Distance: 77.36 km
Ride time: 4:45:41
Average: 16.25 km/h
Total: 26365 km
Petter and I where literally a few minutes away from leaving town (and mobile phone coverage) for 10 days when I got a call from home. Unfortunately my moms health has been a concern for a while, and the news I got now were critical. It was clear that I would need to be within phone coverage for the next weeks, so it was time to put together a new plan.
If I followed Ruta 40 up towards Salta I would be be passing villages everyday with the chance to stay in touch. That was what I was planning to do. Petter would then continue towards the mountains. Our mountain adventure would therefore come to an end a bit too early.
It was sad to say goodbye to Petter at the camp site. We had been sharing a real adventure the month – a true highlight of the trip so far!
I cycled out of Fiambala, once again alone on the road. Got a flat tire just as I passed the central square in Tinogasta. Good thing as I could then enjoy an ice cream before fixing it. From Tinogasta there are two ways to get to the next town north, Belén. You could take the highway which is 160 km or you could take the small road RP3 which would save you some 60 km.
When I asked around at the square, everyone suggested that I took the main road, but I felt like a bit of adventure. A large sign that proclaimed “Ruta Intransitable” had me stop for a moment to reconsider. A bit further up the road a met a gaucho on a horse. He seemed to believe that it would be possible to cross the pass on a bike, so I decided to continue. I didn’t know that the gaucho would be the last person I would see for two days.
The dirt road now gently climbed towards the pass, and I was once again cycling into the sunset. I even continued a few kilometres after it got completely dark using my head torch. The only problem was that the road was getting rougher, and it was hard to see the bumps.
At 9 pm I finally rolled over to the side of the road and put up my tent.
