It's been four days of riding and 222km so far! The sights have been amazing and the riding has been tranquilopa! We are taking a rest day in Rio Grande before we head further up the Atlantic coast to San Sebastí­an. We've got sore legs and knees but high spirits!

We have averaged about 55km a day, easing ourselves into the biking routine so as not to kill our bodies early on. On the first day of riding we had some tough climbs out of the mountains as well as some nice downhill riding into the area of Lake Fagnano. We stopped in the Civil Defense office in Lago Escondido to ask about camping, and after a long round of drinking yerba mate with Pablo, a friendly and helpful chap working there, we decided to set up camp behind the building and out of the wind. Pablo and pals let us use their kitchen, bathroom, and mate! The workers at the Civil Defense were basically first response/paramedic type workers. We were happy to discover them playing a game of truco, a very fun card game Joel and I learned to play in Paraguay. We were too beat that night to play, but hopefully we'll play with some Argentinians further down the road.

Day two was a fairly easy day of riding into the town of Tolhuin. It started raining in the afternoon so we decided to check out the hospedaje options in town. We stayed at La Lengua, a place named after the well-known tree that grows in this area. We were having some trouble with our shifting, so we did a full-out bike tuning.

Day three was a longer ride through Fuegian woodland to the Atlantic Coast. It was a very different and beautiful landscape with old twisted trees covered in spooky looking hanging moss. We encountered a pair of bikers from Holland who had come from Santiago and were en route to Ushuaia. They were very friendly and wished us luck with the strong winds! Not to long after that, we encountered a rain storm and strong wind. Luckily our rain gear works just fine and we passed through it. We caught a view of the Atlantic coast and decided to camp at "Camping John Goodall", a random place run by perhaps John Goodall himself, a peculiar and friendly old man.

On day four we began to really get a taste of what was in store for us... Strong winds brought our average speed down to 15km/h and made our legs burn. The land flattened out and large cattle ranches became more prevelant. The colors were amazing... pink grasses, greens, yellows, tans, and blue sky. We also spotted several llamas, something Karen was particulary happy about. We rode into the sprawling city of Rio Grande in the afternoon and decided to stay at the economical Hostel Argentino. We bought steaks, beer, bread, cheese, and salad to prepare at the hostel and were some happy full bikers.

Today is a rest day as both of our knees hurt (any advice?) and Karen lightly twisted her ankle yesterday in a hole in the ground. Also, Joel's bike needs some work done on the shifting mechanism. It should be a windy ride up to San Sebastían, the border town. Then we will cross the Chilean border and ride on a dirt road to the ferry crossing at Porvenir. That will be a long haul!

Until then, enjoy the pictures!