Rough Patagonia - Part 1

The battle with the wind, the cold and the rain on the RN 3 in Argentina

We take the highway - Ruta Nacional 3 - which starts in Buenos Aires and ends in Ushuaia. The road stretches in a southerly direction through the whole of eastern Patagonia. It starts in Buenos Aires and leads from there over 3045 kilometers in a southerly direction via Bahía Blanca, Trelew, Camarones, Comodoro Rivadavia, Río Gallegos and Río Grande to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world on Tierra del Fuego. Here follows our experience report part 1. In part 2, we then drive northwards along the Pacific coast.

We drive across the border from Uruguay to Argentina on January 2, 2024. This morning we were besieged by mosquitoes. As it was so nice and warm, we enjoyed our last night in Uruguay and only put up the inner tent. In the morning, thousands of mosquitoes were lurking on the tent and were already looking at us with bloodthirsty eyes. They could hardly wait for us to get out of the tent so that they could bore their stings into our skin. So the first thing we do is unpack the mosquito spray, rub ourselves down from head to toe and put on everything we can find in the tent. Well equipped, or so we think, we bravely step out of the safe zone and face the mosquito artillery. The bloodsuckers pounce on us bestially and mercilessly. Quickly slip into our motorcycle gear. And that's not all, they fly into our faces and attack our hands. Sweaty and soon without nerves, we put on our helmets and motorcycle gloves. Peace at last! The sun is beating down, luckily we have a spot of shade, but the sweat is already running... Better sweat than mosquito bites. The culprits are now hanging from the visor, no chance hahaha! We forgo breakfast and pack up our tent in full gear. We feel like astronauts. We've never been this fast!

We leave Uruguay via Fray Bentos and head south on Ruta 3, which starts in the province of Buenos Aires. On the way we meet Werner by chance and we travel together for a while.

MotoHostel Suipache

On The Road with Werner

Las GRutas

he is gone the Williman, cu soon!

We have just over 3000 km ahead of us to Ushuaia, where Ruta 3 ends. We drive through eastern Patagonia via Trelew to "Butch Cassidy" - the outlaw, to Camarones to the Magellanic penguins and meet up with old friends. In Puerto San Julian, Bruno joins us, and in Río Gallegos we say goodbye to friends and have our first experience of the mighty Patagonian wind that threatens us. In Rio Grande, we recover from a monster stretch of road at the Motorcycle Hostal and on the way to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, the sun is kind to us and so is the wind! And so begins the story of Patagonia ...

Hotel Touring Club, Trelew

A place full of History

Hotel with History

La TRochita "the small track"

750 mm Narrow-gauge railroad in Patagonia

The Hotel Touring Club has a long history and is a very special place. You feel like you've been transported back at least a century. As soon as you step through the door, you hear an Argentinian tango coming from the restaurant that goes through your veins. You are immediately enchanted and want to see more. A place full of magic. In the backyard, we find the room where Butch Cassady and his wild horde found shelter. He was the Robin Hood of the Wild West - so they say, an outlaw and gunslinger. He started out as a cattle farmer and stood up for the small farmers who were being driven out of business by the larger ones. He later became a bank and railroad robber and was hunted throughout the USA and South America. He was born in Utha in 1866 as the eldest of 13 children and was shot in Bolivia in 1908, but historians have never been able to prove this. Even the writer Antoine de Saint Exupéry (author of "The Little Prince") visited the hotel regularly in the 1930s. The hotel is full of charm and a little dusty ;-), and you somehow feel like you're in a movie, which is not at all wrong, as this place was also the backdrop and filming location for an Argentinian movie.

BuTch Cassadys Room

Butch Cassidy 1866 - 1908

Robin Hood of the Wild West

Butch CassidYs Wild Bunch

I take one last look in the garden of the Touring Club Hotel in Trelew before we take a short detour onto Ruta 1. It's a 200 km long gravel road along the sea that stretches all the way to Cabo Raso and on to Camarones. We actually end up here quite by chance. Our initial plan was to observe penguins on Isla Valdés. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed in because we didn't have a reservation for the campsite there, which was apparently fully booked. Our luck! Because Camarones completely captivated us. A sleepy little authentic fishing village, where the first general store, which is over 100 years old, still stands and where the ancestors of the then Argentinian president Juan Perón lived.

TODAY IS OUR 100TH DAY OF TRAVELING - SHORT STOP IN CABO RASO - ON THE RUTA 1

A small sleepy nest with two inhabitants

On the Road to Camarones

MIXED GOODS TRADE

the first on in Camarones

SOFT CHEESE!

We actually find a great soft cheese - at last!

A BEER AFTER A SUCCESSFUL SHOPPING TRIP!

with products that we haven't had for a long time!

Today we visit the museum where the house of the Perón family has been recreated and learn more about the history of the famous Perón family. Ju'an Perón was married three times, including to the famous Evita Perón (actress). His father came from Italy (Sardinia), his mother was Spanish (from Castilla) and he was the nephew of the most famous Argentine doctor of the time, Tomás L. Perón. Juan Perón was president of Argentina three times. He was first elected in 1946, followed by a re-election in 1951, with Evita Perón campaigning for women, who were allowed to vote for the first time in Argentina's history. In 1955, the president was overthrown, imprisoned and released by a huge demonstration of his supporters "Revolución Libertadora". He was elected to office for the last time in 1973. Perón came from the Workers' Party and implemented his social policy, which strengthened the rights of the working class. After his death, his third wife Isabel Martinez de Perón became the first South American president, but she too was overthrown by another military coup in 1976.

Juan Perón

Juan & Evita Perón

Revolución Libertadora

We receive a surprise visit from Manne and Walter. Two familiar faces and two great guys, with whom we have already traveled in northern Argentina and together to the Salar Uyuni in Bolivia. We are really looking forward to it and wait for them on the beach, where we warm ourselves on the heated stones.

SCALLOP FOUND

TELEPHONE CELL?

E.T. calling home ;-)

REUNION WITH MANNE AND WALTER

This needs to be celebrated!

30 km from Camarones in "Cabo dos Bahías" there is a penguin colony. At last! Off to see the Magellanic penguins! We drive to the end of Ruta 1 and explore the bay. We are fascinated by what we find! PURE NATURE!

SEA LIONS

I'LL PUT THIS IN MY HOOD ;-)

WE ARE FLASHED BY THIS DAY

What a magical natural spectacle!

We were fascinated by this nature reserve. Wild, natural and simply fantastic! Words fail us. This must be celebrated. We decide to have an assado in the evening. In German, that means we're having a barbecue today. In Argentina, 500 grams of meat is eaten per person. The butcher sells us no less. Today we discuss whether Manne and Walter should go to Ushuaia with us. They decide to accompany us a little way south. And off we go on Ruta 3 via Caleta Oliva to Puerto San Julían, where we meet Bruno at a petrol station. He is from Lucerne and also on his way to Ushuaia. So we spontaneously extend our convoy! Cool!

The five of us continue towards Puerto San Julian and can already feel the wind picking up. During this stopover, we explore the little town together.

16.1.24 Off to Rio Gallegos. On this stretch we experience for the first time what it means to ride in the Patagonian wind. The wind is blowing hard around our ears and the motorcycles are maneuvered at an angle. It feels as if we are riding at a 45 degree angle. Crosswinds of 40 - 60 km/h with wind gusts. Our necks and neck muscles start to ache and the fight against the wind demands a lot of energy from us. When we arrive in Rio Gallegos, Manne and Walter decide to leave us. They drive eastwards to the Pacific coast to El Calafate. Stefan, Bruno and I travel on to Rio Grande. The gusts of wind are getting to us, along with the rain and cold. We bundle up and feel like Michellin men. Two border crossings await us that day. The queues at the border crossing from Argentina to Chile are long and require patience. First border crossing is done. On we go to the next one, from Chile back into Argentina. Here we take off our gloves and socks... we are soaking wet and squeeze ourselves against the radiators. After the office stuff, it's back into the wet helmet, damp gloves and flooded boots. Nothing is dry anymore. There is no end to the route. We freeze and count the kilometers to Rio Grande and the rain gets heavier. Finally we see the "Motorcycle Hostel" sign, three minutes to go! What a great place! The garage door is already wide open and the three of us roll in. We are greeted from all sides and immediately offered warm coffee and a seat by the hot stove. That feels good! 

ISN'T SOMEONE ON THE ROPES?

Search Stefan ;-)

This Car has over 1700 Stickers!

Titos vehicle

with Miguel el Dueño & Tito

Tito, Stefan, Bruno, Simona

Juan José DegRatti

He was the first to drive the Ruta 40

Juan José Degratti set off from Ushuaia in 1960. The then 23-year-old Argentinian had no idea that he would make history. He was the first person to ride a motorcycle from Ushuaia to Alaska. And back then without the infrastructure we have today! Imagine that. No asphalt, only gravel roads, no cell phone, no internet, no GPS. He was on the road for 2 years and 8 months and covered 28,800 km. Hats off to him!

CERTIFICATE

and we got a certificate that we had made it to Tierra del Fuego. Is Alaska coming now?

Hostel-DOG

same expression

Travel-Dog

Who visibly enjoyed riding his motorcycle :-)

The alarm clock rings. It's 6 o'clock in the morning. Here in the south, you drive in the morning, because from 12 noon the wind whips across the country so strongly that you don't want to be on the road. The wind forces and gusts could easily catapult you to Buenos Aires. Anyway, the next day we actually enjoy our dry socks! Life can be that simple ;-). Today is a good day for driving because, judging by the Windy App, we have virtually no wind by Patagonian standards. We set off and even the sun is kind to us. How wonderful, there are actually mild days here!

212 km to ride

We have practically no wind :-)

Paso Garibaldi

View from Paso Garibaldi

And finally we arrive in Ushuaia! We have arrived at the end of the world - El fin del Mundo! On 2.10.2023 our journey started in Valparaiso (Chile) and today on 17.1.2024 we are on Tierra del Fuego, in Ushuaia!

We have planned one night in Ushuaia, as the wind is very strong the following days. But if you make a plan, that can change very quickly. We wanted to see a bit more of Ushuaia before heading back to Rio Grande the next morning. But shortly after entering Ushuaia, I hear a loud cracking and rattling noise. It rattles quite violently. At first I think it's the truck driving next to me. But when the road is clear, I realize it's Wanda! Oh shock! Put my indicators on and pull out to the right. Something is very wrong, I think to myself. My onward journey is interrupted for the time being. Our lovely hosts in Ushuaia come to our aid with a trailer and we tow Wanda away. Stefan is now brooding over the problem...

And as expected, he discovered the problem and solved it! Super Mc Gyver has struck again, YES! The chain was already so worn out that it skipped sprockets. And this led to the loud cracking noise. New chain and Wanda is ready to ride again. But as the afternoon was taken up with fixing the problem, we spontaneously extend our stay by one night and take a leisurely look at the national park the next day. And it's like a miracle. As soon as we arrive in Ushuaia, the wind stops blowing. There is no wind here because of the mountains that protect the city.

National Park Tierra del Fuego

The end of the RN 3, happily arrived after over 3000 km!

THE SOUTHERNMOST POST OFFICE - IN THE NATIONAL PARK

Two days later, we set off on the return journey to Rio Grande. The 212 km back seem to take forever, we are not so lucky this time. It's early in the morning and we start the engines at 7:00 am. We want to arrive in Rio Grande by 11 a.m. at the latest, because then the wind doesn't mean it quite so well. Wind speeds of over 80 km/h are expected. But before we leave the calm zone, we pay Alfredo a short visit at the motorcycle museum at KM 3005. This is where you get the infamous stamp in your passport. It's only half a stamp, you get the other half in Alaska!

You'll soon be able to read about the rest of the journey to Rio Grande and what we experience on the Pacific coast in the second part of our Patagonia road trip. Hasta luego!

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