Day 4 – 25th November.

Buenos Aires to San Carlos de Bolivar (Pampas) – 340 kms.

I woke at 8 with a bit of a thick head. Mani must have picked the strongest Argentinean beer legal to sell, as from a blurred memory I only had a couple! I made the worst mistake and checked my emails knowing I might be without internet access for a while. Blow – 48 emails, more than usual. It took 2 hours to sort out the urgent ones. I made a mental that if I was to fully enjoy this trip I needed to get emails as far away as possible. I realize how lucky I am to have Julia who I can rely on to handle the vast majority of issues. Arriving at Motocare at 11am, my first challenge was getting all my luggage onto the bike. I had carefully planned what I needed but when you are solo space is always going to be tight. Mariano said a lot of travelvers send the majority of the gear on ahead to a later town on route, but I was not keen on that as if anything got lost or delayed it would cause real problems.

I had one side pannier which had clothes in. Not much, just spare jeans, 4 tee shirts, a couple of pairs of shorts, and a pair of trousers, fleece, plus some socks and undies. Plus a spare pair of riding trousers, my riding suit inner liners for when the temperatures drop later, and a spare pair of cold weather Goretex lined leather gloves. And, that was one side bag full.

On the other side bag I had chargers (phones, computer, GPS, razor), adapters, spare GPS, mini speakers, toiletries (razor, soap, toothbrush & paste, nail clippers and loo roll). It also held torches, spares batteries, my notebook, various USB cables, my helmet cam, plus two small cooking burners and two small gas bottles, plus a lightweight aluminum pot, pan and plate set. Some utensils, small binoculars and a few medical items. That was the side panniers all done.

The top box had my tool kit (for every nut/bolt on the bike, plus tyre levers, pliers, Stanley knife etc) and spares (tyre weld, WD40, duck tape, cable ties, fuses, bulbs, araldite etc), a compact tripod, a full face helmet needed to help combat the wind and cold in Patagonia, and the high Bolivian Andes where the temperature swings from +20 during the day to –20 (even –30) at night, plus waterproofs, and a small soft cool box for butter, cheese, cool drink, chocolate bar etc.

In additional I had a waterproof bag tied over the back seat which held a 2-man tent (but really not much bigger than a coffin!), air mattress, sleeping bag, walking shoes, non-riding jacket water proof coat, and 5 travel books. This bag is the least important if stolen, and easiest to replace quickly if needed. It is held down with a lock, but could be cut quite easily.

Lastly I have a tank bag (and my jacket) which contains all of my most important items. If this stuff goes then the whole trip would have to be cancelled or seriously curtailed. Cash and credit cards in hidden in different areas in case of any incident, passport, camera, iPhone, satellite phone (and charger), flask, sunglasses, insurance, driving and international drivers license, bike and immigration papers for Chile, Peru and Bolivia (which took 1 month to complete), notebook and pen, main GPS. This bag can easily be taken off the bike and kept with me.

It seemed so much, but for the trip all seemed pretty necessary. I spent an hour with Mariano trying to pair down the load. We took out some of the tools that were duplicated, a jumper, a guide book, some covers for some items etc, but most of it was pretty essential, and quite compact. Thirty minutes later the bike was loaded and I was into my gear. This is it I thought, all the planning (at least a couple of weeks!), at last I was off. The guys from Motocare gave me a great send off, and Mariano rode with me to the edge of Buenos Aires. I am sure he just wanted to make sure I did not get lost – and to make sure I could actually ride!

Buenos Aires drivers are mad, completely crazy and have no regard to motorcyclists at all. You basically have to hold your lane (and your nerve) otherwise they see your lane as a chance to undertake/overtake another car and the fact you happen to be there is of no concern.

It was good when the city thinned into suburbs, and they in turn thinned into occasional towns, which after about 100kms turned into the green Pampas where cows and cowboys became a common sight, and with very little traffic at all after 200kms. The dessert Pampas will be later. I loved the ride. It was peaceful, and I was really chilled. The bike went like a dream. The only little incident was being waived down by the police, who all seemed good natured and talked about football. It was a shame when the sun dropped and it came to an end at 8pm when I rode into the town of San Carlos de Bolivar. I actually missed the entrance and had to do 5kms down a farmers dirt road to get back to the town. It really is a great little place and I found a nice comfortable hotel. Camping will be saved for when there is no alternative (no hotel, bus shelter or bear cave!), or I want to wake in an incredibly scenic or remote place. After a quick shower I decamped into this little café where I am typing this, sitting facing the square watching the locals scurry about. One great steak, a couple of Heinekens, one espresso – all for a fiver. Bliss. Tomorrow I am not sure what will bring, but I am sure it will be interesting.