Pedro and Maria Motorcycle South America!: 1-10-07, Rada Tilly to Puerto San Julian, 260 miles

We made it through the night. The nights are short, so that may have helped. The sun set last night at 10pm and was up before 6am this morning. Most homes, and our hotel room, have fantastic wood shudders which block out all light, so in your room its as dark as you want, whenever you want. They have them all over Argentina, including Buenos Aires, where they aren’t really needed, they’re just great for siestas and sleeping in!

We rode like the wind was at our backs today, fast and smooth. The 50mph cross wind that has been tossing us from lane to lane was non-existent which made us ecstatic. The scenery today was good too, for the first 20 miles at least. We wound through rolling hills along the coast past the bright blue Atlantic before getting back on the straight boring highway across the plain. We’ve also been passing more and more adventure riders. Yesterday it was three. Today we passed four. All looked like BMWs—probably Germans.

Out here you can ride 100 miles, 200 even, before seeing anything. Really, there is nothing out here. No farms, no animals, no power lines, no gas stations. Nada. I’m guessing it’s a lot like the outback in Australia, only colder. After 200 miles of open space we stopped at the first gas station we saw to fill up on food and fuel. Naturally, being the only place in 200miles, it was a zoo. The tame alpacas cruising around made it feel even more so.

We got into Puerto S. Julian with plenty of time to secure a hotel and find a place to do laundry (you can only turn undies inside out so many times). The laundry was easier than expected, the hotel was more difficult. First one was too much, second one had nothing available, third only had two twins, at the 4th some crazy old bird told me she had a room, the price was agreeable, but as soon as inquired about motorcycle parking she opened the front door and through me out. So we went back to the first but they no longer had the room available, so we went back to the third, same story! They just gave up there last room. In a panic we scrambled around, stopped at Hospedaje Drake and were thrilled to find a bonifide sanctuary at a fair price.

People this far south are a bit strange. I already mentioned the crazy lady who through me out for asking about bike parking. There was also the lady at the hardware store who when I asked for WD40 she asked if I’d been to El Calafate. It wasn’t a miss communication, she just was curious where I had been. The lady at the laundry place was very strange indeed, and the lady at this hotel is zany (eccentric not because she wants to be, but because she is mentally insane) with a wicked twitch.

Radda Tada Tui's beach