Ruta 40

Route 40 runs is the longest road in Argentina, and one of the longest in the world. It runs more than 5,000 km, crosses 20 National Parks, 18 major rivers and 27 Andean passes. It was made famous by the trip that Ernesto Che Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado took in Che's Motorcyle Diaries. We were only interested in a section of Route 40 (all be it a very long section!) between Bariloche and El Calafate. However, because of supposed bad relations between Bariloche and El Calafate the road is uncared for and notoriously bumpy. There is also virtually nothing between the two destinations. For this reason we were hoping to avoid the route, but come 6.30 am on January 17th we found ourselves with about 40 other tourists waiting for the bus that would take us in Che's tyre tracks down Ruta 40. On the first day we drove for about 12 hours on route 40 to Puerto Moreno, the road was mostly paved and the landscape desolate. Puerto Moreno is a dusty town that looks like it's out of a Wild West film. We stayed one night, battled with the waitress in the morning to order a cup of tea (Spanish conversation that went something like this: "Would you like tea or coffee?" "tea please", "what?", "tea", "what?" "tea", to Christian "what is she trying to say?" "tea", "what?" and so on), and left for a side trip to some famous cave paintings. On the way we saw our first Guanacos animals that look like a cross between a llama and a deer. 

 

After a beautiful decent down into a valley we came to the famous "Cuevas de las manos" (Caves of the hands). These are ancient paintings made some 9000 years ago by the indigenous people. It is amazing how they have endured over the years, and there are prints from adults, children and even a 6-fingered hand! Hands up!

After our side trip, we sat in the dust of a little estancia and waited for the route 40 bus to pick us up. Sitting on the ground with a handful of people, in the heat of the midday sun, surrounded by nothing but hills, I really felt like a traveller! Like Che!

The bus picked us up for our next 600 km on route 40, and we enjoyed a day on the bus on unpaved roads, playing games and chatting.  We finally arrived at El Chalten at about 10pm.  Amazingly during the last two days, I had hardly made a dent on the batteries of my ipod, and had managed to stay entertained (or asleep) for the whole journey.  Although it is obviously a very long journey and the road is indeed bumpy, and the views desolate, it was a good experience, we made good friends, had some laughs and it is amazing to be so isolated in Patagonia.

Route 40 – as recommended by Fiona and Christian