Day 9 - Guanaco's & Estancia

This place speaks to me.

It says volumes for the wild places, for the commitment of the peoples, their love, hard work, trial and family. The are also eye wateringly beautiful. 

We are at the incredible ranch, Estancia Al Angastoura in the very heart of Patagonia. It would be called a sheep station in Australia, with land as far as the eye can see totalling more tha 27,000 acres. That is a medium size by Argentinian standards. 

Our day started in the tiny town of Perito Mereno, named after a famous Chilean who worked out where the border was going to be, between Chile and Argentina. This saved a lot of battles time and worry for the officials. Our road headed up the hill out of town, when I remembered that I had left my GoPro batteries back in the room, plugged into a high power point on the wall where the TV was normally anchored. So I returned and chased down the mob. Generally the roads out here are very good, and average speeds of 140km/hr are quite common with higher speeds possible, until the "Baches" signs are seen - they are potholes of great depth and severity and everyone slows to a literal crawl. In our case it is to save our bike rims! A replacement here is US$2500 each.

At one point JC observes a family of Llama (called Guanaco's here) when suddenly and very un-expectedly the male charges across the road and misses him by just inches. I am riding right behind and am sure there is going to be a might crash. But no, he survives. Guanacos are clever and I have never seen a carcas on the road, so I think this was a rare instance. 

We are headed south as always, and now more than half way to Ushuaia. For coffee we stop at a very old hotel made very famous by Chalie Boorman and crew, on their "Long Way Up" movie trip. Here attached to the side wall are two motorcycle charging stations - probably used by them and no one else ever! The stone building is called Bajo Caracoles and is quite an interesting joint. The coffee is not bad but not great either.

We ride further into the Patagonian plains and I stop to take various photos, videos and to pee. I absolutely love it here and could have sat by the road just looking at the view for an hour or so. After a couple of hours we reach the 43km turnoff to the Estancia and a batch of gravel road  (called ripio) that has me at my best concentration, as it is the toughest yet for me. I strain with fierce concentration and all my strength to manage it. At one point on a hill there is a car in my path, with the owners changing their tire in the wind and sun. I MUST move across to another rut, and do so with a wild tank-slapper wobble that very nearly sends me off my bike into the dust. But I am VERY determined to stay upright and I do. I am every so pleased with my slightly improving gravel-riding skills. 

Eventually we turn off again and head down into the valley where the ranch sits behind a small hill. It is over a 100 years old, and we stay in the old house, with the family residing in a new one next door. It is a real working farm, with all the cats and dogs and horses that you would expect. Also the solar panels and microwave tower that gives me access to the internet and the ranchers, to safety. As you would expect, the kitchen is huge with multiple fridges, supplies of gas bottles outside and all the implements that you would expect in a remote location. I absolutely love it. 

In one of the little sheds next door, the son has killed a lamb and has skinned it for our dinner plus hung it as you do. This is going to be a great night, so I open a bottle of the local Riserva Malbec. Perfect.