Jan 9, 2005From Rio Gallegos, I rode to El Calafate, then to the Pedro Moreno Glacier, then foolishly took 120 miles of gravel road and spent the night at a hotel in Piedra Buena. The glacier was spectacular, but I rode to it without thinking ahead of time that glaciers are not only cold, but only found in places that are also cold. So I froze. Glaciers groan, and pieces of them fall off into the water. This is quite amazing to see and hear. Pedro Moreno is the only glacier in the world that is allegedly growing, but not at a pace that I could detect while standing in front of it for 30 minutes.
In Argentina, gravel is made up of rocks the size of softballs, for the most part. It is not only very difficult and exhausting to ride on, but passing trucks throw these rocks back at you. This can create some rather dicey moments.Having underestimated by three hours the amount of time it would take me to traverse the gravel road, I got into Piedra Buena as the sun was setting. All the hotels were full, and so I went out to an island that has a hotel, which was also full. I was a bit concerned, but when I returned to one of the hotels, where the owner had been the most helpful in recommending other places, he gave me a room with four beds for the price of a single. He used to own a motorcycle. Then in the morning he called a friend who is a mechanic, who came out and did a minor repair, and charged me $1.66.
At the gas station, which is also the social center of the town, I met up with one of the motorcyclists I had encountered in Ushuaia, so we rode north. We ended up covering about 400 miles before he had a flat tire in the middle of nowhere and we stayed at a combination hotel, restaurant and perfect set for a horror film in the middle of nowhere called Pampa Salamanca, for the price of $5 a night. There was no shower, and the owner´s breath could fell an ox. I got alittle concerned when he got out his machete, but it was just to slice a piece of the ham someone else brought and ended up giving to me. So I rode around the next day with some sort of ham in my trunk.
From Pampa Salamanca, I came north, in wind and dust that was worse than anything I´ve encountered so far, the bike at a 45 degree angle and dust and branches hurling past as night came earlier than I expected because I am about 2000 miles north of Tierra Del Fuego.I need a new tire and a battery and today being Sunday, the town is deserted. Viedma is on a river, about 30 miles from the coast, and quite charming. Across the river is the beginning of the province of Buenos Aires, but I´m still 600 miles south of the city proper.
While filming along the river, I met an englishman named Peter and his wife Ana, who invited me to lunch. Lunch ended up being about 8 cold courses, which were delicious, then mate, and coffee.Mate is a ground up bush that they pour hot water on and then drink through a funny shaped straw. They share the straw and from what I hear that can be disgusting because it is considered impolite to pass up on mate, no matter how few teeth the offerer has or how bad his breath is. Thankfully the Chilean guy at the place I stayed at the night before didn´t profer any.It tastes sort of like grass, and is cheap. As the sun set on the river, groups of Argentinians poured out of cars and sipped mate on the riverbank. Across, on the other side, they were doing the same thing.
On my way here, I stopped and saw some penguins. They are really quite cute, and you can literally get close enough to be bitten by one when you try to pet it, as I found out before reading the sign that says they bite. It doesn´t say how hard, but does show a picture of a bandage, which is fairly accurate.
Down by the river there is an old wrecked ship. I asked if this was one of the battleships the Argentines used in the war over the Falkland Islands. Nobody thinks this is as funny as I do.
