Entering Patagonia

Leaving the Lake District wasn’t easy. I was pretty comfortable there, and the scenery reminded me of home. The air smelled like cedar and pine, the trees were starting to turn yellow and orange, and it really felt like fall was settling in. I was reluctant to leave, but with winter quickly approaching, I knew I had to keep heading south.

I jumped back onto Route 40 and hit a section I completely forgot about one that’s known for deep, loose gravel. There’s even a company that will trailer your motorcycle around it. However I decided to ride it, and it was a bit sketchy. I came close to wiping out a few times but made it through without any real issues.

What surprised me most wasn’t the road it was the wildlife. I started seeing foxes every day, wild horses, and herds of deer. But the biggest surprise was the rheas. At first, I thought they were emus. They were everywhere sometimes I’d see two or three hundred of them in a single day just walking along or across the highway. I didn’t even know this bird existed in South America.

The road got worse after that. So many potholes that most people were driving on the shoulder instead of the actual road. At one point, I thought I blew my suspension, but it turned out to be the rear wheel bearings. Luckily, I rolled into a small town with a decent mechanic. They had the parts and got me back on the road pretty quick. From there, I kept heading south toward El Calafate.Læs mere