January 5, 2026
Chalten to Tres Lagos
Summer is here at last because at 06 in the morning I can walk around the campsite in a teeshirt which has seen a huge influx of new tents and to Chalten in general of the post Christmas crowd; domestic holidaymakers, plus North Americans, Europeans and East Asians on early New Year breaks. So it is perhaps a good time to leave.
The switching back to cycling took a bit of a sort out of my rucksack and orientating things used on hikes back in the bike-bags. Breakfast was Saturday's stale bread as its hard here to buy a small piece for a day for one person. They've a better system in Chile where pieces are sold loose not prepackaged.
After using the wifi for answering correspondence got going shortly after 08.
Saw smoke off to southwest then further on at a turnoff to a place called Bahia Tunel, saw columns of smoke all over distant hillside.
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Around 10 a westerly breeze rose, increasing in strength to strong enough to push me along rapidly without pedalling. This made reaching the junction of route 40 at 85 kms achievable in 4 hours.
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I was looking forward to a break in out of the wind in the shelter at the junction and pulling over at 12.15 saw a touring bike outside. Inside its owner was eating lunch. A mid 50s German man who in the coarse of a long rant about Argentinians told me he'd cycled to Ushuaia and now was cycling back. The rant went on and on while I'm trying to set up the stove. Every sentence ending with "......stupid idiot people" He began to get really annoying as I just wanted peace and quiet to relax, eat and think. It wasn't as if he was super clever himself. He was filthy even though he only left Calafate yesterday. The skin peeling off his dirty forehead because when he finish eating and got up to leave, thankfuĺly, he neither put a buff or any type of head and face protection on. Not even a helmet.
A little after he left two motorcyclists turn up. One an Englishwoman with Argentinian brother-in-law. Her husband's bike had a mechanical in Chalten and they'd wait here for him as he was now up and running and on his way.
Continue the 35 kms to Tres Lagos, stopping at service station 3 kms west of village where I bought a milanesa sandwich for tomorrow, a bottle of lemonade and coffee for 33,000 (£18). Rest for bit in cafeteria before continuing to municipal campsite.
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