El Calafate, Argentina was again one of the huge markers for my trip. After setting off from Gobernador Gregores at first light, I got on my way for a pretty tough riding day on Ruta 40.
After leaving Gobernador Gregores, I hit dirt roads less than half a mile outside of town. The next 100 miles or so was all dirt. The dirt roads were a mix of good, bad and ugly. South American Governments have a crazy way of dealing with bad dirt roads – just throw a ton of crushed rock on them, making them in some cases unrideable.
The dirt roads were a mix of good, bad and ugly. South American Governments have a crazy way of dealing with bad dirt roads – just throw a ton of crushed rock on them, making them in some cases unrideable.
El Calafate, Argentina has a great reputation and is the gateway to the Perito Moreno Glacier a glacier located in the Los Glaciares National Park in the south west Santa Cruz Province. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Patagonia.
On the way, I ran into a few people including Robert and Sabine from Bavaria and Johnny the Italian, a nice guy who loves adventure.
Johnny had hired a bike from Santiago, Chile and they rented him a BMW 800 with a very loose chain, it was causing him all sorts of problems. We helped him out tightening it with Robert doing most of the grease work.
After about 45v minutes some more adventure riders rolled up, they had also hired bikes and were on their way to El Calafate also!
El Calafate, Argentina
El Calafate is a town near the edge of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in the Argentine province of Santa Cruz. It’s mainly known as the gateway to Los Glaciares National Park, home to the massive Perito Moreno Glacier, whose ever-shifting icy landscape is popular for hiking and sightseeing. A modern interpretive center called the Glaciarium serves as a primer on the region’s numerous glaciers. From Wikipedia
Perito Moreno Glacier
The Perito Moreno Glacier (Spanish: Glaciar Perito Moreno) is a glacier located in the Los Glaciares National Park in southwest Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. It is one of the most important tourist attractions in the Argentinian Patagonia.
The 250 km2 (97 sq mi) ice formation, and 30 km (19 mi) in length is one of 48 glaciers fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field located in the Andes system shared with Chile. This ice field is the world’s third largest reserve of fresh water.
The Perito Moreno Glacier, located 78 kilometers (48 mi) from El Calafate, was named after the explorer Francisco Moreno, a pioneer who studied the region in the 19th century and played a major role in defending the territory of Argentina in the conflict surrounding the international border dispute with Chile. From Wikipedia
