Cycling from Villa Union to near Huaco in Argentina

Leaving Villa Union after cycling the Cuesta de Miranda, I continued cycling towards Mendoza in Argentina, and wild camped the night near Huaco.

An Englishman in Argentina

Blog post written February 3rd 2011

I was packed and out of the Residencia by 09.00. A shame to go really, as it was such a calm and peaceful place. I stopped over the road and the bakery for some bread, and had a typical reaction when I mentioned that I was English. The situation normally goes something like this.

1. A conversation for a couple of minutes about what I am buying, moving on to general chit chat abut my bicycle tour.

2. The question is asked about which country I come from

3. I answer England.

4. The resulting facial expression from the person asking is something similar to a person at Christmas being really excited about opening a present because they think its an iPod, only to be disappointed when it’s a pair of slippers.

The reaction is normally from the ladies… the guys are a fair bit cooler about it. I think it has something to do with the in built female trait of building a romanticised version of a male from a foreign land. When I turn out to be from “the old enemy” they are quite let down! I find it all highly amusing.

Cycling from Villa Union

Anyhow, onto the road, and the first couple of hours to Guanducol were very easy, especially the last hour when I didn’t really have to turn the pedals. The rest of the day didn’t carry on in the same vein though.

Cycling out of Villa Union Argentina

 

After leaving the service station where I had filled up with water, the direction of the road had turned, and it was right into the wind. Add on top of that a slight uphill angle, and I spent the next 6 hours working twice as hard and getting only half the distance. I hate a headwind!

leaving-villaunion2

 

Just past a turning to Huaco, some 110 km at the end of the day, I passed a police post, pedalled a few km and the set up a wild camp by a river, which was unusual in these parts in that it actually had water in it.

Read more about cycling from Alaska to Argentina

 

 

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