As I cradle my helmet head into David’s shoulder I can feel the wind pound into the left side of my neck. David is doing a great job of keeping us on the right side of the road, what with the crazy winds we are experiencing, and I think to myself it must be tiring for him. I take a sneak peek out of the side of my visor and am amused by the trees that are bent on an angle. They seem to have adapted to all the constant wind over the years and now grow that way…
As we move closer to Ushuaia, weaving around the mountain roads I feel like I have just walked into a freezer. The temperature is at about 6 degrees and going down by the minute. It’s raining, and my hands are frozen. Unfortunately, I don’t get the luxury of heated hand grips like David dose… ???? I snuggle closer to David to feel warmer. It’s hard to believe that this is summer!! Ushuaia isn’t really what I expected. It’s lovely with its sea views, tourist cafes, bars and shops. The people are friendly, and we have bumped into so many other travelers we have met in various South American countries on our traveling journey. I think I was expecting it to be allot smaller and more country like. It’s quite a big town with a population of around 60,000 people! We first stay at a hostel as the wind is full on and we have already ripped the tent once before in El Chaiten so no more windy camping for us.. Then we move on to Tierra del Fuego National Park for a couple of days and give camping a go. It’s beautiful there with no wind and very few people. The park rangers check in on us from time to time making sure we are doing the right thing ????. We do a few hikes, which I am really starting to enjoy and relax with all the peace and quiet. We ride down to the famous Ushuaia sign in the National Park and have many photos taken. It’s an emotional time for me as it is a highlight moment for most motorcyclists traveling down to Ushuaia and this part of our journey has taken a while to accomplish. From being in the middle of Ecuador when the weather changed to turning around and heading down south, through Peru, Chile and Argentina. It’s been a massive goal of ours to achieve. So, we are here, at the “end of the world” and it feels pretty darn amazing.
We leave Ushuaia very early in the morning, 4am!!!! ???? I’m not much of a morning person but surprisingly wake up quite chipper. It’s freezing cold, I look at the GPS temperature gauge on the bike and it’s 2.5 degrees… No wonder I’m cold!! As we head off I think to myself I haven’t put enough clothes on. Even with my electric top, thermal top, T-shirt, skins and all my motorbike clothes on it’s still so very cold. And then it starts to rain…. ????
We finally stop at Rio Grande in Argentina for fuel and decide to grab more clothes out of our clothes bag, have many cups of coffee in the cafeteria to warm up and defrost our hands, then push on. Our first border crossing into Chile commences. Border crossings for us have become second nature and I have to say we are getting pretty good at them!! We both have our tasks, know exactly what we are meant to be doing and get on with it!! . Then we reach the ferry ride in Puerto Progreso, Chile. And what a windy ride it was. While David wasn’t prepared to hop off the bike purely from the wind, I held it upright from the side. It’s a good thing it’s not a very long trip I thought to myself. We also meet up with some crazy but wonderful Mexicans we have been fortunate to have met while traveling through Argentina. A father and son duo traveling on KLR 650’s for the next five or six years. Great guys!!
The Patagonia winds are in full force today as we head North and I make a comment to David through our Bluetooth SENA ‘s regarding the bikes angle… We eventually make it to our second border crossing for the day. Back into Argentina where the temperature has now reached 35 degrees and with all the extra clothes we have put on it’s hot ???? We reach our destination around 6pm. What a day!!!!
Rio Gallegos is not much to look at. It’s a windy small town in Argentina. And where we decide to call it a day after riding for nearly 12 hours. We opt for hostel accommodation because of the winds and I have to say that I am not unhappy about this… We head off the next morning for Caleta Olivia. Another small yet amusing town in Argentina. Again, we stay in a Hostel as the camping places in this town have much to be desired for!! ???? It’s a warm night and we have had another long day. We are tired, sweaty and hungry. So, after a well-deserved HOT shower, a few beers, a good feed and some great conversation with a friendly Brazilian and German we go back to our accommodation and hit the sack ???? for tomorrow is going to be yet another big day for us as we head into Chile again. Chile Chico were the winds can be crazy, but the camping is fantastic.
