1400 Kilometers on Route 40.......Priceless

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February 3rd 2007

Published: February 5th 2007

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Reedo

Unique Sunset on Route 40

Dont know what else to say about this

Renting a Ford Tatoo for 25 Days....1200.00, 275 Litres of Super Gasoline.... 150.00, Repairing 7 Flat tires...... 200.00, 9 nights lodging in Hotel Ford Tatoo....Free, getting ripped off for a used jug to put spare fuel in 5.00, Driving 1400 Kilometers down route 40 on the worst gravel roads you can imagine with 60 mph winds, in the middle of nowhere, and with 3 isreali soldiers packed in the tatoo with all there luggage like sardines.....the experience...priceless

I dont even know where to start on this one. It was a wild one and very memorable thats for sure and you can probably already guess. I took off from Rio Pico on a mission. I was anxious to get across this Ruta Cuarenta that I keep reading about and people keep trying to tell me not to take. I mean how bad can it be its just a gravel road going over 1000 kilometers though the most desolate part of Argentina. Obviously they didnt factor in that I got the Ford Tatto with me. She will get me through. I know she wont let me down. At least I hope.

I left there around 2 and drove 5 hours south

Here we go

Of I go on the adventure of a lifetime down the famed rugged route 40. This desolate landscape lets your imagination run wild.

to Perito Moreno which is like the staging area for this trip. I got a bunch of water here and some extra gas and found a good spot on the side of the road to park tatoo for the night. I took off around 8 and headed south on the first leg of the journey which was only 2 and a half hours. When I got around 16 km from the first town it started. I got my first flat of the trip. I was actually pretty happy about this, I mean if I didnt get at least one then the tough route 40 would be like a total let down for me and rather pointless. These trips are always way more fun when stuff goes wrong. So I did the math, so this one was like the funnest trip ever or something like that. Now I had plans on numerous side trips off of ruta cuarenta during this vayage to so some fishing and see some other sites. When I got this first flat everything changed. I finally realized the seriousness of getting a flat in this country. You could be stuck for days if you get two in

Well, I finally got my flat tire

This guy stopped to help me out when I got my first flat. I almost felt I desrved this one after I have been through many rough areas where I avoided my fair share of problems.

one stretch of road, so finally I make a smart decision and abandon the side routes. As I got out of the car to change this flat I guy pulled right up along side of me spoke some spanish which I didnt understand and proceeded to get his big jack out and change my tire for me. What a deal huh, a few more miles and I was in town. Now this tire was messed up pretty bad and I figured I would need a new rim too. No problem, the town was a few miles ahead and Im sure theyll have everything I need there. Yeah Right. You can tell by the pics that this tire shop was nothing short of nothing. I pull up to this place and pull out the tire and get this blank stare fronm the two guys in there. Im sure they were thinking what the hell is this gringo doing out here in that little car. By the way along the whole trip south I only saw about 10 vehicles and all but one were trucks. So he says he can fix it and starts looking around for parts, all which are used

Oh how I love the Gomerias...Tire Shop

These tire repair shops are pretty unique out here in patagonia. Consider yourslef lucky if there able to scrounge up the materials to at least keep air in your tire for a couple more hours. I jokingly was thinking this to myself during this first mishap, but was about to realize the truth behind this comedy.

by the way. The rim wouldnt hold air anymore so he had to put a tube in the tire. I used tube.... In the back of my mind I knew this was going to be trouble, but thought he must know what he is doing. I was wrong about that one. SO I leave that place felling pretty good. My first flat is behind me and its unlikely I will get anymore. I had lunch in town and then hit the road.

On the way out of town I pulled over to what appeared to be a solo hitchiker. I figured it was time to do a good deed and drag someone down this wild road with me. As Im talking to him all the sudden a couple others come out of the bushes and Im like no way. Not in the tatto. 4 poeple with all there backpaking gear. The trunk was already full and I had extra gear of my own in the back seat. These guys had desparation on there face and were convinced we could make it work. What the hell I thought might as well give it a try. We all got in and

Number 2....no big deal right

Here we go again, only 10 miles out of town I pop another one. At least this time I wasnt listening to the ipod and heard it pop and therefore salvaged the rim. The last one was all bent to hell and the tire shredded.

hit the road. Down the worst stretch of around 340 km without any town or gas. We were off to a good start until about 10 min out of town and I hear a pop. The isreali looked over at me and we both knew. Number 2 it was. I made quick work of this flat and dropped the guys off as I headed back to town again to get this flat fixed. The whole way in I was wondering how he would fic this one as he barely had the parts to fix the last. He made it work, thats for sure with a nice already patched tube, with a leak in it whcih he had the curtisy to fix before I left. Pretty much a waste which Ill get to later. So off I go again, I pick up the guys and we take on the 40. This gravel road was one of a kind let me tell you, wspecially when your ground clearance is like 2.5 inches. Its a pretty wide road that breaks into about 4-5 tracks all with a big hump of gravel in the middle. Its a constant battle as you start to pick

Can you say Gong Show

Yes we had 4 grown men with tons of gear packed in the little tatoo like sardines. After passing up 1000 or so hitchikers over my journey I felt my time was up and wanted a new experience.

up gravel in one and you have to try and jump to the one with the smallest hump. Probably around every couple minutes. I cant magine what the guys in back were thinking about my driving as they couldnt see a thing with all the bags pilled high on top of them. Thank god Im such a good driver in under rough and trecherous conditions. This is where my skills shine. So after about six hours we make it through the stretch. The highlight of this was when I armadillo made the mistake of crossing in front of the car. I slammed the breaks and chased him down. Check the pic. I also almost ran over 4 Rheas, which are the ostrich like things. I was so use to them running away from the car I didnt slow down when I went by this one flock and almost took one of them though the windsheild. It was fun though.

We pulled into Chalten which is the start of the nothern sector of Los Glaceres national park. The road in this area was magnificent paralleling a ocean blue lake as you come out of the desert into the snow and

Got Him,,My little armadillo

I told the Isrealis to keep there eyes open for an armadillo as I wanted to catch one for a picture. I think they thought I was kidding until I hit the breaks and chased this thing through the desert until I pinned it to the ground and got it back to the road. What fun.

glacier topped andes. It was a pretty touristy town with a lot of travelers in to trek the areas around the park. I dropped the guys off and went and got a long overdue shower and a the top of a bunk bed in a hostel.

The guys I picked up were all from Isreal and were traveling for 6 months after there service duty. All of these guys have been fighting in the wars over there for the past few years. They describe there travel experience as clearing there heads. I didnt go into details as of why as you can probably guess by all the news from over there.

I hoped on the internet here and came out to a welcoming site on the tatoo. Number 3. I drove slowly though town looking for the next gomeria wich I was hoping would have better resources than the last one. NOPE. At least there was someone there though as it ws like 10 at night. Some kid rolls out with a lip ring grabs my tire and goes to work. I then went in for the spare and found number 4. Yes that last tire I got

The Road to Somewhere

Had to take like 5 pictures out the window going 140 KMH to get a good pic.

fixed really wasnt fixed and we went that whole last stretch without a spare. How lucky is that. We would of been stuck at least a day if we got a flat out there. So I bring that one in to and he goes to work. And once again out come two used tire tubes. Im thinking here we go again. I try to tell him I dont want a tube and he says he doesnt have the parts to fix them without using a tube. Well maybe hell fix them better than the last guy. I had a good nights sleep got up around 8 and hit the road to explore the park. I went about 45 km up a road through the middle catching great views of all the peaks of Fitz Roy and of the glaciers in some of the mountains. About 15 min into this trip pop goes the weasel once again. I couldnt help but bust out laughing on this one as it was getting pretty entertaining. I luckly finihed the rest of my site seeng without anymmroe problems and made it back to town around 11 and got ready to head south to Calafate.

Were on Number 5

Yes, this was the 5th flat within 24 hrs. It was getting more entertaining by the minute. I never want to see a gomeria again.

I knew it was pavement most of the way so I wasnt even going to fix the spare. What good would it do anyways. All these dudes care about are fixing them so they last long enough to get you far enough away from town that youll never see them again. What a business plan.... Now this seemed like a good idea until I was pulling out of the gas station and some guy flagged me down and said your tire it very low. Theres number 6. I got over to lip rings in perfect timing. It looked like he just got up and was in no condition to be working on my tire especially after whatever he was smoking the night before, but he grabbed them both and in rare fashion manged to get them both to hold air.

I made it another 100 km until number 7 hit on a stretch of gravel. Now that was 7 flats within 30 hrs. That had to be some sort of record or something. I think when I come home Im going to try out for a nascar pit crew as Im like the tire master at this point. I

Lago De Desierto in Los Glaceres National Park

A beautiful Tourqoius Blue lake in teh park with tons of trout rising all over the place. I was thinking about fishing until some spanish park ranger told me there all really small.

made it into the bustling town of Calafate around 4 and immediately headed for the glacier. What a sight that was. The pictures could never do it justice. It was flat out amazing. The brilliant blues in teh ice, the crahing and cracking of the glacier as it moves, the shear mass and size of this thing, and the feeling of seeing something the almost take your breath away. I hung out around here getting pictures for about a hour until my camera battery went dead and then headed back to town.

Couple weired things happend in this town. Remeber that first guy that helped my change my tire 1000 km away. Yeah I ran into him at the glacier and he took one of the pictures in the blog. And then when I was at the internet cafe I ran into two guys from MIT that I met 2000 km away in Mendoza. What are the chances of that happening. I went out for beers with these guys and after a slow night hit the hay in the tatoo once again.

I finished the next ride into Rio Gallegos without to much trouble as it was all

Mount Fitz Roy

This mountain just comes staight up out of nowhere. I hear it is one of the most difficult in the world to climb duwe to the steep granite and 200 mph winds.

pretty much pavement. I am alive safe and somehow this car is still running.

What an adventure the last few days were. Renting that car was pretty expensive, but the experiences I gained by having it were well worth it. Thinking about the difficulties I face on this trip I reflect to life in general. If everythng went perfect and as planned this would be a pretty boring trip just like life. The struggles and difficulties are what makes life worth living and the good times so much better. Something to think about next time you go though some tough times.

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