Run Forest Run!

For pre-dinner drink I had a another bottle of their beer Cape good Hope - brewed right here in Ushuaia. Very yeasty but very nice - one for Henry to try (but no i cant put a case on the bike!). I had lovely warm smoked salmon last night overlooking the view in the pictures you have already seen. Shame that bloody Casino has flashing purple and blue lights - where do town planners come from?
The Salmon was good but would have tasted better had i caught it.

Once again the hotel was staffed with very pleasant people, although the poor girls serving dinner were rather new to the job - my salmon starter  arrived with my Steak main course. They were very nice & pretty so they still got a tip (plant your cabbages in May).
The red wine from Mendoza is really rather nice and i am getting a taste for it.

I was intending to spend most of the day in Ushuaia but it was cold and wet when i woke. I looked at the weather forecast and it didn't look too good. I checked the bike temp gauge, it was reading 3 degrees, and the mountains were covered in cloud. That worried me as I had to climb back up the mountain pass to get out of this most southerly part of TDF. i had no idea how cold it was up in the mountains but did not fancy an icy ride back, especially on a new tyre which needed scrubbing in (new tyres have a slippery solution on them to get them out of the mould & needs to be worn off before it handles properly).
 I packed and decided to leave early to give myself time if it was horrible.
It was wet going up the mountain and the temp gauge dropped to 2.5 degrees at one point. I was in no hurry and took it very easy around the "Sinuoso" road. Then as if by magic you turn one more bend (just after the highest point) and hey presto is is sunny & dry!
I don't know if this is coincidence or that this is normal weather patterns for the area. It was a pleasant, if cold, run down the other side. It got up to a balmy 7 degrees.

The entertainment going back North was the traffic coming the other way. One thing I have seen on the way down has been several cyclists in ones & twos. They appear to have more baggage than i do (I mean physical baggage not mental) and are weighed down over their front & rear wheels. I can only assume that they have done the long haul from many places way up North.
They are mad, knowing the mileage they can do & the weather conditions - they have my respect! I give them a wave every time and they still have the energy to wave back so I guess they are pretty fit!.

In the first picture you can see a column of smoke from a fish smoker i assume - well this is the place down in the valley

I also saw the Pole to Pole Camper trundling down. Last time I said they only had a few hundred kilometres to go, well now they only had about 100 kms. I would like to know whether they are happy or sad to be at the end of their adventure.

But i have left the best until last. When driving down two days ago I saw a guy running, in normal running gear, no pack. As it was near a town I had assumed he was just a local out for a jog.

Nope! Here he came running at a good pace. Still no pack but two days away from where i saw him. His legs were the colour of mahogany and looked liked they had been carved from the same wood. His face was under a hat & buried beneath a balaclava and sunglasses.
I was tempted to stop and get his story but I also thought he probably doesn't need the interruption so i slowed right down, waved & touched my forelock in salute. He waved back and continued on at the same pace. He must have a back up car ahead or behind him as he had nothing with him & there is no way he can cover enough distance to find accommodation every evening. but what a journey - i have no doubt he will have come down the length of Argentina and maybe further.

So for any that thought I was mad, trust me, I am not in these guys league!

I got back to the hotel the earliest I have been. so I wandered around Rio Grande and, after my succes in Rio Galleghos Tourist office, I visited theirs. I am glad to say that, judging from their brouchures i had seen most of what Rio G had to offer but once again they are very nice & helpful.

It is a tricky day tomorrow, trying to get to Punta Arenas so I have spent a lot of time trying to get facts and figures. The choice is a difficult journey and try to make the direct ferry (6 hours min of which 4 on gravel) or 9 hours (the shuttle ferry i came down on) and about 2 hours of gravel.

I will start my journey and make my decision when the road splits after the border control (oh yeah, I get to play bingo again).

Been in touch with Wilks by email today. We may actually be in the same town at the same time next week - I bet he tries to get me to polish his shoes like the good old days!