Although Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina was nearly a 500-mile journey, I was hoping to accomplish this in under 10 hours. Again I packed my gear the night before and headed out of Rio Gallegos at sunrise.
It was still bitterly cold, but I knew the more miles north I headed, the warmer it would become.
I had also heard that there were some oil strikes on and getting gas was going to be an issue, so I pinpointed some towns to fill my bike and got trekking.
I would travel along Ruta 3 the whole way passing through Le Marchand, Comandante Luis Piedrabuena, Río Chico, Puerto San Julián, Fitz Roy, Cañadón Seco, Caleta Olivia and then finally into Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina.
The first gas station was empty and was not expecting to refuel until the following day, so I tried to reach Comandante Luis Piedrabuena. I stopped about 90 miles short as I was nearly out of gas and used my spare one-gallon tank.
Unfortunately, that one extra gallon only got me within 2 miles of Comandante Luis Piedrabuena.
Luckily highway patrol stopped by after only a few minutes of running out of gas, helped me hide the bike down the embankment and drove me the 2 miles to the gas station. I fill my spare one-gallon tank and returned to my bike and then returned again to the gas station.
All up it only took me about 45 minutes longer than expected, so I was lucky! Gas would be a thorn in my side from now until Buenos Aires.
Comodoro Rivadavia
Comodoro Rivadavia (Spanish pronunciation: [komoˈðoɾo riβaˈðaβja]) is a city in the Patagonian province of Chubut in southern Argentina, located on the San Jorge Gulf, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, at the foot of the Chenque Hill. Comodoro Rivadavia is the most important city of the San Jorge Basin.
The city is often referred simply as Comodoro. It was at one time the capital of Comodoro Rivadavia Territory, which existed from 1943 to 1955. The territory was a part of Chubut before and after its creation, and the city became the capital of Escalante Department. It had a population of 137,061 at the 2001 census [INDEC], and grew to 182,631 by the 2010 census.
Comodoro Rivadavia is a commercial and transportation center for the surrounding region, the largest city of Chubut, and an important export point for a leading Argentine petroleum district. A 1,770 km pipeline conveys natural gas from Comodoro Rivadavia to Buenos Aires.
Founded by decree on February 23, 1901, as a port for the inland settlement of Sarmiento, the first settler was Francisco Pietrobelli. Early settlers included Boers escaping British rule in South Africa, as well as Welsh settlers.
The town was named in honor of shipping minister Martín Rivadavia, a proponent of the development of Southern Argentina. It has been prosperous since 1907 when a drilling crew searching for water struck oil at a depth of 539 m.
The city is the home of the main faculty of the National University of Patagonia San Juan Bosco. The Cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of Comodoro Rivadavia, of which the Bishop is, since 2005, Virginio Domingo Bressanelli. The Cathedral is dedicated to San Juan Bosco, the only cathedral in the world dedicated to the founder of the Salesian Order. It was inaugurated in 1979, although the crypt itself had been dedicated in 1949.
Rada Tilly is a beach resort and now suburb 12 km south of Comodoro. The National Museum of Petroleum is located in the General Mosconi neighborhood 3 km north of central Comodoro Rivadavia. It was opened in 1987 by the state-owned oil company YPF. From Wikipedia
