Route 40 from El Calafate, in southern Patagonia, to Bariloche in the Lakes District is still known to be an adventurous route. It passes through mountains and valleys, national parks and reserves, small towns, farms and open plains. The journey took two days. The first day was almost entirely on gravelly unpaved road. After 14 hours or so, with a couple of short stops to buy food and use off-bus bathrooms, we were more than ready to stop for the night in Perito Moreno. We had been booked into a dorm room (with 5 other travellers). It had been a long time since we´d been in a dorm, and the Hotel Belgrano was not a luxury lodge by any means, but at least no one snored. We also had a GREAT meal in Perito Moreno. The lasagna was made with what seemed to be crepes instead of layers of pasta. The serving was HUGE and delicious.

In the morning, we continued the journey, through Rio Mayo and eventually, 12 more hours later on to Bariloche. Only the first 150 km or so of this ride were unpaved; after that the road was pretty good. The scenery was beautiful, and there was plenty of time to gaze out at it. The Andes were almost always in view, and we saw lots of the llama-like guanaco and ostrich-like ñandués, which were still novel to us. A French couple was travelling the whole route with their two sons, one about 4 and the other not more than a year or so. The boys were very good, overall, and by the second day everyone was taking turns entertaining the baby.