a self-supported bicycle tour through South America

Well anyway, first off, our apologies for the very belated blog. Yes, we’ve finished the cycling, all 5574km of it on the 2nd January! We’re now in Buenos Aires the capital of Argentina catching up with the journal having rested here (deservedly so) for almost two weeks now ,and my how time flies!

Our last entry saw us make Rio Gallegos having cycled  320km in two days from El Calafate in time for Christmas eve and a descent couple of nights sleep. Although the stop was short and sweet we were back on the road and heading south again towards the border with Chile. It’s a strange feeling we have when we think about Chile,  it’s just so archaic compared to Argentina, and we get really frustrated with how backward everything seems to be. So with a little cloud over us we made our way all on paved roads to a little café where we camped near Punta Delgada not far from the ferry to Tierra del Fuego.

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  Well, here we are in Bariloche biding our time waiting for new rims and a bike trailer to come from Buenos Aires and the wheels to be rebuilt.  We are hopeful that new rims and a trailer (to redistribute weight) will ensure no more problems with punctures and spokes.  Fingers crossed and stay tuned for updates on that one!  Needless to say, we have stocked up on inner tubes and puncture repair kits in preparation for the rocky roads of the Carretera Austral.

When we arrived we consulted the Lonely Planet for a good place to stay and came across the 7 de Febrero Hotel smack bang in the middle of town.  A dated place but immaculate rooms and an incredible view across the Lake welcomed us.  The owner, Gabriel has been worth his weight in gold as he has acted as translator for us for the trailer distributor and has no idea how grateful we are.  Note to self:  must choose Spanish for next degree or cycle through Indonesia to utilise 3 years of study and exams.

Bariloche is a gorgeous mountain town located on the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi.  It is the center for the Argentine Lake District and some of the most powerful looking snow capped mountain ranges that we have seen to date.  It is also the prime destination for skiing and, during the summer, for teenagers to party their way to post exam celebrations.  V glad that we aren’t visiting at that time of the year (am I really sounding like an old person?)  Although all the hotels are booked solid for 5 days as their is a religious youth conference going on.  As a result I have not allowed the Revolutionary Mountain Goat out on his own - for obvious reasons.

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 October 24th - 31st: Confluencia - Villa Traful (34km) - Villa Angostura (68km) - Bariloche (86km)

Argentina would have to be one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited.  The scenery in the last few days has been almost Tolken-like and the grandness is breathtaking.  I don’t think our readers at home could possibly comprehend the beauty of what we are seeing, and our photos don’t really do it justice.  But goodness gracious me, Mother Nature sure has tested our patience…..

We set off from Neuquen a little down at having to bus another section to make up for lost time (due to having to deal with bike repairs), but we were heading into the Argentine Lake District and were very much looking forward to getting back on the road confident in our rims keeping up with the pace.

After arriving in Confluencia late in the evening we checked into the local Hostel for a warm, dry wonderful nights’ sleep with the wind howling through the valley.  The view in the morning was gorgeous and promising of what was to come, but the drizzle relentless.  This was the first day that we donned the WWG (wet, weather gear) from the get go and we didn’t get to take it off until the hot chocolate break at 1700!

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