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Published: October 4th 2006
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A vista to match the weather...
Sierra Grande in all its glory! Nick:
It is now Wednesday and 4 days from my little drama and the third day since we left the comfort of Marahue. Our first day involved a couple of hours of riding which saw us in Carmen de Patagones. This is a pleasant town where we enquired about a camping site, found out it was on a dirt track and promptly I enquired about hotels instead. We found one and took a room there: so much for camping 5 nights out of 7! But, as Kristina pointed out, wé'll have plenty of chances to redress the balance in more desolate places!!
As you, the reader, can probably guess, the spill has knocked my confidence somewhat. I've been here before: every twitch of the front end leaves me thinking , I'm about to hit the deck again. Realistically, I know that this is a mental attitude thing and that the bike is not as unstable as I keep imagining, but ones mind is a very hard thing to ignore and dismiss. So there will come a point when I will need to face this new pixie (not a demon quite yet) and overcome my fears. I hope I do so successfully as it will take its toll on my enjoyment of the trip, if I am too worried about the next meter of road for 150 miles at a time!!
I am aware that soon we will be reaching the Ruta 40, and large chunks of that are dirt road, and gravel: I'm fighting the urge to go a buy a behemoth of a pick-up truck....4 wheels mmmm.
all of this is not helped by the fact that the weather is pants and raining quite heavily at times. It started as we continued Sougth to last nights stop, Sierra Grande, where we opted for another hotel (these are about 12-14 GBP per night so its not that big an indulgence!). We are now in Puerto Madryn and from here will back track to Puetro Pyramide on the Peninsula Valdes, one of the worlds havens of Marine wildlife and a major destination on our itinerary! We are finally in Patagonia!!!
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Mick
non-member comment
Peninsula Valdes
Hola Nick Take care on the Peninsula; it's just about the worst ripio you'll encounter. I stopped counting after ten offs but eventually mastered the technique for when the front starts weaving. Sadly I'd injured my leg and had to rest for two weeks at the Puerto Madryn campsite, taking the local anaesthetic: vino tinto! Good luck with your wildlife viewing. If you want to see the southern right whales, go on the smallest boat at Pto Pyramides, the one with the little viewing platform high above the wheelhouse, you'll get amazing views (and photo's!). The orcas weren't playing on the two occasions I waited at high tide at the little mirador on the east of P. Valdes but I saw some fantastic digi. photo's a Swiss had taken the very next day of them snatching seals off the beach. Hasta manana y suerte. Mick