Day 3 - BA to the Middle of Nowhere!

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After an early start we met the 9 other people (plus Daniel the driver and Lucia the guide) who would be travelling with us through Patagonia. Only one other English girl (Emma), who coincidentally lives in Manchester, and gave us tips on where to live when we move up there in September for my new job! Lots of Aussies and Kiwis (Graham, Julie, Taryn, Mahnee, Carrie, Chloe and Andrew) and a 71-year old Japanese guy (Ishii) who is absolutely hilarious! His broken English is made up for by his constant singing and amusing exclamations.

We then our commenced our 2 day, 1500km, bus journey to Puerto Madryn on the Valdes Peninsula. For lunch we stopped off at a local’s place near Azul... not sure how to describe it but it was one of those encounters that makes a trip really memorable. He used to own a motorcycle garage, but when the business slowed and closed down he decided to open up his house to passing motorcyclists to stop off and rest for free! He didn’t speak a word of English, which was a great test for me, especially as he was really keen to talk to us English folk as he loves England but has never been. I managed to hold a reasonable conversation with him which was a good confidence booster after having just received a latte coffee at a service station after ordering a te con leche (tea with milk!). The guy had English flags everywhere and a hand painted mural on his back wall of the Beatles´Abbey Road album cover. Had some photos with our truck for the local press and got back on the road, eventually setting up camp by the side of the road (luckily with a public toilet nearby) in the pitch black, and setting up our kitchen for dinner. I must admit that when we were washing up and cleaning at midnight in a biting cold wind, again with the prospect of an early start and long journey ahead of us and with everyone feeling grumpy and tired and some not pitching in I had a brief low... but it was all worth it for the extraordinary sights that awaited us.

Chris’s corner

The motorcycle station, La Posta del Viajero en moto, I have no doubt appeared in "The Long Way Down" if they came this way. Daniel our driver, an avid biker, was well versed in the biking world and the local enthusiastic.

The evening, after a grapple with our tent in pitch black, saw me designated chief stirrer, a role I was convinced I could excel in (plus I was one of the few tall enough to see into the pot). My beef stir fry started well but some mis-timed starchy noodles provided a lovely sticky gloop to fill our bellies and probably stay there for days.

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Comments

[Rob skepper]

Ishii....
Possibly the greatest token ever!!!