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A beautiful sunset from our pampa campsite 25 kilometers out of Bariloche. Sleeping in cow pastures isn´t so bad afterall!

The cyclists in a stand of Arrayanes on the penisula

Iain tackling the singletrack through the rain

An afternoon in the Lake District

Iain in front of the volcano Lanin, outside of Junin de los Andes. The volcano is over 80 kilometers in the distance

The semi-lunar landscape of the pampas outside of Junin. If you compare it to photos of Tierra del Fuego, there´s not much difference!

Us with our two gaucho hosts at the campsite outside of Zapala. Gracias Carlos y Lauricio!

Bariloche to Zapala: March 19 - 29

On March 19th, after a good couple of days in Bariloche, we began pedaling towards Villa la Angostura. We were lucky with the weather that afternoon, and we slid out of town with a tailwind. After about 25 kilometers, we decided that we were far enough away from town to find a tranquilo campsite. Unfortunately, we had also passed out of the forested areas and were back in what looked like the pampas of Tierra del Fuego. We slipped into a cow pasture and found the largest tree around to sleep under. That evening we decided we would try our luck with the weather again and forgo setting up the tent. This time, we had a stroke of good fortune and did not get rained on.

Our sleep schedule had changed a bit over the last few days in Bariloche. Argentinians tend to stay up very late and also sleep in very late. While in Bariloche, we had adapted ourselves to this kind of routine and found ourselves sleeping in until about 9:00 a.m. We figured that as soon as we were back on the happy trail, away from cities, we would get back into our old schedule.

At 9:30 the next morning, we were packed up and ready to go. We had a beautiful ride towards Villa La Angostura, along the shores of Lago Nahuel Huapi and through the Nahuel Huapi National Park. It was great weather for riding. Pedaling for days in the rain on the Carretera Austral, we learned to appreciate good weather. Now, any day that it is not raining is considered a "good weather" day.

While we were in Villa La Angostura, Dan´s mom set up a beautiful place for us to stay as a birthday present (Dan´s birthday is March 17th, Saint Patrick´s Day). We took advantage of the days to do some bike cleaning and little excursions in the surrounding mountains. One evening, Dan won a talent contest singing Simon and Garfunkel and playing the guitar. The prize was a catamaran excursion to the Quetri Hue peninsula on the Lago Nahuel Huapi. This penisula holds one of two Arrayanes forests in the world. The other forest is on the Isla Victoria which is about ten kilometers offshore from the peninsula. Arrayanes are a type of large bush, but in these two amazing places they grow up to18 meters tall. We were able to take our bikes on the catamaran and after getting off, biked along a 12 kilometer trail back to Villa La Angostura. It was a beautiful way to see the forest, a narrow single-track trail that wound around huge trees and slipped through open meadows. We were, unfortunately, victims of a constant rain during the trip, but dampness was a small price to pay for the scenery.

The next day we left Villa La Angostura and began toward San Martin de Los Andes to the north. This section of road winds through the famous Lake District of Argentina and the Nahuel Huapi National Park. We were treated to 80 kilometers of winding roads, through thick forests and along alpine lakes. We had great weather for the ride, bright days and comfortable temperatures. Being somewhat sedantary for the last seven days it felt good to be back on the bikes, working and stretching the legs, and focusing on the next leg of our journey. We biked about 40 kilometers outside of La Angostura and camped in the national park next to a river. While in the park, we met four young guys from Mar de la Plata, near Buenos Aires. They were playing hookey from school and were biking through the lake district. At least they had their priorities straight. . . just kidding, just kidding. One of them had broken the axle on his bike and we were able to help them a bit with the repair.

The next morning we woke up and pedalled our way happily through the remaining part of the Lake District and into San Martin de Los Andes. Again, we had beautiful riding weather and minimal wind. In San Martin, we bought food for the next three days and spent some time on the computers. Wanting to make a bit more distance, we rolled out of town in the late afternoon and took advantage of a gentle tailwind to make another 30 kilometers. As the evening approached, we pulled off in a stand of pine trees and began the dinner preparations. In such a short time we had witnessed an incredible change in environements. In the national park it had been chilly, humid and very Andean. Through the course of the day, we left the park and crested the Andes range heading east. As we rolled down the slopes into San Martin the landscape changed it´s face rapidly, becoming rockier, drier, and more pampa-like. As we passed out of San Martin toward Junin de Los Andes that afternoon, we were in the pampa again, like we had seen in Tierra del Fuego, but without the horrendous headwind.

That evening we were able to sleep out without the tent and had a beautiful starry night. The next morning dawned chilly and dry, and we made quick tracks into Junin, 10 kilometers away. We treated ourselves to pastries for breakfast and bought bread and meat for the evening meal. Then we continued quickly out of town towards Zapala, 200 kilometers to the north. For the first half of the day, we were able to see Lanin, an inactive volcano that lies 60 kilometers to the west of Junin and rises to an height of 3700 meters around the surrounding pampa. Again, graced by beautifully warm weather, we cruised through the pampas.

After a steep descent, we met again with the Ruta 40, which we hadn´t seen since Bariloche. The first 8 kilometers were a huge climb that topped out on an extremely flat and scalding hot section of pampa. Hot and dry, what a change from the Carretera Austral! We ate lunch by the road and tried to take a bit of a siesta. There was no shade, and after a few minutes of sweating in the dirt and watching lizards look for shade under the scrubby bushes, we decided it was better to be on the bikes with a bit of a breeze. We continued pedalling for the afternoon and finally took a break around 5:30 to eat a bit of bread and take a nap. While resting, a gaucho on horseback came across the pampa and we visited for a bit. We were nearly out of water, and he told us that his house was just five kilometers down the road and we were welcome to get water there. We said thanks and headed in that direction. When we arrived, we decided to wait for the gaucho, whose name was Rueben, and see if we could stay the night in his patio. When he got there, he said there was no problem if we stayed and invited us in to sleep on the floor. We took full advantage of the accomadations, cooked a massive dinner, and ate a bit of the armadillo he had on the stovetop. Buena Onda Rueben!

The next morning, Rueben was up early and we drank a bit of mate before we left. He had fences to repair and was off to a bit of an early start, so we took to the road at sunrise and pedalled into a crisp morning. We made 78 kilometers by lunchtime and pulled over by a river to take a mid-day break in the shade. After we had eaten and napped a bit, Iain went across the road to ask for water and was given not only water, but a fresh-baked loaf of bread as a gift. Of course, he gladly accepted and we were on our way. The afternoon wore on and we kept pedalling north. A headwind had sprung up while we were napping and was testing our gumption. With the pampa landscape and the headwind, we were being reminded a bit too much of time spent in Tierra del Fuego. . . After another 20 kilometers, were we drained and ready to call it a day. There was a stand of trees by the road and we decided to enter and see what the situation was, if we could stay for the evening.

After nearly being bitten by the three resident dogs, Iain was greeted kindly by two gauchos and they offered us a place in their patio to sleep. Happy as could be, we drank mate and talked with the gauchos until dark, and then cooked dinner and slept tentless under the stars. It was our second 100 kilometer day in a row, and our bodies enjoyed a well-deserved rest that evening.

We awoke to a beautiful sunrise and drank a bit of mate before getting on our way. With well-wishes and a friendly photo with the gauchos, we pedalled twenty kilometers into the town of Zapala. We used the computers and bought enough food for three days to get us past Neuquen.

In Zapala, we made a fairly major decision about the course of our next 1000 kilometers. One option was to continue up the Andes range on the Ruta 40 to Mendoza. This stretch would surely be beautiful, but colder, rainier, and with more climbs. The other option was to cut east to Neuquen on the Ruta 22, and then turn north into the pampas from Neuquen. This stretch would be flatter, hotter, and probably a bit faster as far as getting back to Paraguay. We settled on the Neuquen route. On the Carretera Austral in Chile, we had had our share of cold and wet. There had been times when our hands were literally freezing, and pedalling in the rain is no fun when it comes to camping and waking up the next morning to a downpour. There is nothing to do but just pedal in that kind of situation, and your gear, body, and mental state suffers. The dry, hot pampas of central Argentina looked inviting, and we pedalled out of Zapala in the afternoon on a bit of a tailwind towards Neuquen. Cheers from Zapala. . .