Making friends
Had the best night’s sleep so far. When the lights went out it was really dark with only the sounds of the river passing just 20m away and the menagerie of animals. Woke at 7.30 to a sunny, still morning!!! All the animals were out relaxing in the sunshine and revelling in the quiet stillness……they almost seemed to smile. We went to breakfast in a separate dining area to the general café, which seems to cater mostly for passing coaches and hitch hikers, and met the mystery lone cyclist (in the room opposite) who seemed on a mission to get going before the wind changed its mind! We patted and petted the animals on the way back to the empty Casa where our bikes were stored and stopped to admire the touring bikes owned by Dom and Michelle. They were tailor made Roberts Roughstuff frames with disc brakes, Tubus racks, trekking handlebars, multiple braze ons, grip shifters, Rohloff speedhubs, stands etc . They looked supremely comfortable for long day in the saddle and we were a tad jealous! On the way back we met the owners and chatted about bikes again (as you do) for a while before going our separate ways. They planned to head north via the Caraterra Austral and spend a few days in Chalten…we forgot to ask for their e-mail as it would have been nice to see how they got on. We set off into the sunshine and enjoyed a gently southerly breeze which wafted our cheeks and occasionally stirred the dust…..the landscape was expansive with big skies and white fluffy clouds. It was a relief to relax our grip on the handlebars and sit upright and enjoy the views. We met Julian, a German cyclist who had cycled from Mexico and was heading up from El Calafate. He told us the story of a couple who had taken 5 hours to go 30km (into the wind) down the RP11 to El Calafate. The same couple had obviously told this story to every other cyclist they met, as Michelle and Dom had passed on this horror story the previous evening. We stopped at 74km (just before the dreaded RN40/RP11 road junction) and scoffed the remaining empanadas and pastries that we refrained from gorging the day before. It was also time to reduce a bit of weight and open a giant tin of fruit salad we had carried for weeks…quite a feast…but we knew what was coming. Slowly and, until now, almost imperceptibly during the day, the wind had increased and the road we would be turning onto headed right into it. The wind direction dictated your speed, energy levels, mood and choice of songs to sing. The morning's songs had been Abba’s ‘Eagle’ (inspired by the…..Condors!) and Kate Bush’s ‘Man with the child in his eyes’ (for some reason) whereas the afternoon was dominated by ‘Merry Christmas’ by Status Quo!! Things were obviously quite desperate and we definitely weren’t ‘….having fun!’ Although the wind was half the speed of the day before it was enough to make you count posts and sing repetitively (hence Status Quo)! We eventually rolled into Calafate at 4.15 which wasn’t too bad and went straight for a coffee. Booked the next bus to Puerto Natales (Thursday) and even had a big bottle of Coke, the first in over a month. Unsurprisingly we were wide awake when we wanted to sleep!
Leaving Leona
The new super smooth road.
Yes we know!
The white line painters had just driven by
Rest before the R11
