Day 218 - Heading West

(Ursula) At 8:00 AM, the tide was at its lowest, and we could walk to Bird Island. Besides thousands of Seagulls and Albatrosses, we could make out only two other bird species. We saw one bird nest on the ground with light blue speckled eggs inside. The birds were totally unafraid of us, and we could get very close to them and walk freely between them. That was a unique experience!

We are ready to head towards the Andes Mountains and must cross more of the vast Argentine Pampa. We followed Route #3 a bit further south and then turned west onto the unpaved Route #25. From here on, the drive will be brutally hot, dry, and dusty.

We were low on food. When we reached the town of Gaiman, everything was closed for siesta, and we didn’t stop. Some stores were open in the next godforsaken town, but we found nothing else but bread and canned meat. The landscape is so desolate. Nothing grows here in this desert. We are guessing that food items must be brought in from the North.

We found a spot in the shade of a large tree (scarce) on the Chubut River tonight. Large flocks of sheep and horses appeared at dusk to drink water from the river. We bathed in the Rio Chubut to wash off the dust and cool down.

The days have become noticeably longer now. The sun went down just before 9 PM, and an hour later, it wasn’t even completely dark.

Stats: Miles 242, Expenses $12.90Read more