Ruta 40... the worst road in the Americas... no tarmac, or asphalt as they say here. Well, there were brief moment of some tarmac!

Ruta 40 (Route 40) takes you from El Calafate to Bariloche. I however was in El Chalten and would start my journey there, whilst Esquel is 4 hours south of Bariloche, I stop at Esquel. Mind you, I stop at the roundabout a few kilometers out of the town, as the bus will not take you into Esquel!

The trip is a 2 day journey and a night stop at Perito Moreno. Unlike all my other long distance journeys across the continent, where Ive spent at minimum 18 hours and at most 27hrs on an overnight bus, this journey is in 2 halves. First day, approx 12 hours day travel, an overnight stop at a hotel in Perito Moreno (come hostel!) and another 12 hour journey to Barilocke, or 8 for me as I stopped in Esquel. As mentioned previously the decision to take this route was not taken lightly, given differing opinions of the route and what else was on offer. The alternative would mean going back on myself somewhat and taking an overnight bus of approx 36 hours. But I opted for what seemed an overpriced roadtrip, which is done my day to enjoy the scenery, but am also sure for safety!

Frankly, what can I say..... it was a long road... a dirt track road. We have one of them at home, well I live (well I do occasionally) on a farm and there are some dirt track roads to get to fields... but imagine that stretch of road multiplied by thousands! Its only a few metres and I travelled hundreds of KMs!

The first bus (as there were 2 - we had a different one from Perito Moreno), was dirty!!! A single decker (as previously all my overnight busses have been double decker). No toilets on board, no reclining seats, well they did go back a few degrees, but ultimately the bus was geared for day travel, thus also meant we would stop every few hours for the conveniences! Stopping in the middle of nowhere, other than there being a building or two. Usually an estancia type place. This was mostly the experience on the first day. I recall our first stop was at a petrol station where the driver filled up, not long after we left. There were 3 bikers filling up too and they had extra fuel bags to fill... given there would be no gas stations for kilometres! They were taking the epic journey too! Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid is known to do the route along with Che Guevera (not sure of spelling), as in the Motorcycle Diaries!

By the second stop of the morning, at a remote estancia I was a little fedup that the windows were so dirty and whilst stretching my legs outside the farmhouse and saying to myself, "I could really do with a brwsh cans (a hardy brush!)"... only for me to turn a few moments later and what do I see stood in front of me was an outside floor brush. So, I grabbed it and went to brush down my window! I ended up brushing about 4, as was not sure where exactly I sat, whilst I just had other passengers, at those windows beaming and giving me the thumbs up, whilst they also pointed out my own seat. Then, another guy (from Buenos Aires) saw me and asked to borrow the brush! Brilliant... we could now see from our windows!

What could we see..... well..... for hours on end... the scenery would be very much the same, so often I would end up nodding off, only to remain awake for a couple of hours an so forth! It didnt help either that the window clattered throughout... seriously clattered. I tried stuffing some paper in the sil, but that didnt work. I knew it wouldnt, as I could see the glass was actually shuddering and basically needed to be gummed back, so no tissue or card would help! I noticed the window next to mine and some bits of card, tape etc stuck to it... so you could say the bus was a little worn.... which is not surprising given the journey it had to make.

It wasnt an old bus either. The seats were comfortable, had it been a 4 hour journey on a tarmac road, but nonetheless, they were fine, but the windows were annoying and I resorted to using my earplugs!

The views were mainly of barren, flat land, with some dry shrubs, but then we would see some mountains and a lake. Now and again, I would see some animals, sheep, horses, some llama type species and an emu type bird! One thing I did notice, apart from the land... was the sky! I´ve noticed that in south america, you get to see a lot of sky! I was completly fascinated, especially by the cloud formations!! I took a number of photos and checked out my black and white setting on the camera too. Some of the cloud formations were spectacular, whilst also, looking up at the sky, I could see umpteen different formations. The sky was also quite blue at times, but often a part or most of it would be dotted with clouds. Some looked like dollops of meringue, a very flat pace and spiky tops. I´d watch them form into a bigger cluster or disintegrate.... OK.... this sounds a bid sad ... but, at least it was just a shade better than watching paint dry.. as that would probably some up the journey!

However, in a weird way, I did enjoy it somewhat. The opportunity to just stop and stare!

It was dark by the time we got to Perito Moreno and a little later than scheduled. About 20km from the town, the bus slowed down and pulled up by some bikers and a truck..... its seems that the bikers who had filled up 12 hours earlier had hit a problem and were at a stop! Our driver checked if they were ok and then went on his way. I did notice that, which I also read in a book. When on route 40 and you see a vehicle stop or people who may seem stranded, then you must stop and check that they are ok and offer assistance if they need it! A few minutes after arriving in the town, the bikers pulled up and I noticed one was covered in mud down the one side of him! Oh dear!! But they all looked fine, so did the bikes!

The hotel wasnt great.. but it was somewhere to sleep and have some food!

The next day, we get a newer bus, a sprinter as now I knew (from research) that there would be more tarmacd roads! The windows were in one piece and were not clanging... so that was good. By the way... have I mentioned the cracked and chipped windows of south america... the windows on vehicles! Every other vehicle that will pass you (in Argentina typically) will have either a huge crack in its windscreen or a chip... including the buses! A result of the dirt track roads, as not many are of asphalt!

The scenery is again much the same, but this time we seem to stop at small towns, entering the Chubut part of Patagonia. Sheep farming seems to be the big thing here, with an ornamental structure of a sheep shearer on the outskirts of one town (which looked a bit obscure and rusty!). There only seems to be one breed of sheep here... the Merino.. whilst I have also noticed only one breed of cattle - Hereford!

Scenery does change a little and we venture through valleys and see some greenery in the form of trees. We pass rivers and travel mostly on asphalt road, and when we dont, we drive alongside a new road that is still in development!

About 45 mins from Esquel, the scenery changes dramtically and becomes a lot more picturesque. Valleys, mountains and a lot more green! The final stretch of the drive is more pleasureable and am looking forward to stopping off at Esquel, part of Welsh Patagonia! The scnenery reminds me a little of home, the Brecon Beacons.

Its just gone 4pm on Saturday afternoon and I arrive at the roundabout outside Esquel. I am due to be picked up, but my mobile is not working, sothe guy from Buenos Aires and his wife (who borrowed my brush and with whom I coincidentally shared a room with at the hotel), tell me to join them, as they are going to the bus terminal in Esquel, so thats what I did (save waiting in what could be rain as it was a little overcast). I get into Esquel and after problems with the phone, the couple offer me theirs and eventually get in contact with Jeremy, who then picks me up from the station in his Welsh Patagonia car!

I´ve arrived in Esquel!