20th December 2016
It has been a warm night. We crawl out of our tent early, have breakfast, pack up our stuff. The usual morning routine. We leave the campsite in this improbable place: a small national park in the middle of the dry and arid pampa. We arrived last night after cycling 125 kilometres in the dry heat, without any water left. This campsite with its trees and showers seemed like a mirage.
After 40 kilometres of straight road, we reach Puelches. A small town in the middle of this nothingness. Everything is simple, but it’s geared towards passing-through travellers: several hotels, three shops, a petrol station.
The next village is Casa de Piedra, 112 kilometres away. The weather forecast announces another hot day, well over 40°C. Not a good day to tackle another long stretch of road. Tomorrow is expected to be cooler and slightly overcast. The maths isn’t difficult: We’re staying in Puelches. The motel on the verge of town is simple, but has all we need – air conditioning and a shower with hot water to wash our clothes.
In the evening, there’s a big thunderstorm, with impressing lightnings and rain pouring down. We’re glad we’re not camping in the pampa tonight.
Tomorrow morning the air will be clean and the air fresh. We’ll take pictures in the middle of the empty road, picnic by the roadside, reach the 7000 km mark, observe a colony of ants, look at the horizon (there’s nothing else to look at), and arrive in Casa de Piedra in time for dinner.
Cycling touring in la Pampa, at its best!
Enjoyed reading this? Here’s the full series of Diary of Last Year.
Or else, browse other posts about our trip here.