Ruta 40
Patagonia, for me and for many of my fellow rallyists, has been almost a byword for romance, beauty and far flung isolation.
In truth, from what we have encountered so far, Patagonia is:
Unbelievable vastness
Desolate, oh so desolate
Often stunning
Often dull beyond belief
Has stupendous skies
Empty, empty, empty
So flat sometimes that you half expect to drop off the end of the world into the abyss.
Ruta 40 is the iconic road that runs the whole length of this massive country and here, in Patagonia, it is pretty much the only road apart from tracks off it to even more remote areas. We encountered almost no traffic, some alpaca type things, sheep, birds including two flamingoes spied by your ridiculously thrilled correspondent today and two silver foxes.
Parts were outrageously beautiful but mostly empty desolation was our main impression and there is still so much of it to go. We are staying in a variety of accommodation tonight in the tiny town of Los Antiguos which is beautifully situated on the shores of Lake Buenos Aeries and right next to the Chilean border. There is no functioning wifi in the whole town so I'm not sure when this will be posted. Tomorrow we bash on to another tiny place on our push to the end of the world. Most of Ruta 40 tomorrow is gravel but we only have 400 kms to do, today was 600 kms on a mixture of excellent Tarmac with two longish gravel sections.
Saddest news is that Steve And Jan Hyde are out. Their Mercedes blew yet another cylinder head gasket and they will not be able to get the part in such a forlorn part of the country. There are now only 8 cars in the competition side, unfortunately, and we still have a long way, on often poor roads, to go. We are still a jolly crew, for the most part, though. To be experiencing all that we are on this fabulous continent is a rare privilege indeed. So, all in all, we have had yet another fabulous day and can hardly believe that is nearly over.
In truth, from what we have encountered so far, Patagonia is:
Unbelievable vastness
Desolate, oh so desolate
Often stunning
Often dull beyond belief
Has stupendous skies
Empty, empty, empty
So flat sometimes that you half expect to drop off the end of the world into the abyss.
Ruta 40 is the iconic road that runs the whole length of this massive country and here, in Patagonia, it is pretty much the only road apart from tracks off it to even more remote areas. We encountered almost no traffic, some alpaca type things, sheep, birds including two flamingoes spied by your ridiculously thrilled correspondent today and two silver foxes.
Parts were outrageously beautiful but mostly empty desolation was our main impression and there is still so much of it to go. We are staying in a variety of accommodation tonight in the tiny town of Los Antiguos which is beautifully situated on the shores of Lake Buenos Aeries and right next to the Chilean border. There is no functioning wifi in the whole town so I'm not sure when this will be posted. Tomorrow we bash on to another tiny place on our push to the end of the world. Most of Ruta 40 tomorrow is gravel but we only have 400 kms to do, today was 600 kms on a mixture of excellent Tarmac with two longish gravel sections.
Saddest news is that Steve And Jan Hyde are out. Their Mercedes blew yet another cylinder head gasket and they will not be able to get the part in such a forlorn part of the country. There are now only 8 cars in the competition side, unfortunately, and we still have a long way, on often poor roads, to go. We are still a jolly crew, for the most part, though. To be experiencing all that we are on this fabulous continent is a rare privilege indeed. So, all in all, we have had yet another fabulous day and can hardly believe that is nearly over.
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