First things first: we made it to Ushuaia, the "Fin del Mundo", or end of the world. It might not technically be the southern-most spot on the continent (that would be Cape Horn - in Chile), but regardless: the entire SnailTRails team is quite proud to have made it this far South.
Arriving in Ushuaia, we were pleasantly surprised by the natural surroundings: the two-day's drive through Chilean and Argentinian Tierra del Fuego made us expect a continuation of the flat pampa-style land-scapes. But no, we return to the extremities of the Andes, with Ushuaia located at the foot of a (small) glacier on the shores of the Beagle Canal.
We reward ourselves for this achievement by abandoning camping for a few days in favor of a heated wooden cabin. Time to reflect on our trip so far, and to make plans for the remaining leg. More about that when we officially celebrate the first anniversary of the trip in a couple of weeks.
A short word on how we got here: with a new fuel pump fitted, Archie was once again his own self, and carried us through the remainder of the stormy Carretera Austral back to Argentina for a loop on Ruta 40 south towards Puerto Natales.
The Ruta 40, the much-famed dirt-and-gravel road that Che Guevara traveled on his motorbike in the 1950ies, is undergoing a shocking change: its paving is underway, burying the mythical Ruta under a thick layer of asphalt...
A stop-over in El Calafate (very relaxed in the off-season), introduces us to one of the major high-lights of Patagonian travel: the Perito Moreno glacier in Los Glaciares National Park. All glaciers will forever be compared with this one: blue coloring, loud "calving", rough winds, fall colors, no other tourists around and a mysterious mist contribute to an extraordinary atmosphere.
One that we will be fortunate to experience again a few kilometers (bird's flight) further south, back in Chile, at the Torres del Paine National Park. Apparently an extremely busy place during the short season, we had the park to ourselves.
Instead of trying to describe the panoramas, I'll just include a few pictures. It was our first night of sleeping in the car without opening the top, as the gusts of wind rocked the car like it was a ship trying to navigate around Cape Horn...
After our few days of comfortable rest in Ushuaia, we'll head north to Buenos Aires, where we'll need to sort out our travel plans, including Archie's shipment to South Africa.
During the World Cup, flight tickets are either unavailable or horribly expensive, so we'll probably delay our passage to Africa a bit. More about that later!!
1 comment(s)
