Ushuaia: End of the Road

The last leg of my Patagonian bike adventure took me across Tierra del Fuego from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia. 

After a wet, windy and sleepless last night in my tent in Punta Arenas, I rode out the port for the morning ferry to Porvenir. Even that short trip was a challenge as the wind, gusting 100 km/h, threatened to tip me off my bike. Luckily the ferry crossing was not as rough as expected as we had a tailwind. Back on the ripio, the tailwind propelled me southward and then eastward, first along Tierra del Fuego's desolate coast and then out across the tan-coloured pampa. Thanks to the cold and lack of shelter, it's a fairly hostile environment for humans. Estancias (sheep or cattle stations) appear occasionally, and little villages are usually spaced about 100 km apart. In between there's not much but big skies and brown grass. Animal life is more abundant: there are several penguin colonies along the coast and I also saw guanacos (llamas), foxes, flamingos and a condor. 

The extreme environment is tempered by the incredible hospitality of the locals, especially towards cyclists. In the absence of "normal" camping options, I shared some interesting sleeping experiences with my cycling buddies:

- in the shearer's quarters of an estancia - in the waiting room at the chilean/argentine border at San Sebastian

- with Rio Grande's volunteer firebrigade - in the gymnasium of the owner of the Panaderia in Tolhuin.  

These experiences, and good luck with the wind, helped to make my journey across the pampa surprisingly enjoyable. 

My route took me to San Sebastian and Rio Grande on the Atlantic coast, then southwestward down to Ushuaia. The pampa gave way to an alpine environment of trees, mountains, glaciers and lakes. Five days after setting off from Punta Arenas, I rolled in to Ushuaia. It was time to celebrate!

For most of my cycling companions, Ushuaia marks the end of their trip and it's time to go home - with the memory banks bursting with months worth of travelling experiences. For me, it's the end of a chapter. I've had two fantastic months exploring Patagonia and have reached my goal of riding to Ushuaia, making lots of new friends along the way. It is a satisfying feeling. Now my thoughts are turning to new adventures in the north of Chile, Bolivia and Peru. That's where I'm headed now, taking things slowly by bus, travelling north, following the sun. 

With the bomberos in Rio Grande. 

Horses near Lago Fagnano. 

Approaching Ushuaia, the mountains return. 

Ushuaia (on a good day). 

Ships in the harbour. 

We made it!!! 

What do four hungry cyclists from Colombia, USA, Canada and NZ eat on their last night together at the end of the world? Burgers, of course!

And the obligatory photos of me...(hi mum!)

At the most southerly city in the world. 

At the end of the world.

At the very end of Ruta 3.

My complete route through Patagonia. 

Villarica to Coyhaique. 

Coyhaique to Puerto Natales. 

Puerto Natales to Ushuaia. 

Riding the Pampa to Punta Arenas

After Torres del Paine, I made quick progress south on Ruta 3 from Cerro Castillo to Punta Arenas. The road is sealed and with the wind mostly at my back, I was able to average well over 20 km/h for the 310 km journey. Along the way I stopped in the pleasant seaside town of Puerto Natales and also had a night in the little village of Villa Tehuelches out on the pampa. The scenery in the pampa is nothing special but the vastness and emptiness of the wind-swept landscape leave a lasting impression. The wind on the pampa can be a cyclist's greatest friend or bitterest enemy. Like a spirit, he can arrive without warning, stick around for hours, and disappear just as quickly as he came. Riding north to south offers the best chance of a healthy tailwind and was one of the main factors I took into consideration when planning the trip. So far I have been pretty lucky, and I hope my luck holds all the way to Ushuaia...

Arriving in Punta Arenas was a bit of a shock. Although not a big place, it's definitely the largest city I've been to since Santiago de Chile 7 weeks ago. The outer suburbs are scruffy and pockmarked with industrial buildings but the downtown area is nice to wander and I've enjoyed cooking some decent food in the guesthouse kitchen. After a couple of rest days, it'll be time to take the ferry across the Strait of Magellan to Porvenir for the final push to Ushuaia.

Leaving the changeable weather around Torres del Paine behind, for a while.

Birds on the old pier in Puerto Natales.

A view back across the pampa between Puerto Natales and Villa Tehuelches. Soon there were no more trees...

Punta Arenas with the Strait of Magellan in the distance.

Sorry dude, they´re all for us.

Trekking around Torres del Paine

After two long days on the Argentinian pampa, I reached the small but incredibly windy village of Cerro Castillo just over the border in Chile. This was my staging point for a trek around the Torres del Paine, one of the most famous national parks in South America. I decided to do the "O" and set off with enough food for 6 days. On the third day, I reached Paso John Gardner in perfect conditions and enjoyed fabulous views over Glacier Grey as it stretched down from the Campo de Hielo Sur. From then on, weather conditions rapidly deteriorated with several days of rain and high winds at low altitudes and snowfall up higher. I therefore decided to complete the simple "O" and not make detours up to the base of the towers. Disappointing, but I still saw some incredible scenery.

The window of a gas station on the pampa. Many travellers pass this way...

Back to Chile for the Torres del Paine trek.


Approaching the Torres del Paine.

Camp Dickson in a beautiful setting on Lago Dickson.

Perfect conditions to enjoy Glacier Grey from the Paso John Gardner.

The glacier's crevassed top surface.

The glacier feeds Lago Grey.

A great sunrise from the campsite at Paine Grande. The clearing in the weather was only temporary.

On this morning there was a mystical feel to the landscape between Paine Grande and Campamento Italiano.

The sun came out briefly over Lago Nordernskjold and the wind was howling.

 Not all tents survived the night.

Farewell to Torres del Paine.

A Visit to Perito Moreno Glacier

I visited Perito Moreno Glacier as a day trip from El Calafate. While the weather was not the greatest for taking photos, it was still fascinating to observe the front face of a calving glacier from up close. The front face towers about 75 m high out of the water. While mostly white, given that it was cloudy, some crevasses and fissures were an iridescent blue. Small and large pieces of ices would occasionally crash down into the grey water below. Quite a spectacle to watch.

The Perito Moreno glacier extends 30 km up to the Southern Patagonian Ice Field and is one of only 3 in Patagonia that is growing.

 The glacier's advancing front face.

Boom!