A rare shot of Jeff on my Suzuki. He'd just fixed my chain and was test riding it.

Sierra de la Ventana - Sunset at El Mirador hotel and restaurant. This hotel is 370 miles from Buenos Aires and is a remarkably tranquil place. It is an area of farms and cattle ranches amid a mid-size rocky mountain area. I spoke with the grandson of the man that built the hotel/restaurant. He will eventually inherit the place. I asked this good looking 19 year old if he knew how fortunate he was. He looked me square in the eye and said 'I certainly do'.
Sierra de la Ventana

Sierra de la Ventana

Part of the El Mirador property at Sierra de la Ventana

Mac at El Mirador

At Viedma you take a tiny waer ferry across the Rio Negro. It takes 8 minutes and costs about 50 cents. Many people commute to the other side of town on the ferry as the river bisects the city.

A wind mill along the pampas between Viedma and Buenos Aires

I drove 100 miles roundtrip to see whales and sea lions here. Note the lack of both.

These kids were about to get on a whale watching boat. I wish them luck.

Comodoro Rivadavia, to Puerto Madryn, to Viedma – 600 miles.

Wind was the essence of the trip to Puerto Madryn. I actually thought I might be blown off the road by winds reaching near-gale force. The roads here have only a narrow gravel shoulder. It is usually steeply banked in order to drain the roads. To be forced onto the shoulder doing 60 to 75 mph would guarantee a high speed ‘get-off’ and would most likely involve death or something close. We treat the gravel shoulders as if they were mountain ledges.

The ride from Puerto Madryn to Viedma was our first warm ride in nearly a month. The roads were boring but smooth and the sun shone all day. Mac and I followed the GPS which added 50 miles to the day. Viedma is a lovely and wealthy tourist town built on both sides of the River Negro. A water taxi brings you across.

Everyone is meloncholy because there are only two rides left!