http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/gandolfi/ Veracruz, Mexico, to Tierra del Fuego en-us FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19 I share the bunkroom (four bunks) with an absent Japanese. I unload the bike and ride out of town to the Honda agency. The owner of the restaurant where I stopped for lunch has called to announce... http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/gandolfi/002317.php FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19 I cross the final mountain pass to Ushuaia. A few specks of snow sting my cheeks. Snow turns to rain as I dip into town. Ahead lies the Beagle channel. I book into the Hostal Cruz del... http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/gandolfi/002316.php FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19 Honda and I are on the final climb of our journey. Snow closes in. Sun-lit peaks shimmer. I stop for lunch at a restaurant on the right of the road. The owner quizzes me. Where do I... http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/gandolfi/002315.php FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19 I have gained a day. I had a Friday yesterday. Now I discover that today is Friday. One day in six months is no big deal. I ride out of Rio Grande with regret. The Hotel Argentina... http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/gandolfi/002314.php FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19 I eat an excellent grill and stroll back passed the Liverpool Pub. The cops remain in occupation. The kitchen at the Hotel Argentina is welcoming. The coven and the students slope off to watch a couple of... http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/gandolfi/002313.php FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19 Rincon de Julio in Rio Grande is across the highway from the gas station. Julio is where the locals eat, those serious about food. Don’t try the smart restaurant attached to the expensive hotel. Julio’s is the... http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/gandolfi/002312.php FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20 I fill with gas, take a right at The Liverpool Pub, an immediate left and a second right on the main avenue. Hotel Argentina is the low, single-floor tin building on the right. You can’t miss it.... http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/gandolfi/002311.php FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20 There is a lot of water on the approach to Rio Grande. Early evening and mist smokes off the lakes and ponds and streams. Cold closes in. Visibility drops and my spectacles fog over. The fuel gauge... http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/gandolfi/002310.php FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20 I am half an hour at the Argentine border. I fly home at the end of the month and will return in February to ride north. I intend storing the Honda with the Honda agent in Ushuaia.... http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/gandolfi/002236.php FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20 Paperwork at the Chilean border takes half an hour. I have 180 Ks to cross before reaching the next frontier. The first 30 Ks are concrete; the rest is gravel. Gravel would have defeated me at the... http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/gandolfi/002235.php FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20 There are no gas stations between Santa Cruz and the border. Fill up in town. Wind as usual. The landscape has more shape; scrub has given way to vast grass paddocks. The grass is thin and tufty.... http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/gandolfi/002234.php FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20 I have four borders to cross: out of Argentina, into Chile; out of Chile, into Argentina. A young Argentine cop at the first border discusses the Malvinas war. He was a child, too young to remember much... http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/gandolfi/002233.php FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20 There are no gas stations between Santa Cruz and the border. Fill up in town. Wind as usual. The landscape has more shape; scrub has given way to vast grass paddocks. The grass is thin and tufty.... http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/gandolfi/002232.php THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19 Santa Cruz is the Provincial capital. It is packed with visiting officials and people needing to speak with officials. And it has the Province’s main hospital. I try six hotels before finding a bed. The shortage puts... http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/gandolfi/002231.php THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19 I face another day of wind and cold and vast distances. I am accustomed now to the dress code for springtime in Patagonia. On the bottom half I wear underwear and long underwear, two pairs of pyjama... http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/gandolfi/002230.php