we're riding through Torres del pain national Park. it is very beautiful. there's been occasional rain. it's about 6°. so far a nice day so long as my bike starts again.

In Torres Del Pain Park. Beautiful .

262 Km yesterday and the. battery dead again today. I think it's shot.

another day starts, cold and clear, for now. as is typical my battery is dead on my bike again. I'm waiting for the jump to get it started so the day can progress. these bikes. see some pretty heavy use and they're pretty beat. I sure do miss having heated grips, especially in this climate. , no rain today.

to Torres Del Paine today, then south.

Tonight finds us in Puerto natales chile a porktown on the southern ocean. actually it's more of a small passage through the many large islands which make up the south end of South America. The border crossing was interesting for me. somehow the registration papers to bring the bike out of argentina and into Chile in my folder got duplicated with another writer. while I handed them my paperwork, the clerk dug out the other paperwork and processed them both. I was then asked how it was. I had two motorcycles. I did some backpedaling and managed to get through the process though. the clerk was a bit flustered and forgot to get me one of the many pieces of paper I needed to get through the inspection process and I had to go back and do much of it again. I hope this does not turn out to be a problem later as I'm not sure my form was completely stamped and completed. we shall see.

Chile is what argentine's refer to as a modern country. it is a bit more cosmopolitan and seems a bit nicer. they say it is much easier to get along here. Tonight we walked a short distance from the hotel for an excellent dinner at a very nice restaurant with some very good wine. as a seaport we enjoyed fresh seafood. right off the boat. I had king grab ravioli and a very excellent bottle of wine.

Tomorrow we make up for some of the time we lost today and visit Torres del pain national park. it's about 150 km unpaved loop through the mountains and it's going to be a bit more challenging than today as it will be colder and it may rain. it's been fairly cold but only a little windy and we are hoping that the wind does not pick up to its normal howling state in this area of the country. after touring the park we have another 300 km south to reach ushuaya at the southern tip of South America. there is a very crossing involved which we have been warned can be very busy as so many tourists want to reach this southern city. hopefully we will not experience the last ferry crossing of the day which happens at midnight. Early start tomorrow, I need to get some rest.

Border crossing into Chile.

Lunch.

we have arrived at Rio turbo which is a mining town which Christian explained to us is one of the best record representations of the corruption of Argentina. we arrived at the gas station only to find the pumps were not working. so now low on gas. we have gone into town to find a restaurant and eat lunch, while the pumps are fixed. this is turning into quite an experience.

My windshield lost bolts. their are others missing too.

so if I crossed a long I think it was about 60. maybe 100 km Rocky road rolling out through the pampas where we saw ostriches and flamingos and cheap and llamas and not very much else. not a lot out here but we have crossed over to near the border with chili and we're in a bit of a spot right now. the one gas station the one we were counting on is now just an abandoned wreck. so we're going to reroute and go through. I think Rio Gallegos maybe and try to get some fuel there and then backtrack and make our way down further south and into Chile.

Change in plan. This was our gas stop.

ostrich