The Southern Highway or Just About

It is hard to tell just what is in store for us on this very special bike trip. Probably the last news you heard from us was that we were all set up and ready to go. We left Sheldanny and the rest of the Israeli community and headed off to the bus station. We tied up and loaded our bikes and headed from Bariloche to Esquel. Not too bad after 12 games of cribbage and five hours on an extremely comfortable bus we freighted down our bikes and rode off to find some camping. We set up shop then went down to The town of Esquel for a big Beef and Rock chicken dinner. Simple easy and nice.

But the next day the cold rains of summer fell upon us and the first break we got we rode. We hammered along the pavement for the first 35 kms and then we hit dirt roads. This was all expected and is why we chose mountain style bike. A bit more rugged and a bit more slow. We traveled through the hills into Chile. We saw another bike tourer kind of smirk as he passed us and I think he knew what we know a bit earlier. We just got soaked the rest of the day. Remisnicent of the summer of New Hampshires past 50 degrees and windy. I told Robin if this is to continue He can meet me on the Argentine coast where it is 95. By the time we got to the Border I am not so sure he did not want to join me. One of his panniers had broken off his rack was disconnected on one side and he had no feeling in his feet.

He was trying to shake the blood back in to his feet in the border crossing that they sent us back outside ¨for it was not a bathroom for cleaning¨ We cleared the borders and headed in to the little mountain town of Futaleflu. There we found shelter with a nice man by the name of Gregorio who heated our shoes above the fire while cooking us a meal. Chris and Robin told him that there was hunger in our bellies the size of tigers: He told us he could kill that tiger and did. We slept like babies, warm and dry:

Today we have been all over this town to the bike store to the laundy mat back and forth and back again in a town no bigger than the inside of the racetrack. But tommorow with the help of a good meal from gregorio we will ride tres caball€ros. perfecto