Hotel Sehuen Rio Gallegos

So we left El Calafate on a 30+ hour bus ride to Bariloche early in the AM. Since the bus didn't leave until 3 AM, I thought it was a good idea to have some more Brazilian caipirinha (national Brazilian cocktails...delicious) with new friends at the hostel. After about the thrid bottle of vodka consumed by these crazy *******s...the one that spoke the best English offered me his sister if I come ...

... there it was cold and drizzeling and everything has a film of dirt around it. I feld like I was in some Northen Soviet town with all the buildings the same drab grey concrete.

The hostel is ok though but very empty and is close to the bus station for tomorrow morning (useful).

... control. For once I was thankful that my bike was an iron beast, in a lighter bike I would have had to stop. Next town, another 60 miles, Rio Gallegos. Again pulled into a gas station, warmed up. Only anther 70 miles to the border where the dirt road begins, there's a hotel there, that would be a decent day's ride and a good place to stop, I told myself. This town sucks. Less than 2 hours, finite misery. Plus, I actually hadn't gotten that close to ...

... very loose grade A gravel, sitting between the tire tracks. At times 6" deep it was difficult to keep the motorcycle out of this deep gravel with the strong wind pushing us around. On top of all this there is a constant stream of transport trucks driving by throwing the large gravel stones at us. The dust produced as they drive by causes us to chock up and is often so dense that we cannot see where we are ...

My last night in Ushuaia was spent in the now infamous Irish bar The Dublin... Why don't they shut earlier then 5am...?? As usual it seemed like a great idea to have just one more drink for the road, oh then another etc before you know it its 4am and the ...

... ride I've had so far. I arrived in Rio Gallegos at 3.30pm, and due to bad windy weather, no buses were running towards El Calafate. I sat there waiting, and I was told the next bus is at 8pm, that's more than 4hrs of doing nothing as the bus terminal was small and crowded. At about 4.30pm, a bus with 'El Calafate' sign arrived at the platform. I asked the driver if he was heading towards El Calafate, and he ...

... way, it is well worth the visit - Patagonia at its best. The only other thing to add before I head off to bed is that the food is as good as I remember!! We have been overfed since arriving, particularly as we eat two hot meals a day. Today my sister in law, Carmen made homemade noquis for 10, and tonight my brother in law, Manoly cooked an asado for all 10 of us again (the only thing I miss at the moment is my dishwasher!!). Tomorrow we are dieting ...

... our tent) decided to leave at 230, but first they thought they´d rev the engine for a good 5 minutes (again, no muffler). suffice it to say, i didn´t sleep much that night. we had to get up at 6 for our bus, so when the music finally stopped at 630, it did me no good. how can people function staying out all night long? and who lets their kids stay out all night? our cultures are so different.

... junk food whilst they ate quality for free at each and every one. We bought some yerba mate tea in a pre-packaged bag, designed for tourists we guess or maybe for use in emergency by Argentinean folk who surely wouldn´t live without it for any amount of time. Most people carry it everywhere with them. I love the taste of the wholesome grass clippings and water but am not prepared to carry around the required thermos, metal straw and gourd cup as well as ...

... very odd for a town this size (over 100,000 people) with such excellent services, friendly locals and all that stuff. For tourists, this town really is little more than a transportation hub, and it is a shame. Of course, I shouldnt be on the high horse here because I am only spending one night here before moving on! Still, that attitude is ingrained somewhat into the town itself. The centre of town has every imaginable service, but virtually no buildings over two storeys ...