Perito Moreno is a town of about three and a half thousand people in the north of Santa Cruz province, and it is not to be confused with the famous glacier of the same name far to the south. It sits on the high Patagonian steppe, near the Chilean border, where the land is dry and windswept and the Andes appear as a distant blue wall. The name honours Francisco Moreno, the explorer and scientist known as the Perito, or expert, who surveyed the region in the late nineteenth century and helped settle the border question with Chile.
The town is a hub of a long ride. Ruta 40, the great road that runs along the spine of Argentina, passes nearby, and the surface here is a mix of gravel and paved sections that changes from year to year as repairs are done. Distances are huge, villages are far apart, and wind is the constant companion, so check your fuel and plan carefully. Summer, from November to March, is the most reliable season, with long daylight, though the wind is at its most violent in the afternoon. Winter nights are bitterly cold, and snow can close the road.
Perito Moreno has fuel stations, shops, basic hotels and restaurants, and it is the place to fill up and stock up before heading south on the Ruta 40 or west to the lakes. Local menus are meaty, with lamb and beef grilled on a parrilla, and a pot of coffee is always welcome after a day of wind. Los Antiguos, about fifty kilometres west on the shore of Lago Buenos Aires, is known for its cherries and has a more sheltered feel.
South of the town, a long road leads to the Cueva de las Manos, a rock shelter whose walls are covered in hand stencils and paintings of guanacos made thousands of years ago, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the great pieces of ancient art in South America. Even without leaving the town, you feel the age and scale of this country, where the horizon is as far away as it gets. It is a place to stop, refuel and take stock before the next long stretch.