Tres de Mayo

July 17, 2025

Much of today is best forgotten. Ruta Cuarenta promised to be bad and she didn't disappoint. After a few weeks of wonderful traffic free cycling our penultimate day on the road was a white knuckle affair with an atrocious road surface and manic drivers.

After 76 kilometers we escaped eastwards onto the first back road available. This gave us the chance to enjoy 13 kilometers of smooth and quiet country roads for the rest of the afternoon. We passed through the small town of Tres de Mayo before reaching what we hoped we be our digs for the night, Cabañas Despertar de Horneros. These are a few simple cabins just off Ruta Cuarenta run by the delightful Monika. If we had stuck on Ruta Cuarenta we would have saved ourselves four kilometers but would have lost our marbles.

Of course we passed through Tres de Mayo just before the end of siesta so after settling in I had to cycle back into town for some groceries and something to settle our nerves.

We have about 45 kilometers to cover to Mendoza tomorrow, none of it on Ruta Cuarenta thank goodness.

Today's ride: 93 km (58 miles)
Total: 2,811 km (1,746 miles)

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Rich FrasierUgh. No fun.
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2 weeks ago

Jean-Marc StrydomTo Rich FrasierHi Rich. It was one of those days where the objective was to reach the destination in one piece. Drivers in Argentina, similar to those in much of the world, seem to drive more frantically as the driving conditions deteriorate. The weirdest element to the stressful situation that it creates is that they continue to give us friendly waves, thumbs ups and encouraging hoots all at the same time as almost killing us.
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1 week ago