27/11-5/12/11 From Magellan to Fitz Roy...

Hi all,

As written in the last post, we came back to Punta Arenas in order to ride the Patagonia from Magellan Channel to El Chalten at the bottom of the famous FitzRoy. This time we will try to face the wind and cold. So the 27th of november we cycle along the channel and fortunately there is no wind, the sea is calm and the motivation is at the top.

Am I crazy or there is no wind ?

Until now we didn't really test the pampa...we quickly leave the sea side and continue along flat linear roads in between two ranges of fences. The next "point with a name" on the map is 100km far away. 

will it  be flat for the next 500km?

We are lucky and there is still no wind when we reach Villa Tehuelche and find a nice place to put the tent. Fortunately there is also a small shop and we celebrate this day with beers and crackers.

The days after are much more windy and we decide to stop when it becomes too strong. It's generally better to ride early in the morning and try to do at least 50km before lunch.

The trees are good witnesses of the wind direction and force...

Every evening we find nice places to sleep and very often our hosts are quiet used to receive cyclists.

They usually propose a place protected by the wind and sometimes with good accomodations.

Tea time after a windy day...

As we already visit the park Torres del Paine, we decide not to go to the city of Puerto Natales and cross the border more south than the usually touristic area. A nice ripio (gravelled) road brings us in Argentina on the famous road "Ruta 40" that we will follow more or less until El Chalten. Near the few cities, the road is quite traficated with big trucks but 90% of the time there is more or less nobody on this road and we are very happy when we cross somebody to say "Ciao".

Crossing to Argentina

After a nice evening in a city called 28 de Noviembre in Argentina, we expect the usually front or lateral wind. In reality after 30km quite easy, our road turns toward north and we receive a strong regulary wind on the back!!! After 80 km we reach the place where we would like to stay for the night, but it's only 2.00pm. So we decide to continue and to take advantage of this unusual wind to continue on the next part wich is 70km of ripio. This part is wonderful, no fences, no cars. Only pampa, guanacos, sheeps and condors.

On the bike the pampa is different every day and not boring at all to ride

As the same point can be reach by an asphalt road, we met only few tourists like this italian group that stops to chat with us and take a picture.

Viva l´Italia!

After 120km and a perfect day we join a police station in the middle of nowhere. Here we meet Fabian the police man. He is really happy to see somebody and invites us to sleep in his home and prepares us wonderful Milanesa beefs!!!!!!!! One month ago the generator broke, so he has no electricity and no current water, he lives simply visiting the few estancia arround in the pampa.

With Fabian the uncommon police man.

All along the road the weather is warmer than what we are used to face until now. Few km on the horizon, we can see the Andes with snowy summits. It's unbelivable but this desertic area is covered by 50cm of snow each winter.

The pampa until to the Andes

And one day, we are very surprised when we realized that we were on a plateau. We ride a 10km descent until the lakes that lies near to El Calafate and El Chalten. We will ride now not parallel but in the direction of the Andes in  order to cross them and reach Chile.

Andes we arrive

The signs on the road are self explainatory. As we ride west direction perfectly in front of the usual winds, we hope we will be lucky...

Remember the wind....

  And we are very lucky!!! We manage to join the last part of the road to El chalten with really good conditions. It's a real pleasure for us and Arthur can already ride in short pants with no wind stopper. On the next photo we are in front of the Perito Moreno massif on the other side of the lake. We decided not to go to El calafate and Perito Moreno glaciar to take advantage of the good weather. Going there means 3 days more of ride before El Chalten and we don't want to take the risk to loose the good conditions. We will probably go there by bus and bike later.

Sun is shining and mouth are smilling...

We ride now in the perfect direction of majestuous Fitz Roy, 100km far away. This pic is very often in the clouds and it is rare to see it. The luck continues....

Fitz Roy gives us the direction to take....

 For the coming night we plan to sleep near to an estancia 80km from El Chalten. When we arrive there a very nice surprise is waiting us... In fact when we speak with the woman who leaves here to ask the permission to put the tent, discover that she is the wife of Casimiro Ferrari! He is the italian man who did many years ago the first (recognized) ascent of Cerro Torre one of the most famous pic of the world. Casimiro is considered one of the best alpinist of the world. After numerous expeditions in the zone he married an argentinian and buy the estancia where we will stay for the night. For us it's quiet a privilege to stay in this place and for Arthur to repair his wheel in the deposit of Casimiro Ferrari...

Fixing the bike in the deposit of one of the best alpinist in the world.....

The day after should be the last step to el Chalten, the weather is wonderful and we leave the estancia with smile but the strong wind not allows us to do more than 30km....

Leaving the estancia on a perfect place.

We are now 50km from el Chalten and the wind is very strong. What to do? We put the tent in an other estancia where people are not very available to talk with us, nothing special. We decide to leave early in the morning, just when the light comes. In reality in the middle of the night, I wake up and listen...there is no wind..it's 2 am...I take the decision to wake up Ilaria to leave now in the night. I have the sensation it is the good choice....

Riding in the nights....

And it was the good solution. We manage to do 30km without wind and very quickly. Nothing dangerous. There are no cars and we have good lights. Ilaria is just afraid by the feroce Puma who is supposed to live in this region. But in summer he only eat sheeps and no humans...

A strong wind arrives with the sunshine....so it was definitely the good solution!!! But now we have more or less 15km more to ride and nothing can stop us.

Sunrise on the pampa after 30km of ride.

We enter in the park Los Glacieros with pink summits all around us.

Near to the goal at the entrance of the park

The wind is stronger and stronger and the weather becomes more and more stormy....The nature is difficult but will offer us a wonderful spectacle, only for us:

The hardness and the beauty of the nature together...

Ilaria suffers the few last km but now the Fitz Roy is really closed and Magellan channel really far.

Dai Dai

When we discover El Chalten after the last curve, it is the delivrance:

El Chalten we arrive

The same day becomes very sunny and the nature offers one more time all its beautiness:

Fitz Roy the next ascent of Bac...

..and the Cerro Torre of Casimiro Ferrari

It is the 5th of december. Exactly one month ago we started from Ushuia and today, one month later, the km counter indicates 1050km!