Erich’s Journal – Leg 21 –Perito Moreno, Santa Cruz, Argentina to Fuentes del Coyle, Santa
Cruz, Argentina
– April 14, to April 24, 2002 – 11 Days
It is like summer!
Today it must have reached 65 degrees as the sun shone bright in the
sky. There is not so much as even a
breeze on this
The snow-covered peaks are now just dots on the western
horizon. A vast desert lies south of me
reached by a poor road. The next 7 days
should prove to be interesting. This
coming stretch has been a source of anxiety for me for some time as it will be
one of the worst roads with fewest services since the
Currently I am in Perito Moreno. (See Photo 2334) Perito Moreno is
located in the northwestern corner of the Santa Cruz Province of
Argentina. The days ride was on a
flat-paved highway from the border town of
Today I finally said goodbye to the lake that I had been traveling around for the past 5 days. The Chileans call it Lago General Carrera. The Argentineans call it Lago Buenos Aires. As I traveled east, the mountains fade away, dropping down to lower levels. At the same time, the desert rises upward from the lake, bringing the horizon to higher levels.
Along the way, I ran across a rather large owl along the side of the road that was hit by a vehicle. It was still alive but did not want to be messed with. (See photo 2332)
Today is my nephew Steve’s 27th Birthday. He is also going to be a father soon as he
and his wife Claudia are expecting a baby sometime in May. Happy Birthday Steve! I wish I could be there with you.
I am sitting in a tent, listening to the silence of the
desert. It has been so calm all
night. I can hear the occasional animal
walk by. I am sure it is just some
livestock, but who knows. The sliver of
a moon set shortly after sunset, so there is virtually no light out there. I can make out some cloud cover though, as
the stars are ever so faint tonight. (See Photos 2335, 2336, 2337, 2338, 2339, 2340 and 2341)
It was my goal to make it Bajo Caracoles, a small town of
about a hundred. There is a hotel there,
where I planned to spend the night. The
afternoon winds hit me head on, however, and slowed down my pace. I realized that I would not make it about an
hour before dark and started looking for a place to camp.
I also realized that I should have stopped earlier when I
saw a river and pumped some water, but I was so sure I was going to make the
next town, so water would not have been an issue.
There is a stream near by, but the water was stagnant and
lots of animal poop on the shores from sheep and deer. I choose to ration what little water I have
instead -- enough to cook with and sip throughout the night. I will not be able to have coffee in the
morning.
Bajo Caracoles is 10 miles south of here. I will hit the hotel for breakfast in the
morning.
I find it amazing, how various people’s advice can steer you
wrong. So many people have told me to
avoid traveling the
The problem with me heading that route is that the ferry
across the lake is on winter mode, which only crosses once a month now instead
of once a week. I did not have the time
to wait until May 5th, which would have been the next crossing, so I headed
back to
I find the
I did not have a chance to reply
to the 40 emails I had in my inbox when I checked email in Perito Moreno, but
so many said they would wish me some good weather after my 5 days of rain on
the Camino Austral. Many prayers went my
way! I guess it worked.
I woke early to find a beautiful valley before me. The waterfowl in the nearby lake are very
active on this warm morning just before sunrise. I call them waterfowl because I do not know
whether they are ducks or geese or even if they have ducks and geese in
The tailwind was there again. Not strong like it was when I got in last
night, and not quite the same direction.
This one was coming from the northwest rather than the west, just as it
was yesterday morning. I am wondering if
this is typical. I wonder if this
afternoon the wind will switch and come from the west later this afternoon.
With the wind pushing me, I rode into a sleepy little town
called Bajo Caracoles about 10 miles further down Ruta 40. Sleepy it was, for there was no activity at
I was completely out of water, so I figured the next thing I
should do was to start knocking on doors asking if I could fill up. I then spotted a police station with a garden
hose in front. Although at first I
thought I detected a sulfur smell, it must have been something else; the water
was some of the best tasting water I have had in a while.
A man came out and we started to talk. I could not tell if he was a cop or not, for
he had no uniform on, but he was curious about the bike and the trip.
I was just getting ready to move on when I started to think
about the road ahead. There would be
possibly no more services today. I was
not too sure if there would be any tomorrow.
I went back to check the hotel again.
(See photo 2344)
This time there was a man sweeping and mopping the lobby
floor. He let me in. I asked if they served breakfast. He pointed to a coffee machine. He seemed quite proud of it. It was a vending machine -- the kind that one
inserts a peso and places a cup under the nozzle. After one needs to choose, espresso,
cappuccino, chocolate, water, etc. He
was showing me all the little gadgets on it – how to get sugar and a stirring
stick out of it.
I did not want to burst his bubble on how cool the thing
was. In the States, we are trying to get
away from the coffee machines and go back to the old-fashioned European type
coffee / espresso machines.
Nevertheless, I complemented his technology.
I had three cups. It
cost me three pesos.
Breakfast was a huge delicious ham and cheese sandwich. I then loaded up on some groceries, mainly
cookies, crackers and candy since that was primarily all that the store
had. I was craving some sardines
too. Good deal.
I was off. The road
weaved and climbed to the top of a mesa – a total of 1000 feet higher than
where I camped. It was there the terrain
had flattened such that there were no mountains in sight. Just flat grazing land as far as one could
see. The road straightened and pointed
south and slightly west. The wind did
not quite hit me square in the back but it was helping along rather than
holding me back. I started to peddle,
cruising along at about 12 miles per hour.
I think I could have put up a sail and put me feet up if I had the
ingenuity to do so. (See photo 2345, 2346, 2347, 2348 and 2349)
I put on 76 miles today without much effort. That road continued like that almost the rest of the day.
It was about
Then IT happened.
A dark cloud appeared on the horizon. The winds switched about 20 degrees making it
a slight headwind rather than a tailwind.
It was enough to reduce my speed to about 5 mph. Then the wind speed increased immensely. When it first hit me, it pulled me completely
off the road on the east side. If I had
not had my hands on the brakes, I would have flipped over into the ditch. I tried to cycle on, but kept sliding to the
left. The wind must have been close to
90 to 100 mph. The dark cloud on the
horizon was now a black wall before me. (See
photo 2350)
My first thought was about a story I had read about a
middle-aged couple that cycled through the
I thought of that
too, but also thought of the junction ahead.
I figured that once I got to it, I could ride with the wind hitting me
directly in the back. I could then reach
the hotel no problem. I walked the bike
for nearly two miles. The rain began
with needle like drops that hit my right side.
I had my Gore-Tex outfit on by now, but the drops would hurt on my
face. The temperature had dropped 20
degrees. I had to push forward, but face
left. I figured this was my punishment
for getting cocky about the ride. This
is what the other cyclists were warning about me. I was tempted by the mild and warm
conditions. I now know the true energy
of the Patagonian desert.
The winds died to about 30 mph. It was almost still compared to what it was
30 minutes prior. I made the left at the
junction as the wind then increased my speed as though I stepped on the
accelerator of a car.
I made the hotel just before dark. The hotel was a pit. It had possibly been built a couple of
centuries prior. A stone structure, it
had no electricity in the room I was given, although I noticed a light in the
lobby, which was filthy. The guidebook
said there was a café/bar, but it was not open to me. Perhaps it was out of season.
The old hotel clerk offered me a beer, which he had to get
from the back. He handed me a can and
pointed to my room. I guess I had to
take it to go.
It was four walls and a roof. It had neither bathroom nor running
water. It had two beds, one unmade, the
other made. I was not about to disturb
the dirty sheets on the made bed, so I rolled out my mummy bag on top of
it. I did not hesitate to start up my
camp stove inside either.
I could hear the winds howl for
the rest of the evening, feeling an occasion draft coming from some unknown
crack or opening in the walls or foundation of this century old building. It was $5 pesos per night -- $7.50 with the
beer. It would have been better to camp
if it were not for the cold wind and rain.
Was this the result of my earlier cockiness or a random event that could
have happened to anyone? Who knows? I am just thankful that this old building was
able to keep me out of the weather or this could have been an incredibly
uncomfortable night. (See photos 2351, 2352, 2353, 2354 and 2355)
Today was the pits!
As I was getting on my way this morning, I realized I was running low on
food – something that I did not think would be a problem at all. With no café at my broken down hotel and
uncertainty of what lie ahead, I may not have enough food to make it to Tres
Lagos, the next town about 135 miles ahead.
I hope that this was only going to be two days away. I could eat light during the day and a big
meal at night after the day’s ride.
Perhaps I could make it stretch.
Although the storm had passed, the winds were as strong as
ever, -- always the same general direction – mainly from the west, slightly
north.
The first thirty miles today would be my easiest along the
whole stretch from Perito Moreno to El Calafate. The direction of Ruta 40 was such that the
wind hit me square in the back. As I got
out on the road, did I fly.
The next dot on the map was Tamél Aike, a police station and
water stop. I reached it after 45 minutes
– 10 miles. Since it was early, I did
not stop for water that I did need. The
next stop was a junction 20 miles further.
I stopped at the bridge crossing the Rio Chico and filled up my water
bottles.
At the junction, the road made a sharp right. The wind hit me mainly on the right side, but
slightly from the front. My speed for
the next 30 miles was less than half of what it was during the first 30. The first 30 miles took me two and half
hours. The last thirty miles took me
over seven hours. During that first
stretch, I stopped peddling from time to time and let the wind push me. It would push me along at 8 mph with no
effort from me. During the last stretch,
I had to fight to keep the bike and me from going into the ditch on the left
side of the road. I could compensate for
the wind quite well. The gusts would
catch me off guard.
It was shortly after the turn that panic set in concerning
the food situation and the slow pace. I
realized that at this pace, I was not going to make it to Tres Lagos by the
next night. That and being alone with
virtually no traffic on this road gave me a sense of desperation that I have
not had ever on this trip. I considered
flagging down a car for a ride – something that did not sit well with me as I
pride myself with using only my feet to get to Ushuaia. I had only seen 5 cars today so I know that
option was highly unlikely.
I saw a sign for an Estancia Turismo. Estancias, I have learned are like ranches
that take in travelers for the night as they pass through. In Argentina, they have evolved into Bed
& Breakfasts. They also offer dinner
as well. According to the cyclists I
have passed, they can be quite expensive.
I turned at the sign off the highway, heading toward
Estancia Antogosa. It was 3 miles off
the road. When I got there, I found a
beautiful home, barn, guesthouses – but no people at all. There was no caretaker and the place was all
locked up.
After looking around for about 15 minutes, I filled my water
bottles and pressed on. The detour took
me over an hour out of my way. This did
not help my lack of food situation.
I completed over 60 miles today – very-hard-strenuous
miles. I am camping in an arroyo (dried
riverbed) off the highway that is sheltered from the 40 – 50 mph winds.
I did not eat much today, so I
should have enough to make it through tomorrow.
I am about 80 miles from Tres Lagos.
My panic went away some as I realized I could make my food stretch an
extra half day.
The nighttime temperatures were well below freezing, testing
the quality of my sleeping bag. When the
wind would blow, however, it seemed rather warmer. I left before sun-up, with still a hope of
making it to Tres Lagos. I skipped
breakfast and coffee. I noticed my BOB
tire and front tire were flat – due to walking it off the highway into the
desert, I suspect. They were slow leaks
so I pumped them up and was on my way. I
had planned to swap them out when I was in a warm motel room.
The direction of the road was the same. The winds were still strong, blowing me
sideways. I was lucky to be averaging
about 5 mph. This was definitely a test
of endurance. It was however, a better day
for me emotionally. I have accepted the
fact that I would not make it to Tres Lagos today. I would probably not make it to Calafate on
the 20th of April. Although I have been
eating much less during the day, it has not been affecting my energy level that
I could see. I saw that I could make it
stretch another day. (See photos 2356, 2357 and 2358)
As I cycled the first strait stretch of about 10 miles, I
saw a dot appear on the horizon ahead of me.
At first, I thought it was a horse.
After a few minutes as it became closer, I saw it was another cyclist
heading north. He introduced himself as
Jacques from France. (See photos 2359, 2360
and 2361)
We visited a while as we had coffee from his thermos,
although the wind took my spoon full of grounds out of my cup before water was
added. He had been traveling for 5 years
by bike and plans to be in Alaska in four more years. He also told me that Christine Roy (info on www.bicycletheamericas.com) was
only two days ahead of me. Apparently,
she did not make the pass crossing at Villa O’Higgins to El Chaltén as
planned. (Other cyclists informed me
that the pass was now closed due to snow so no horses could pass) Jacques told me though she was very tired and
hoping to catch a ride to Calafate. I
counted 6 cars two days ago, 5 cars yesterday and 1 car today. I do not know if I am getting closer to El
Calafate or just farther away from civilization. I doubt if Christine was able to get a ride. (James Middleton whom I mentioned earlier,
finished in Ushuaia on April 3rd.
Jacques gave me some useful info about estancias ahead of
me. There were two with full
accommodations – one 20 km ahead and one 60 km ahead. I planned the first for lunch and the second
for the night.
(See Photos 2362, 2363 and 2370)
The first one was called La Siberia. No one was there however. What I could see from the lobby through the
window, it was nice with a fireplace, couch and many magazines. The front door was locked. The backdoor however was open. I filled up my water and accessed the lobby
via the kitchen. There were dozens of
cats running around. After looking at a
few topo maps of the area that was on the wall, I helped myself to some goodies
on the shelf. (I left more than enough
cash on the counter with a BikeAmericas card)
(See photos 2367 and 2368)
When I got outside, a couple of curious guanacos were nosing
my bike gear. Seeming very tame, they
tried to reach in my Jacket pockets as well.
At first, I thought they were biting, but I discovered they were just
sucking on my Gore-tex, covering it with slobber. (See photos 2364, 2365,
2366 and 2369)
I arrived at the second estancia a few hours before
dark. An elderly couple of Welsh descent
owns Estancia Sta. Lucia. I am staying
in an old but very nice place – with no electricity. At night, we used oil lamps and candles to
see while we had dinner. My bathwater
was heated with wood. (See photos 2371 and 2372)
Dinner, lodging and breakfast came to about $30 pesos ($12
US) – A deal I think, but the last two cyclists I have passed in recent times
seemed to think things were too expensive.
Tomorrow I will reach Tres Lagos
but will probably just make it a lunch stop.
I will also pick up some supplies for the next few days as I have
written off the idea of making it to Calafate by the 20th. I will most likely arrive on the 21st.
I just finished my fifth day on the
After two coffees and a loaf of bread, butter and jelly, I
was off. During today’s ride, I saw
several guanacos (looks like a cross between deer and llamas) rheas (big birds
like an ostrich) and cormorants (looks like a cross between geese and
penguins). The rheas really fascinated
me. They can run very fast across the
desert when startled. They scattered and
ran in random directions. Watching them go,
reminded me of they way the dinosaurs ran on
By
Of the two restaurants in town, one was open. The woman who ran the place was sneaking sips
of beer behind the counter. Must just be
a typical day in Tres Lagos in the Santa Cruz Province of Argentina, population
100. I had no use for this dusty little
town that was in the middle of nowhere, but I have had to spend the night
unless I found some supplies to take with me.
After some inquiry, I managed to locate a panaderia (bakery)
on the edge of town that sold me some bread and cookies.
I met a young scruffy looking guy with a backpack trying to
catch a ride to Chile Chico. (Not that I
looked less scruffy after 5 days in the desert). He wanted to know about the traffic on Ruta
40. I told him of my car count for the
last 5 days. He was convinced to try to
hitch to Ruta 3 on the Atlantic side, which would add 1000 miles to the
route. Looking at the number of cars
passing through this town, which was none, I suspect he will not have much luck
there either. There is also no public
transportation in or out of here. Tres
Lagos is not a happening town.
The rest of the day was a battle as I headed directly into
the wind for nearly 4 hours at 3˝ mph.
It is discouraging when one looks back after a few hours of riding and
can still see the town one just left.
I stopped a little early as I
found a small dugout, apparently from a backhoe in the side of the hill where
they obviously took gravel for highway work.
This dugout was sheltered from three directions. The fourth was the direction toward which the
wind was blowing. It was perfect. I will be very glad to get to Calafate in two
days. This week has been trying my
sanity. I zone out often, talking aloud,
even sing at the top of my lungs to pass the time away as I peddle slowly into
the 40 mph winds. I think I should be a
candidate for the Tough Guy award!
I awoke at about
Somewhat confused, I walked out into the open desert and it
was dead calm. There was no wind
whatsoever.
I was ecstatic. I had
to take advantage of this lack of wind before it changed status. I ate some bread, had some coffee, and packed
my gear in the dark. By
It was an exhausting day, but worth it. Stopping just a few times to swap out my bad
tubes (the slow leaks in my BOB tire and front tire I neglected a few days
earlier) and to cook lunch, I was on the bike all day.
I reached Calafate just after sunset. It was 88 miles total. What a great little touristy town. Just to the west of here is the beautiful
Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. There are
some magnificent peaks here including the famous Mount Fitz Roy, which I could
see for most of the ride today. To the
east of here is the vast
Sunday, April 21, 2002 – Day 311 – Motel / Hotel – El Calafate, Santa Cruz, Argentina – Rest Day.
I have not felt this exhausted, warn out, and in need of a
break since Marc, Brian and I rode into
I discovered today that I am a great uncle. My nephew Steve and his wife Claudia just had
their first baby. Troy Dale Kuball was
born on
Marc arrived later today. I plan to meet him at the airport.
Monday, April 22, 2002 – Day 312 – Hotel / Motel – El Calafate, Santa Cruz, Argentina – Rest Day.
It feels great to have someone around again to experience
this grand adventure. Marc arrived at
the airport without any complications.
We had a relaxing couple of days just hanging out while Marc
assembled his bike and organized his gear.
Marc has the Novara Safari bicycle like the one I had when I started the
trip. He also has a BOB trailer. Looking at his bike so shiny and new with all
the new gear looks so bizarre. It brings
back so many memories of the beginning of this trip. (See photo 2387)
Yesterday we rented a car and drove out to Nacional Parque
Los Glaciares. Specifically we drove to
Punta Bandera and Perito Moreno Glacier.
The glacier was incredible. I
have seen many throughout
During the evening in town we went out to a place called
Rick’s Café, where we had an all you can eat BBQ. Delicious!
We attempted some internet so that I could send the latest batch of
pictures to Ron, the webmaster. However,
the connections were ridiculously slow.
The CD drives on the two computers we were assigned would not open. I had no floppies anymore. We will attempt to send the photos from
Puerto Natales or
Today we were off after a
relaxing breakfast. The ride was rather
smooth as there is still no wind. We
cycled east along the south
The Esperanza bypass road was not in the best
condition. This route, which was still
Route 40, had cut off about 50 miles of riding.
The stated it was closed in the winter.
My first impression was that it was because of snow and that the road
would climb to high elevations. I now
realize the road is level for the most part.
In fact, our elevation has dropped considerably. The road is rough, however, and is probably
very difficult to navigate when it is wet.
(See photos 2421, 2422, 2423,
2424 and 2425)
After about 33 miles of riding today, we hit the junction
back with the main road where there was a small gas station with a café in
it. There was a police station across
the street and not much else. As we
approached a young guy with a goofy looking expression on his face walked
by. We assumed he was hitchhiking, waiting
for a ride.
After we took off our jackets, gloves, hats, etc., we
attempted to go into the gas station to get some coffee and warm up. It was locked. The sign said Abierto, (Open) from
We sat along side the building and ate some of our food,
sheltering us a bit from the wind. The
hitchhiker was just walking around the road, climbing around some construction,
wandering aimlessly. He then walked up
to a house next to the gas station, unlocked it, entered, came back out, locked
the door, and continued to walk along the highway back and forth.
A guy pulled up in a car.
We told him that the place was closed.
That was when the hitchhiker came back and unlocked the gas pump. Marc and I gave each other a puzzled
look. This wandering hitchhiker was
actually a gas station attendant who did not seem too concerned about his
business.
This guy obviously did not have all cylinders working. Perhaps that is why he is stationed out here.
We visited with the guy in the car. He was a photographer from
David Shultz was his name.
I figured that to have a studio on the main drag in
Marc and I are currently staying a rather expensive plain
hotel off the highway. They have
electricity but everything is run by generator.
We chose this option because the winds have picked up and the weather
may be turning. It was after
Dinner included some delicious vegetable soup, some greens with tomatoes, and some very fatty mutton ribs (More fat than meat). We passed when we were offered seconds.