From Anchorage to Ushuaia by Bike

After a lovely stay in Cafayate, we faced a 3000 m climb. The road was bad and the headwind made it all that more difficult. We left the warm and dry Cafayate valley and arrived frozen stiff in Tafi del Valle after having coming down 1000 m, some it off the road. For the first time in 16 months we used the heater in the hotel room.

The next morning, we went almost 2000 m downhill, along a lovely road surrounded by lush spring growth and we ended up in a totally different climate, a crushing heat that we’re not used to anymore. The air was different too, dense and “heavy”.

When we arrived in Concepcion, Luis came right up to us and offered to help: first he offered us some delicious lemonade (the real stuff – lemon juice, crushed ice and sugar) and he helped us to find a hotel. Reluctantly we refused his invitation for the next day to visit his little corner of paradise, a valley a little too far out of our way. We had a good time with him and he taught us about his region, famous for producing lemons and sugar cane.

Even though the next bit of road was flat, the heat made us sweat profusely, and we each drank 5 litres of water to make up for it. A number of people had told us that we would find a camping ground in La Vina, including a driver who stopped to take a picture with us and chat a bit right at the entrance to the village. But instead we found an abandoned town running along an ancient road. In the end a couple allowed us to camp on what seemed like an old picnic site beside the road, and they even gave us a jug of drinking water.

The next morning, the change in temperature was drastic: we were hot in the morning when we left, but it got cold as we climbed up an unexpected 1100 m hill, and then we froze on the way back down.

In the suburbs of Catamarca, we stayed with Daniel for 3 nights, a journalists that we met through www.hospitalityclub.org. He took us around the city in the morning, and organized an “asado” (a barbeque) for us. He warned us ahead of time though: his friends didn’t arrive until 10:30 and the barbeque didn’t get going until 11:30 pm!

Clearly, these are not the kinds of hours kept by cyclo-travelers! Tomorrow might be a tough day on the bikes!

We’ll leave you now, we’re off for a siesta!

The answer to the question “how to Argentineans drink their wine?”:

They drink it with water (flat and fizzy), soda (coke, sprite, etc.) and ice cubes…

Sébastien