Arno went to El Chalten to fetch the damaged bike. He came back, absolutely plastered with mud.It was snowing when we got to the Moreno Glacier, but not for long thank goodness. It was a bit nippy however, so we glacier watched while wandering around the walkways to keep warm. It really was spectacular, no matter how many pictures you see, the real thing is just amazing. And the noise, I didn’t think ice could be so loud. Every time a chunk broke off and fell into the lake, it sounded like a 5 storey building collapsing.

Not just another glacier, getting really close to this one makes it worth the trip

Another group posing in front of the glacier, Arno, Sian, Yuki, Rodo, Dieter.

Arne and Asher didn’t like the idea of camping out, so left to go back to Calafate. Dieter, Yuki, Rodo, Arno and I hadn't lugged all our stuff to the park for nothing, and besides the camping was free now as it was out of season. The campsite was nice and sheltered, we strung a tarp between the trees, put up our tents and had a lovely evening, warmed by some Argentinean whisky.

The weather improved over the next couple of days and on the first perfect riding day, Yuki and Dieter left for El Chalten. We stayed on in El Calafate for a couple of days to catch up on stuff, eat lots of chocolate and to wait for Peter, due to arrive any minute.

The next day Dieter returned - in an ambulance! He had hit a sheep, 60kms from El Chalten and broken his collarbone and a couple of ribs!

Peter eventually arrived after some mishaps of his own and we tried to lift Dieters spirits. Arno went to El Chalten to fetch the damaged bike. He came back in one piece but it had rained on the Ruta 40 for most of the morning and the sheep had trashed the front mudguard so Arno was absolutely plastered with mud.

A muddy Arno after his ride back from El Chalten on Dieters bike

By the time the 3 of us rode up the Ruta 40 towards El Chalten to meet up with Yuki, the road had dried out a little but we still got stuck in the mud in some places. At one point we tried riding near the edge of the road where it looked more solid and stony, here however the mud was really sticky and our wheels were soon totally clogged up. We stopped, cleared out the mess and reluctantly rode back in the slippery mud.

Peter and Arno clear out the mud from Black Betty

We spent a day in El Chalten as the weather stayed fine and we could actually see the mountains. Arno was once again separated from his bike and dragged off to do some walking. But all too soon it was time to leave and face Ruta 40 once again.

The weather was on our side, the road had dried out and there was no wind. At Tres Lagos, we filled all possible containers with fuel, and headed out into the flat landscape. I had to concentrate on keeping out of the deep gravel and in the tracks, but without the wind it was quite an enjoyable ride. There was also no traffic, we saw only one vehicle the whole day.
We were able to camp wild, just off the road when it got dark and the next morning were treated to a spectacular sunrise and again no wind.

Thanks to the weather we were able to camp wild just off the road.

After fueling up at Baja Caracoles, we rode toward Perito Moreno, managing to miss the turnoffs to Cuerva de las Manos - don’t ask! - and ended up riding the last 30kms to PM in the dark. It now decided to rain of course, so it took a while.
The next day it rained and rained, so we stayed put and spent the day doing maintenance on the bikes. We left Peter in PM to wait for Yoni, who was somewhere along the 40 and rode back towards Chile and the Caretera Austral.

In Chile Chico, Arno and I decided to take the ferry to Puerto Ibáñez, while Yuki being the off road fan she is, took the dirt road around Lago General Carrera. We arranged to meet up at a campsite near Villa Cerro Castillo that evening. The ferry arrived at 6ish and we once again were riding as it got dark. It was actually more frustrating as the spectacular scenery was being enhanced by the setting sun and we just had to keep stopping to take photos.

The mountain of Cerro Castillo at dusk

By the time we got to the village of Cerro Castillo it was dark and we hoped that we would be able to find Yuki and the campsite. The road was now unpaved and rocky in places, so we had to take it slowly, after 30kms or so, a familiar big headlight came towards us, Yuki! She had been unable to find the campsite, but had seen a good place by the river, so we rode another 10kms and camped there. It’s nice being back in Chile, where it feels safe enough to camp wild almost anywhere.