Day 384 Wednesday 3rd December : Hotel to Auto Spa and Storage 4km Final Blog for Leg 22

Last night we went off to a Braai Restaurant to celebrate the end of Leg 22. It was great. Peens also, like the  Biblical Lazarus, got of from his bed and joined us. Pie also showed up and did not say anything about his new friendship.

This morning during breakfast Rocky balanced our Kitty (the finances of the trip.) Note the toast and coffee on our table. I bet there were some of you that thought I was lying. OK, I did as we also got jam and butter, what a “spread.”

After our breakfast of toast and strong coffee (we suspect something went wrong with the coffee,) we packed the bikes with the clothes and stuffs that are staying here, which in my case is everything except my computer and chargers and some toiletries for the flight, an extra pair of socks and underpants, everything else stays here in El Calafate in my bike or locked onto my bike with a cable and padlock, except my boots, which they are welcome to steal. (Note to self: Remember to bring some Foot Powder.)

Millsy went through all his panniers and all his bags and discovered he had 25 pairs of Underpants as he keeps on bringing every time he comes, but then forgets to take them home. Everyone except Pie and I checked out of our rooms and then Pie and Millsy started feeling guilty, and before we knew it, Peens and my bikes were whisked off to the Auto Spa and our bikes were washed. Milsy donated one of his underpants to be used as a cloth.

Then they felt guilty about my leaking forks and they tried a quick-fix by using a special Tool which they then inserted under the seal and then any dirt causing the leak is cleaned out. Both of them had a go at it and I think both failed. I am now “working” on Peens and making him feel guilty for looking after him when he was dying, and in time I hope he will replace the seals when we return in February.

Then we went for a real coffee at a real coffee shop and shared two slices of Carrot Cake. And then we went to the Storage, but, the owner was not there, so we went to a little local non-tourist pub in the half industrial half residential area.

They played Whisky Blues Music the entire time, which had me thinking of slitting my wrists by the time I had eaten my burger and drunk my beer. Then  we went to the storage and disconnected our batteries and parked the bikes.

There were 5 new BMW’s, the 1300cc GS’s parked there, they all belonged to a bike touring company from Brazil. We had a good look at them and then saw this:

It is like an arial we had on our old cars for our car radios. The owner of the storage Jose saw us looking at this and came over, and told us that this was a safety feature as lots of big Adventure Bikes are stolen in Brazil, and the thief’s has now started a new method whereby they take a very thin line, cable or fishing line and tie it across the road from one telephone pole to another, and when the biker rides into the line it throws him off his bike (if not decapitated,) and then they steal the bike. This device has a very sharp blade at the end of it which cuts the line before it hurts the rider or causes him to crash.

I got some good gardening tips and color-schemes options from the house opposite the storage, I will run this by my lovely wife when I see her again:

Lovely Garden Decor, and practical:

We walked back to our hotel, only 2km away, and I noticed that all the street signs and most of the signs on shop-fronts or at entrances to houses or businesses had lovely wooden signs. There is a very ” Alpine Ski Resort” feel to this town and it is a-buzz with tourists and busses and Adventure Bike Riders and Over-Lander Camper Vans and Back Packers.

And it has a very small International Airport.

Dog and Tex has left and Peens, Rocky and Millsy is talking “Taxi Plan” to go to the airport soon. Pie and I only fly in the morning.

I did not take a photo of this trips Log Details, but we rode for 4042km, at an average speed of 79km, which took us just over 51 Hours in the saddle. My Fuel Consumption was 16,9 liter per 100 kilometers. The next Leg will be a little further.

El Calafate is about 50 Degrees further South than Cape Agulhas in South Africa. Pie tells me that there is roughly about 111km in one degree, thus we are already 1665km further South here in El Calafate, and Ushuaia is still 900km away.

Our Motorbikes has to be out of Argentina by the end of July, middle of Winter. One can only ride to Ushuaia, the most Southern City in the world, (excluding a city on an island,) during Summer. We therefore have a very short weather window to return. And it is not convenient to any of us, but we have no choice, we have to return on the 1st of February. I wish we could return later in the year, but they say the weather and wind becomes so bad, and it is very cold,) that you can’t ride anytime after the middle of February. So our plan is to return at the beginning of February, ride across the border into Chile, go down to Ushuaia, only 900km away, spend 2 days there, do a Day Trip the the Penguin Islands, eat some good Seafood, then turn around and ride up the East Coast of Argentina to Buenos Aires. BUT, new information tells us that the bikes may stay in Uruguay for 1 year, as apposed to the 8 months given by Argentina. So maybe Leg 23 will end in Montevideo, only a ferry ride and a border crossing from Buenos Aires.

I will do the Route Planning when I am back in RSA and then we can book the flights. But already Millsy and Peens has bought a Map of Argentina and this opened up the whole of Pandora’s Box as they are seeing lots of little “Kronkel” roads and they will no doubt try and change my route, again. I would love to show them all the nice things to do in Buenos Aires, but I think I must just plan the route and leave the end dates open for those that wants to stay longer, I have back to back trips now, with December Holidays starting a week after I return to South Africa, then Leg 23, followed immediately by a Scuba Diving trip and a trip to the Western Cape, followed by the DJ Rally (with the old bikes from Durban to Johannesburg,) followed by Easter Weekend which will be  back in the Western Cape, followed by a Car Rally. I am just looking at my plans for the next few months and I am already EXHAUSTED, and that is before my return in South Africa with a little bit of Jet Lag. I wonder if my Dogs will not attack me by the end of all these holidays.

But I doubt I will ever look back to this part of my life one day when I am lying on my death-bed and have regrets. Next year after Leg 23 I have a new Continent to explore (Australia) with my lovely wife. I will surely miss these bike trips, and miss the guys in the group even more, but to ride over 4 Continents in the Zig-Zag way we have been riding is not a small-thing, but it is time for a new thing after I have stood at Ushuaia, the most Southern tip of the South American Continent. It will be special as I stood at the very Northern tip of the North American Continent a while ago.

And that is where this ride ends. Thanks to all of you who rode along. We will be back riding in less than two months, hope you ride along then with us again.

Luv Ja Madly

XXXXX

Fleisch