Distance: 76.79 km
Ride time: 3:43:37
Average: 20.70 km/h
Total: 23662 km
From our campsite at Lago Villarino we took our time in the morning, slowly getting ready for the next stretch of road at the 7 Lakes. You know it’s going to be another special day when you wake up to a view like this.
It was downhill almost all the way until San Martín. On the way we met 3 local cyclists who had started their trip only 25 km earlier. They already had several problems with their bikes, the most serious being a pedal that wouldn’t turn. Poor souls, cycle touring is only fun as long as you have a bike that you trust.
We had now been living in our tents and eating pasta, oats, and bread since we left Jorge in Bariloche. In San Martín we went straight into the first tourist restaurant we saw to have lunch. We thought it was well deserved. You really learn to appreciate these things on the bike.
While Michael went to the beach for half an hour I went shopping for a sun hat. Yes, we have truly arrived in summer by now! Fighting the brutal head winds on Tierra del Fuego or enduring 36 hours of rain on Carretera Austral suddenly seems far away.
Back on the bike we enjoyed a strong tail wind towards Junín. The sky was blue, the moon was rising, the road was new and smooth, the speed was fast, and the music in the ears was good… This was when the Lanín Volcano came into view. It was one of those moments where you just can’t imagine things to get any better!
A bit before Junín we found a river to camp on. Our dip in the river even felt warm, so we were discussing if the water was really warmer than yesterday, or if we were just getting tougher. Perhaps a combination.
As we were setting up our tents a ranger, much to our surprise, came to tell us that it was not allowed to camp there. We hadn’t expected to meet anyone, but perhaps he was checking if people were fishing in the river without permission. After a little chit chat in Spanish explaining about our trip he luckily changed his mind. This is why I like Argentina, they give cyclists a chance.
