the staff (along with ourselves) when we squeezed in 2 bikes, 8 panniers, 2 roll bags, 2 handlebar bags and a food bag into its tiny boot. It was close though. Set off along a paved road to the peninsular.
We stopped at Puerto Piramides to book ourselves a room before they all disappeared. We were in luck at the second hotel (Paradise Hotel) which was twice the price of the room the previous night but extremely modern, large and comfortable. The staff weren't as friendly or helpful though. After lunch we set off down  dazzlingly white stoned roads to the various locations around the perimeter where we hoped to see wildlife. The surface was dry, dusty and the landscape extremely flat and apparently barren looking until you stopped the car and (when the dust cloud cleared) noticed small flowering bushes, grasses and cactus. Rhea pecked at bushes nearby, Guanaco (Llama like deer) pranced across the road, armadillos trotted between bushes, vultures circled overhead and lizards scuttled…..in between,  the landscape stretched to the horizon beneath a huge sky. When the roads imperceptibly climbed we would catch the occasional glimpse of distant glistening salt flats, one of them 42m below sea level with a line of strolling Guanaco slashing a dark line across the centre . After 1 ½ hours we reached the coast and stopped to view elephant seals doing absolutely nothing .....if they could possibly help it. The activity peaked with a flipper twitch and disgruntled snort at a neighbour that accidentally lolled too close. They were molting and conserving their energy before returning to the sea to gorge on squid…the males and pups were already out there. We had a walk further up the coast and had our first glimpse of distant megellanic penguins and closer views of giant red spider wasps which, apparently, kill Patagonia’s largest spider, drag it into an underground chamber and lay eggs in it! We moved on and stopped at a penguin viewing point. With binoculars in hand, we headed to the fenced off cliff edge and, looking down to the beach below, discovered that the penguins were actually just 2’ away from our feet,  stretching, preening and sunbathing. The chicks were still there as well, begging for food and generally bothering their weary parents who just wanted to be alone. All the penguins totally ignored us and went about their business, meeting friends, awkwardly walking up the steep cliff and standing, eyes closed, facing to the sun. We eventually dragged ourselves away and headed up to Punta Norte where we hoped to get a view of some sea lions. It was 6.30pm and there was just one other car in the car park when we arrived. The view from the low cliff onto the beach below was an incredible wildlife spectacle. Females giving birth to pups, males posturing and pestering the females (not worried about crushing any skinny black pup in the process) and young pups feeding or trying to escape the huge lumbering males! Albatross and gulls crowded the beach as soon as a pup had been born and fight over the bloody remains, faces and chests red with blood. The noises and smells were overwhelming….the pups bleated like lambs, the males growled and the females made noises like…sealions! The sun was going down and both the temperature and light was warm. We didn’t want to leave. On a notice board, at the rangers office, there was a daily count which indicated  350 pups (4 were born whilst we were there) and 300+ females. We enjoyed a coffee in an empty timber café and, whilst staring out of the window, watched a hairy Armadillo trot nonchalantly past.  We eventually dragged ourselves away as there was long drive back on loose gravel roads into a setting sun. We enjoyed a really quiet drive with a lot more animals out close to the roadside. Back in the hotel we downloaded all our photos and looked back at the close up views of sea lions I managed to take through the eyepiece of some fixed binoculars for public use.

Tight squeeze

View through scope

The buses don't slow down!

Valdes Penisula

View from the visitors centre.

Sssshhhhh!

Day 35 – Puerto Madryn

Land of the little people!

Arrived at 7.30 and had to extract the bikes ourselves (cost $40.00 to transport this time) and put them back together at the terminal. Thankfully it was daylight this time! Cycled onto the water front and went in search of the camp site which was 5 km up the road. We passed an ACA site which looked busy and decided to try the next site next to the Eco centre 1km further on. It looked a little less busy and had a lot of families which was preferably to groups of young men singing at 3.00 in the morning. Not that we now always assume the worst! We pitched the tent between two families and rode back into town for breakfast. Hired a car for 2 days (for the following days trip onto the peninsular) and had a wander along a beach to blow the cobwebs away from the previous sleepless night. Walked back into town and decided to go for a quick bite to eat as we were desperate get back for a good night’s sleep. When we got back to the tent the 'quiet' family next to us were having the only car stereo club session' on the site…..it was so loud we couldn’t actually hear ourselves speak. It was the type of stereo usually purchased by 17 year olds and occupy the entire boot space. With rib cages vibrating we started taking the tent down. Large spots of rain started to fall but luckily we didn't have to struggle in the dark. The family had kindly erected mobile floodlights which attracted a variety of insects and moths. Unfortunately, as soon as they fluttered into the air space above their roaring fire,  they fizzed and floated up into the night air along with the sooty debris of local trees and shrubs! The father sat feeding his fire, shouting at his kids (and any passing kids) and generally not caring about anybody else but himself. At 10.30 we found ourselves cycling out into a dark, and now wet,  Saturday night with nowhere to stay. We cycled the streets and tried over 11 different hostels, hotels and hosterias until the 'The Grand Palace Hotel' came to our rescue just before the heavens really opened. At one time it must have been very grand but now it was a faded, jaded memory of its former self. The high ceilings were still there but the rooms were stark and white washed with furniture which showed years of stains, scrapes and knocks. It was the perfect escape from the smoke and noise. Clean hot showers, clean sheets and smiling friendly staff (despite being past midnight) helped us wind down. Camping was, unfortunately,  becoming a lottery! We slept extremely well!

The unfriendly bus for bikes

Don't do it!!

Day 34 - Bariloche to Puerto Madryn

Waiting for the bus.

Decided to walk a bit further today and stretch out the skin around John’s stitches! Went to find the bus station (about 3km out of town) and explore the old railway line which passes through the back of the bus station and used to continue on to the town centre. The gauge was huge (6’) and the adjacent station, although looking redundant, was still in use and welcomed passengers from Viedma near the Atlantic coast. Grasses and flowers grew between the rails and student backpackers sat on their front and backpacks drinking mate between tracks. Wandered back and admired the extremely still waters of Lago Nahuel Huapi (must be a rare site) and watched a stray collie doing lengths up and down parallel to the shore just for the fun of it! We visited the local cathedral (completed in 1946) which was made out of a concrete frame which was filled with dressed stone. It was cool inside which was a pleasant respite from the heat outside….it was amazing to think that the weather was so cold, wet and windy when we arrived. Discovered an amazing restaurant opposite the cathedral (l latina) with a outside deck, wi-fi and amazing food. We went in for a coffee and ending spending over 2 hours there eating the best food since Buenos Aires. At 4.00 we wandered back to the hotel (Hosteria Puike) where the owners had kindly allowed us to use their garage to store our bikes and luggage whilst we waited for the bus. John cycled very gingerly the 3km to the bus station where we unhooked all our panniers, packed them into our foldable holdalls and waited. We were told the ‘Mar y Val’ bus would arrive a bay 9. We waited near bay 9 whilst checking the other bays for the Mar y Val bus. To cut a long story short a ‘Don Otto’ bus arrived at Bay 2…John spotted a small hand written sign in the front window to say that actually it was the Mar y Val bus. We staggered through the crowds with our bikes and 2 huge bags and had an interesting conversation at the luggage hold where the driver said 'no bikes'. We just decided that we needed to put the bikes in ourselves and managed to coerce a man, who was tagging the luggage, to help us get them on. A few bits of cardboard were quickly proffered and we stuck a bit around the back wheels just in time to see the driver come round the corner and admonish our accomplice and suggest that they shouldn’t be on at all. We smiled and thanked him and about 30 seconds after we found our seat the bus set off. They were waiting for us. This bus was nothing like the previous super posh ‘Tur’ bus we had taken from Valparaiso. Our quiet seats at the back were opposite the only toilet, it was v. dirty, directly opposite was a food preparation area (which resembled a kitchen area in an old VW camper van) with a sink which spluttered water out of its plug hole into Johns lap and an overhead cupboards which constantly sprang open and ejected their contents into John’s moist lap. A combination of dried milk and coffee sticks well to damp clothes! About an hour later various passengers would wander down and queue outside the toilet which constantly showed an occupied sign despite there being nobody inside…we would then have to tell them that they could go in and on the way back they would pick up various containers from the exploding cupboards and put them next to the sink. The grumpy driver appeared a little later (whilst the bus was still moving!) and proceeded to ‘wash’ 38 trays with a grey floor cloth. The smell from the toilet had started to develop by this time so we tried to turn on the overhead vents to redirect the air only to have the nozzle fall out. About ½ hour later there was a sudden jolt and a v. v. loud scraping sound which reached a crescendo when we travelled around left bends…the bus continued to bowl along.  Just as I was about to get up and remove the earphones from the driver the bus slowed and bumped along onto a gravel layby. The grumpy driver and his co-driver wandered out, opened a hatch directly below my seat and start tugging at something using the side of the bus to brace their legs against. A combined effort suddenly released a 4’ long metal bar which had a right angle bend near one end. The driver sheepishly glanced up to see if anyone was looking (I met his gaze and returned an expression of surprise and horror) and disappeared behind the bus where I saw his shadow furtively disposing of the evidence. We never did find out what it was…but the bus kept on going! At 11.00 it was meal time and the dreaded trays came out with an interesting combination of ingredients. In one section was a mix of cubed spam, cubed cheese on a bed of lettuce, a stale bread roll and red jelly. Once we had finished a foil tray was presented which had tepid meatballs and mash inside. The best bit was a drink of cold coke. At 12.00 the queue for the toilet developed which meant we only had to tell the first person the toilet was free…we rammed our earplugs in and tried to sleep. Half an hour later we had to stop at a police road block and watched uniformed officers search the bus with torches held at head height ( like Scully and Molder from the X files)….I think we got off lightly as I watched car passengers have the torches shone directly into their faces!! The night was bumpy and long!

Bariloche station

Morning constitutional

Afternoon constitutional

Evening diabolical

Day 33 - Bariloche

The persistant dog

Had to return to the hospital in the morning so the doctor could clean and check John's stitching. We walked into a waiting room full of people and stood at an empty reception window for a while. A nurse walked past, recognized John and walked out to greet him by straining her neck up to kiss him on the right cheek (the standard local greeting but our first encounter), she stayed a while in this position until John heard her little ‘ahem’ below (sounded a little like Miss Piggy cajoling Kermit) and stooped to offer his cheek. She whisked him into a back room, with me trotting along behind and explained that we would need to visit another local hospital to get the wound seen to, at which point the doctor walked past and ushered him through to a trolley where he changed the dressing and gave very detailed instructions on how to care for the wound and suggested a visit to Puerto Madryn hospital to have them removed in 6 days. The staff were extremely thorough and made sure we understood exactly what was required before letting us go. We were very impressed and grateful for all their help and wished we could have thanked them in better Spanish. Had a wander along the lake shore (which was blue and still once again) and watched a local stray dog place his stick in the laps of various unsuspecting sunbathers and bark until they threw it into the water for him to swim after. One couple got so frustrated, they hurled the stick about hundred metres out in the hope it wouldn’t come back. But, despite moments of floundering he staggered back onto dry land and stood panting heavily until he mustered enough energy to waddle over, dry himself on them and very carefully place the stick back between their legs. They proceeded to calmly and deliberately cut the stick into little pieces with a knife whilst the dog watched incredulously. Another day of watching the world go by between eating pastries and drinking coffee.

Calm weather and nowhere to go!

Fiat 600

Coffee and biscuits

Healing well

Day 32 – Bariloche

Steep streets

A day of window shopping (lots of St. Bernard soft toys (a local mascot!), mate paraphernalia, BariloCHE (as in Geuvara) t-shirts, knitted ponchos and snowstorms!), visiting the v. interesting Patagonia museum, drinking coffee and eating cake! Ironically, the day was sunny and calm. Decided to book a bus to the Valdes peninsular where we could watch the local wildlife and make the most of time off the bikes. There were no seats available on any buses the following day and only a few left on a bus the day after, so we booked quickly and selected seats on the lower deck at the back where we had a peaceful night on the previous bus trip. Amazingly, they were some of the last seats available.

Healing well.

Day 28 – V. Angostura to Bariloche – 87km

Still suffering from a dose of ‘travellers trots’ we left hoping to get as far as we felt able to. It was another cloudy day with drizzle and a strong gusty wind. The wind turned out to be our ally as it blew on our backs pushing us up hills and allowing us to freewheel along flat sections. The scenery was getting wilder with views of snowy mountains across a choppy lake which looked like the sea (a 1 m swell with white capped waves and blowing spray!) After 60 easy going km we reached the R40 road and found ourselves battling an incredibly strong cross wind which literally pushed us across the road. I decided it would be safer to ride in the hard shoulder of gravel where, although hard work, the effects of sudden gusts would be less dramatic! Despite a good road and gentle gradients the last 27km were hard and pretty scary at times so we were relieved to arrive in the town centre where there was some respite from the wind. Until the last 10km there had not been a single place to buy food or drinks, unlike a lot of the roads further north where little ‘Coke’ kiosks would pop up in the most unlikely and seemingly remote places. Bariloche has not been designed or planned in accordance with any sort of masterplan. So, despite a stunning setting with fantastic views across the lake, there are few places to eat or drink with a view to the waterfront (development on the lakeside itself has been restricted though which is good) and very few street cafes, pedestrianised streets or public open spaces such as the usual tree lined plazas. It basically seemed to lack character despite its standing as a major holiday destination. We hunted out a place to drink coffee and found a restaurant which sold empanadas….so we ended up having a 3 course meal. The temptation is always too much! Then we cycled up some incredibly steep streets (ala Valparaiso) and found a Hosteria to continue our recovery.

Day 31 – Barialoche to hospital!

Pain!

Woke early and packed away all our gear and additional food for the next leg south via El Bolson. On our way out of town we met a dog from 2 days previously who had taken a shine to us. He was a stray with lots of character and attracted admirers who would take his photo. He had a false limp that he would put on and went to sleep with his paws over his eyes. As we cycled past he remembered us and trotted along side with other doggy friends for about 5km, getting into fights with dogs from other neighbourhoods on the way and generally taking up the road forcing cars to hoot and veer. We finally shook him off when we reached a long downhill and he could no longer keep up. The wind today was seriously strong and we were forced to cycle in the dirt at the side again just to stay safe. Several times the gusts forced us to stop and bow our heads into a sudden blast of wind borne grit and debris. At 12km we discussed whether we should turn around but decided to head for a bend 500m ahead where we could see if there was any shelter from roadside trees. We set off again and I dipped my head as a sudden gust blasted across, when I looked up I saw John on the floor (thankfully not in the road but in the hard shoulder gravel) and then struggle to stand. I dashed over and saw a really deep nasty looking wound at the back of his knee with blood flowing freely down the back of his leg. John applied pressure with his palm whilst I searched out our first aid kit and fished out dressings which we have taken everywhere with us for the past 10-15 years but have never needed until now. I applied the biggest dressing we had in a wind which had risen to a level where talking was difficult let alone unraveling bandage. I tried to keep calm when I saw the wound close up and keep my expression neutral when I really wanted to say ‘oh my god it looks really deep and like you’ve been bitten by a big dog!’ We turned our backs to the wind and tried to get a lift back down the road to the hospital. I asked a passing woman whether there was a hospital in Bariloche but it was so windy I couldn’t hear her, even less than 1m away. When there was a downhill John managed to sit on his bike and freewheel. Eventually we passed a Police hut at the side of the road and I went in and asked for a doctor. He got on his walkie talkie straight way and told us to wait. A woman invited us in and John sat with his leg up until an ambulance arrived 10 minutes later. A woman came out with rubber gloves, unraveled our dressings and invited us into the ambulance. We arranged to leave our loaded bikes in the hut and I joined John in the ambulance to the hospital. The medic lady took our photograph and we offered smiles through gritted teeth. We were shown through into a hospital room with busy staff and waited in a corridor. The staff were extremely kind, helpful and patient despite our lack of fluent Spanish.  John was eventually led through to theatre and I watched as the nurse took a ketchup bottle with a handwritten label on the side and squeezed iodine into the wound and started to wipe vigorously! When I eventually plucked up the courage to turn back I saw a needle and thread being used whilst a cleaner wandered in to empty the bins and the doctor turned his head to have a good cough. He probably wasn’t very well either! Only 5 stitches were needed and we were told to return in 2 days for an alcohol clean up and I was advised to remove the stitches in 7 days. We thanked the staff for their help and hobbled out. We looked for a taxi to take us the 5km back up the road and returned to the hut where our bikes were waiting. Thankfully, it was mostly downhill to Bariloche but all the hotels we called at were full. After nearly 1 hour pushing the bikes up and down street we finally found one with a spare room and John fell into a deep sleep. Our good luck on this holiday seems to have run out over the last couple of days…. at least we seem to have recovered from our travellers sickness!!

Doggy convoy

In the ambulance