So after a week at Spanish School we have learnt one basic thing, which is that we have no idea when it comes to Spanish. 

However, our last night’s lesson which was a visit to the coolest pizza bar I’ve ever been too made it all worthwhile. 

Plus I am very fluent in saying “pardon my Spanish is very bads”.

We spent the first day travelling the road we had already ridden, and ended up 100kms further past our furthest point so far. 

We stayed in a little developing town in a hostel that was almost finished. 

We couldn’t find anywhere to eat so it was two minute noodles and beer… the dinner of champion travellers. 

Next morning we fronted the petrol station to find they had no petrol! 

Not only that but they were not too sure when it would be arriving, possibly the next day or the one after. 

So we had no choice but to back track 110kms to get fuel. 

The upside? 

Another night in our favourite town El Chalten.

From here we had several travel days where we tried to get as much distance under our wheels so we could get into Chile and onto the Carretera Austral as soon as possible. 

We were aiming at heading up and crossing over at Perito Moreno which is the main route most people take. 

However, a chance meeting of a German bike rider at a tiny town had us convinced to try a back route into Chile via a tiny border crossing.

With this in mind we headed over Paso Robillio. 

The terrain was rugged and the only other traffic was a single off road truck camper van. 

The border was tiny, and both the Argentinian and Chilean guards were surprised to see us. 

An hour and a half later we were heading onto the Carretera Austral and heading up the Chilean side of the Andes. 

We stopped for lunch and were interrogated by the café owner’s four year old daughter… who refused to believe we didn’t speak Spanish!

This side of the mountains could not have been any more different to the Argentinian side, with lush grass and trees surrounding the incredibly blue water of the river. 

We aimed for a little town called Port Tranquillo which is famous for its Marble Caves.

The next day we could see why. 

The caves were nothing short of incredible and we spent an hour boating around them. 

The marble cliffs have been eroded by the weather and water for eons, leaving these spectacular caves for all to see.

From here we spent two days running up to the ferry port of Chaitan. 

These were interesting days in themselves, with roads being challenging yet fast. 

We had to travel through 100kms of road works. 

If these had been in Australia the entire site would have been closed to the public.

We found ourselves skittering down muddy mountain sides, riding under excavators while they were excavating, and squeezing through gaps between dump trucks while we all were traveling at 80km/h!

However, the last 100kms were brand new roads that had been constructed incredibly well.

Most surprising they had cambers on the roads that convinced us that whoever was in charge definitely owned a big bike or sports car. 

This was just a joy to race along after the hours of slogging through dirt and mud we had just finished.

Chaitan was interesting as it sits at the base of an active volcano. 

So active that only 10 years ago it buried the town. 

While it has been rebuilt there is lots of the town that is still in ruins. 

You can see the smoke rising above volcano still.

The next day we caught three separate ferries through spectacular glacier lined lakes and with a little bit of riding we arrived into Puerto Montt, which has nothing but spare parts to offer travellers. 

Which is lucky as we needed some! 

Our next destination was Bariloche which involved crossing back into Argentina. 

The mountain pass was incredible, and the sight of the volcano eruption here (yes there are a lot of volcanoes in this area) still has no trees growing on it. 

They have erected a sign to give you the ultimate before and after shot, and it is incredible the amount of landscape the volcano simply removed from the area.

Bariloche itself is a pretty little town with plenty of German influence on a stunning lake.

But after our time in Patagonia it lacked the knockout punch of wow factor that we had seen so much of on this trip.

From here we are heading into the centre of Argentina for a farm stay, then Mendoza for a wine tour, across to Santiago and then heading up the Chilean coast to the Atacama Desert. 

Can’t wait!

You can follow Gerry and Dwayne’s progress on their webisite - www.threethumbstravel.com and feel free to donate to the Royal Far West while you are there.