It took us 4 buses, and 60 hours door to door to get from Ushuaia to Zapala. On arrival we were delighted to find that the temperature was about 15 degrees higher than in Tierra del Fuego, and that there was no wind. The locals were also friendlier than we’d encountered in the touristy south, and in our first two days in Zapala we spent both afternoons sharing copious amounts of beef at local families’ asados.
The route to Mendoza was a very enjoyable ride. The “main” roads had hardly any traffic on them, and we managed to take 2 great, but tough, ripio/sandy side roads to really get away from things. One took us to the Area Nacional Protegida (initials anyone would be proud to have) Tromen, where we spent 2 days climbing Cerro Wayle, and then Volcan Tromen – one of the highest mountains in Argentine Patagonia; the other a 150km road from Sosneado to Pareditas which had us pushing through the sand on regular occasions on the first day, and where we only saw 3 vehicles in a day and a half.
Arriving in Mendoza we took advantage of the great shopping there to buy up all the spare parts for our bikes, new glasses, some mountaineering kit and most importantly of all a new handle for our MSR pot to replace ours which inadvertently made its way back to the UK in March. All Haz’s sleeves are melted/burnt already, but at least they won’t get any worse…

Cycling stats:

Days getting from Zapala to Mendoza – 25
Distance – 921km
Time cycling – 65h09
Cycle days -13
Rainy cycle days – 1
Maximum speeds – 59.6kph (H), 57.6kph (N)
Unpaved roads – 319km
Longest day – 109km
100km+ days – 2
Punctures – 2N

Total amount climbed – 8,904m
Maximum altitude reached – 2,277m
Most climbed in one day – 1,539m
1000m+ climb days – 2
Steepest climb – 21%

Number of cycle tourists we met – 6 (including 3 we met in February in Fitzroy, and Enda who lives not too far a cycle away from Moreton)
Accommodation – 4 beds, 11 camps, 8 wild camps, 2 buses
Storms – 0

New Argentinian beers drunk – only Andes Negra – we’re running out of new ones…

Trekking stats:
Days of trekking – 2
Distance – 23km
Ascent/Descent – 2,850m

Peaks we climbed up – Cerro Wayle (3,185m), Volcan Tromen (3,989m)

Photos