The first phase of this journey goes primarily east to west, crossing the Pampas, some central mountains and then scrub desert. This area is very sparsely inhabited with just a few cities and long stretches with tiny villages. Juan, our Argentinian guide explained to me that the railroads were shut down about 30 years ago and the villages have largely depopulated since that time. Consequently, much of this region is pretty bleak and the inhabitants are very poor by our standards. Add to that several years of drought and it is a dry, dusty, and windy region.

This reality along with an abundance of headwinds has made this section of the trip more difficult that any of us expected. There have been some interesting bits and some observations that I would like to make.

After days and days of riding flat farmland (envision the Great Plains of the US on steroids!) we reached three moderate mountain ranges: the Gigantes ( so named because from a distance they look like a giant lying on his side), the Sierras, and the West Sierras. Climbing was a relief after so many days of flat & headwinds and the change in scenery was very welcome.

One night we stayed in a hostel of sorts. Our bikes were stored in a shed and watched over by a hen and her baby chicks

While the days have usually been quite comfortable riding temperatures, the mornings have often been downright cold since we start riding just after sunrise. The lowest riding temperature so far was 32°F (0° C)!

Fortunately on some days we find lovely and much appreciated coffee stops along the way.

Once out of the mountains we hit a long stretch of dusty scrub desert. A couple of the roads were very tough riding and Jim and I chose to take a ride in the truck down a rutted rocky descent that was just too much for my balance issues.

Sometimes the roads through the flat desert were perfect examples of perspective drawings that we learned in elementary school as the road disappeared into the horizon.

I need to comment on the Argentinian villagers. Despite tough circumstances, these are a people that love to have parties and festivals. One particularly poor village we camped in had a day- long festival to celebrate their 137th year. All of the people of the village and nearby villages gathered for dancing, races, music, and demonstrations. Despite their very humble homes and a severe scarcity of water due to the drought, everyone comes dressed in their best clothes. It just goes to show how there are happy people in circumstances that we would find extraordinarily challenging.

We have now arrived in San Juan and the grape-growing region of Argentina. The greenery is almost of relief after days and days of dusty and dry. Next we head to Mendoza, home of Malbec, Jim’s favorite wine and then over the Andes.

More to come! Thanks for joining us!!