"It never rains here" claims the owner of the tiny shop that is also a gas station at Tapi Aike. 160 km of desert in the Pampas is expecting us and there is no place to refuel before El Calafate. We leave the paved road to take a gravel and dirt track that shortens our journey of 80 km.
Two hours later, it is pouring a freezing rain. We have to keep going on because here there are no trees and no hill to protect our tent from the wind. The track is crowded with big pebbles on which the bike slide. With tiredness and cold, the moral is declining and it becomes harder to drive the handlebar. Suddenly, at a curve, we see horses. Hope! This means that an estancia (farm) is very close! Indeed, a small house smokes near the track and we can ask whether we can warm up inside. To our great relief, the gaucho who receives us opens his door. We get into a simple room with a coal stove, a gas stove, a sink, a gas lamp and a table.
Fabian, the gaucho who lives here, fills the stove with coal that comes from the Rio Turbio mine. Well-typed "moreno", it is not very big but stocky, dark skin and black hair. He offers tea and "tortas fritas" (fried bread) that we accept with great pleasure while drinking the local beverage: the mate. Fabian is a not talkative man but nevertheless responds to our questions. We learn that he works with his brother at the estancia, but he will spend Christmas alone, here, to look after the sheeps while his brother will be with their family in Rio Gallegos, the capital of the province. They will exchange for the New Year eve.
The rain keeps falling and Fabian invites us to sleep in a building rather than in the tent. We will therefore be dry tonight! Then he invites us for dinner. This time, we have something to offer: a pan de Pasqua. Despite the name recalls Easter rather than Christmas, this is a cake made with dried fruit for Christmas both in Argentina and Chile. After the disappointment of Torres del Paine in term of Patagonian spirit, we are pleased to share this moment with Fabian. The dinner is a feast with empanadas, roast chicken and vegetables from the garden, as well as homemade bread and our cake. In a very good mood, Fabian offers us an additional surprise: the flan casero (home-made egg cream topped with caramel)! We finish the evening with the sharing of maté around the stove. In the morning we leave Fabian who dressed in traditional work gears, ready to look after the sheeps with his horse. We leave for new adventures in the cold first day of summer and our first 1000 km.
