Jama

Very limited Internet connection here, so just one photo and more tomorrow or Friday from Chile!

Susques

Under 140 km, but a very long and very spectacular day that started with the lengthy climb from Purmamarca to 4170 m above sea level. From Purmamarca, the road keeps climbing steadily at what I would think is a grade ranging between 4 and 7%. I read somewhere else 10% but that seems a little high; and, looking at a topographical map before this trip, I consistently got under 10%. On the way up, there are three sets of half a dozen or so switchbacks that are truly spectacular.

The climb was followed by the descent to the Salinas Grandes. I arrived in Susques just after dark and am staying at a very friendly place a little west of town.

Purmamarca

Very exciting day! The gradual climb of over 1700 m to 2300 m in Purmamarca was not very noticeable most of the way except for a short stretch between San Salvador de Jujuy and Purmamarca. Once I had passed San Salvador de Jujuy and the surrounding communities, the decrease of traffic was a delight, and I saw a bunch of other cyclists. And it has been quite an experience to suddenly be surrounded by the mountains after seeing them from the distance for a few days.

Purmamarca is as overrun by tourists (including the author of this post) as one could expect for a charming village that is immersed in stunning natural beauty.

I am one day ahead of schedule, so I decided to have a day of rest on Monday and enjoy this beautiful place before heading up to Susques on Tuesday. Filtering out the tour buses, armies of street vendors, etc. won't be a problem!

General Guemes

I was not sure what the traffic would be like on RN9; at least I was hoping it would be benign in comparison with the stretch from Jesus Maria to Villa del Totoral this past Monday.

It started off ok until San Jose de Metan, a place that seemed pleasant with many vendors of pottery products and other things.

Then I saw this sign

and (I am sure with no causal relationship to the presence of that sign) from there I was riding on a four-lane road with one lane for myself most of the time all the way to General Guemes.

I hugely enjoyed the rolling hills and views of surrounding mountains, which more than made up for some headwind.

Rosario de la Frontera

Getting out of the city was a breeze, and what followed was a fantastic, headwind-enhanced ride offering some mild hills and awe-inspiring glimpses of the Andes. The ridges northwest of Tucuman appeared like differently scaled and dramatically augmented versions of some of the mountains in the LA area - especially the Verdugo Mountains - lined up behind each other.

San Miguel de Tucuman

Just as I wanted to upload yesterday's video last night, the Internet went down, so am starting with a summary of yesterday's ride followed by today's.

The day before yesterday after dinner in San Jose de Las Salinas, I looked at the weather forecast, in particular the wind forecast, for yesterday, and I was delighted to see that the wind was supposed to cooperate. And it far exceeded my most optimistic expectations. (If I had mounted a pinwheel to my handlebar, it would have spun in reverse most of the day.) As a result, I was able to do in one day what I had planned for two. A little over 240 km to San Pedro de Guasayan, and that sort of distance never felt so easy before. Adding to the experience was the stay at the Hosteria Termal last night. Soaking in hot water was not the worst thing to do after I got off the bike!
As can be seen in the video, there were some Califonia Style stretches of the road, mainly in Catamarca Province, and the road got a bit better after entering Santiago del Estero.



Today the wind was calm, which, after yesterday felt like "no wind is the new headwind," and it was a relaxing ride of just under 140 km. Before I entered the city with its traffic (and a political protest), the were many sugarcane plantations along the way in Tucuman.

San Jose de Las Salinas

It was warmer than yesterday, and, after about 10 km on a dusty and bumpy dirt road, I was going pretty much straight northwest on RN60. The ride was made interesting by the fact that northwest turned out to be the direction of the day that the wind was blowing from. Wow! That was quite a workout. Notably, drivers, like yesterday, were very respectful, and the surface of RN60 was amazingly smooth. I kept wondering if it could be a good idea for a US congressional delegation, or maybe Pete Buttigieg, to visit Argentina and learn how it is possible to keep roads maintained so well in the middle of a grave economic crisis.

Villa del Totoral

What an amazing start of the biking part of my trip.

Yesterday in Cordoba, the temperature was over 30 centigrades and there were strong winds from the north. Today, temperatures were 10 to 20 degrees lower, and the air was coming from the south, ferociously at times, providing nice tailwind for most of the 110 km to Villa del Totoral.

Thanks to advice from Juan Patricio, whom I mentioned yesterday, I had decided to take the route north on E53 past the airport and then E66 east from Ascochinga to Jesus Maria. I very much enjoyed the gradual decline of traffic and the increasingly picturesque scenery on the way. This way, I avoided RN9 with its bicyclist-vicious traffic on the segment from Cordoba to Jesus Maria before taking that very busy highway from Jesus Maria.

In Villa del Totoral, I thought it could be a good idea to use google maps cycling directions to guide me through town to my hotel. As you can see in the last minute or so in the video below, I was directed to what evolved into a hiking trail. Then I switched the option for directions to car travel ... and for a moment it looked like I had to cross a knee-deep stream. Fortunately, there was a (mostly-intact) pedestrian bridge nearby and from there it was only a few more minutes to my hotel.

Cordoba

After a long flight with a massive layover in Lima, I arrived in Cordoba on Friday early in the morning along with my baggage. (A big thank you to LATAM Peru and all baggage handlers.)

I spent the weekend relaxing, exploring the area,

and getting my bike ready at a very pleasant accommodation in a nice neighborhood not far from the Estadio Kempes.

As I was preparing for my trip over the last months, I contacted Juan Patricio Bianchi, who has a company called Cordoba Bike Tours. Juan Patricio was extremely helpful regarding questions about my planned route, and he also recommended Gonza Bikes as a bike shop to go to just in case I need some help. My bike arrived fine, but I decided to go there anyway and say hola; I had the pleasure of meeting Gonza, who put some finishing touches on my bike with his floor pump and an allen wrench that was longer than then one I have as part of my pocket tool for the pedals.

I plan on heading north tomorrow and expect to be posting regular updates.