4. A River Crossing
Day 161
It should be a fairly easy day today. There is nothing to see, this is just a transitional stage. I fuelled up in the only gas station in the town. I still have plenty of the fuel, but it seems that gas stations in Argentina are far apart. I like to have enough gas to last me till my destination.
I get out out of town and as far as I can see, there are wineries. I'm riding along in a huge valley flanked on both sides by high mountain ranges. There are a lot of the clouds above the mountains already at this time of the day. My route takes me right between the storm clouds. The road is nice but fairly narrow. The temperature is perfect, 23°. This place is known for its good wines. There are golf courses and wineries everywhere you look.
I ride through some small villages and I looked down on my GPS and realize that the road I'm supposed to be on is on the other side of the river. No big deal. It looks like there is a big bridge ahead of me. I must not be the only one who missed the turn, as there is a hand painted sign, pointing towards Ruta 40. I can see the bridge above the trees. But the sign is sending me down to the river. In a few moments, I can see why, the bridge is only half finished. I wouldn't get too far. But that means I have to go through the river. I can always go back and find my correct turn off, but I'm too lazy for that. I can see there are tracks leading towards the river. The river bed is very wide, about 400 m. And there are three water crossings. I just stopped to take a few pictures. I don't hang around thinking how I gonna do it, I just did. A handful of throttle and I am on the other side in no time. It was kind of fun first thing in the morning.
I get on the main road and there are signs of recent rain activities everywhere. Many portions of the road are covered by sand and silt from the washout. There are many rivers coming across the road from the mountains. But there was nothing too difficult and I cross all of them without any problems.
The road straightens and the greenery of the wineries are replaced with a desert again. The road is incredibly straight. There's nobody on the road, I mean nobody. I haven't seen a car in 45 minutes. There's no commercial traffic whatsoever. Not sure what is happening, but didn't get the memo, again. Thank goodness for a cruise control. Well, I will cover today's stage fairly quickly. I would like to say it was boring, but there was always something to look at. And the temperature was very pleasant for the most of the day. I had iced water with me so I was good. I have a Camelback in my riding jacket. I can put 2 L of water there. When I have a chance in a hotel with fridge and a freezer I fill the bladder with water and let it freeze overnight. I put it in my jacket in the morning and it slowly melts as the day goes by keeping my water nice and cold. I have about 150 km to go and all of a sudden temperature goes up by 10°. It is hot, very hot. It is in fact 35°. That's too much. But there's nowhere to stop. There is a military checkpoint right after I turned to another road leading towards the mountain pass. The soldiers look bored and just waved at me. I am alone again on an empty road. I think I passed maybe two dozens cars and maybe three trucks in 400 km. The rest of the road goes by quickly and get to my destination Tinogasta.
When I talk about hotels on this trip, most of the times it is like a large B&B. The house with four or five rooms. Just like this place. Very unassuming from the outside but the rooms are nice and clean with a lot of small knickknacks so you don't feel like you are in a hotel. They have air-conditioning here and fast Internet. Perfect.
Tomorrow will be an interesting day I hope. If all goes according to plan, I should be camping on the shores of a beautiful lake at 4500 m. Let's see what tomorrow will bring