January 6, 2000
Day 76 Punta Arenas: tailwind and rain
We get up early, pack, eat and head on down the road. After the record day yesterday and it's still about 120km to Puenta Arenas but less good of a direction today.
But we are in luck, the wind seems to have turned a bit more to the North and pushes us along to Villa Tehuelches, seems like a nice town, but as we pass through everyone is still asleep. With the wind as our ally we race across the pampas. Long stretches of road lead through wide valleys and over low ridges. We pass by Laguna Blanca and near Laguna Calesa del Mar.
At the junction, we find a lonely gas station where we drink a coke and eat some chips and peanuts. The wind is cold, but we are invited in by the caretaker. He gives us a map of Punta Arenas. We decide to ride all the way into town. The tailwind is too good not to. But how fast that can change.
All about 10km before town a huge rainstorm dump on us, just as we muddle through dirt because of a big road construction project. After the rain a blast of wind from the West forces us off our bikes. So close and yet so far. We walk for a while, cursing the conditions.
At the outskirts of town, we get some cover from the buildings, but it starts to rain again. We descend to the city center and check several hospedajes and hostels before choosing El Calafate. It's a bit expensive at 8000pp but there is cable TV in the room. We watch CNN and only go out to eat Chinese at the Golden Dragon as recommended by Joan & Craig.
Today's ride: 120 km (75 miles)
Total: 3,141 km (1,951 miles)
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