The Journey Northbound

Thursday February 12th: Leaving Rio Mayo, once again in extreme Patagonian winds, the little troop made its way northbound to Esquel, a quaint town steeped in Welsh tradition. The decision to stay two nights was made since Vince needed time to correct his still dodgy steering from the evils of the ripio. There was time, however, to ride La Trochita aka "The Old Patagonian Express", one of the world's oldest narrow-gauge railways.

Saturday February 14th: We arrived in El Bolson via a very scenic drive through Los Alerces National Park. The terrain took on an alpine look with trees and lakes as far as the eye could see. Along the route, we passed Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid's old home, nestled in the foothills of the Andes.

Sunday February 15th: A lovely casual drive to Bariloche through more mountains where we were met half way by the car club from Bariloche, headed by Mac and Phyllis good friends of Vince. The members of the car club made us very welcome and fed us coffee and goodies before escorting us into Bariloche to our hotel.

Monday February 16th: Time to explore the town of Bariloche, catch-up on laundry, and with the aid of Martin and Phyllis, get our return shipping documents notorized ready for the anticipated battle in the docks of Buenos Aires to get our cars loaded on the ship home. Our friends from the car club treated us to a wonderful evening of food and beer at a popular local pub - thank you!

Tuesday February 17th: Guided by Martin, we took a quick drive around the Circuito Chico in the morning and saw the gorgeous views of the lake. In the afternoon, Vince, Johny, River and Diana went horse riding and enjoyed the tranquillity of the hills. In the evening, Phyllis and Mac invited us to a wonderful evening at their home. What a treat!

Wednesday February 18th: Stan turned 60. To celebrate, we thought we'd go for a drive! Once again, the friends we made through the car club made our day, and they took time to see us off and wish us safe travels. We drove to San Martin de los Andes through the Nahuel Huapi National Park and along The Road of the 7 Lakes. Although this was a ripio road, the scenery made it worth the roughness. We are now finished with ripio - yeah!

Thursday February 19th: Another rest day and time to maintain the cars. Grease all the nipples, check all the fluids, tighten the loose nuts, clear any blocked jets, check the tyre pressures, and plan the route for available petrol stations. We will be ready for the next few days of the last leg of our trip.