December 27: Sunrise Shenanigans

When I pulled into my hotel in Rio Gallegos after riding for almost five hours, most of the guests there were still enjoying their morning coffee. Seeing the day’s wind forecast after dinner the night before was all the motivation a night owl like me needed to wake up at the crack of dawn.

I wasn’t that thrilled about setting my alarm for 4am or having a protein bar for breakfast instead of a nice omelet. But loading up my bike in the chill morning air and seeing the sun rise over the cracked grey concrete walls of the parking area gave me just the energy boost I needed.

Hitting the road, the lack of almost any traffic at that early hour made the rather blustery ride much more manageable. Leaning into the strong wind I did wonder, though, “will I have a permanent kink in my neck from pushing my head forcefully to the right for so many hours?”

Coming up over a rise at Commandante Luis Piedrabuena, I could see the small town sprawled along the banks of the Bahia Grande, its dusty city streets, grey concrete buildings, and lush green shoreline vegetation providing a vivid contrast with the deep blue waters snaking alongside.

The further I headed south the more prolific the wildlife became, with hundreds of the cinnamon brown guanacos springing lightly away from the road, a large fluffy grey Rhea rushing into the bushes, and a grey-brown Patagonian Mara bounding out of harm’s way, it’s long legs and short tail very much reminding me of a rabbit.

Happy to have arrived safely at the Hotel Sehun, I treated myself to a hot mate tea common in this area, its bitter taste providing just the jolt I needed to perk up after a hard ride.