Fin del Mundo

End of the World - Fin del Mundo. Ushuaia, Tierre del Fuego, Argentine. Latitude 54.8°S

Well that's it. I can go no further south so I had better turn around and ride home.

Overlooking the Beagle Channel, on the island of Tierra del Fuego, the town of Ushuaia is the most southerly city in the world.
Getting here from Puerto Natales, Chile was a straight shot south but I made a few detours and stops on the way.

This was a flock of thousands of sheep that were being herded ( do you herd sheep or only cattle? ) along a rural road that I had to nudge my way through

This part of Patagonia is infamous for the wind that never stops blowing, making it difficult to just navigate a straight line along a road. I have no idea how the bicyclists I see along the way manage to do it.

Punta Arenas

I made a much needed stop in Punta Arenas for a few days and got some work done on my motorbike that included a new set of badly needed tires - what a difference, the dirt roads are now fun again.

Ferdinand Magellan

Punta Arenas was not the most scenic of towns but extremely interesting as it lies on the Straits of Magellan and so is still an important port for vessels passing through this historic part of the globe.

I took a ferry across the straits on to the island of Tierre del Fuego and had mapped out a route on the way down to Ushuaia to take me a lot of the way on back roads.

Dragline at Russfin

Some of the animals I encountered along the way

Fox

Foxes were introduced to try and control the infestation of rabbits that grew to an astonishing 30 million strong in the 1950s before myxomatosis all but wiped them out

Beaver - Castor in Spanish

Another brilliant failure in introduced species was the beaver. Introduced with the idea of harvesting them for their fur the beaver bred just like the rabbits but their fur did not grow to the length of their north American brethren making them a financial failure.

Sheep

The millions of sheep were the basis of the agricultural economy starting in the early 20th century

King Penguins

At least these guys were native and there are active programs to encourage the growth of their colonies

Estancia Harberton

I spent a night at Estancia Harberton, on the Argentinian side of Tierra del Fuego which was established by an Anglican missionary, Thomas Bridges in 1896. He was granted a land holding of 20,000 hectares by the Argentinian government and become the first white settler on the island. This was a thriving sheep farm until 1995 when the harsh winter killed almost all of the flock. It is now on the national historical registry and is still managed by the family. I met Tommy Goodall (84), great grandson of Thomas Bridges.

Rufous Tailed Hawk - I think

A Whimper In The Night

This was posted in the hostel I was staying at in Puerto Natales, Chile. I try not to make fun of translations, especially because my Spanish is so atrocious but I just could not let this one go without an honorable mention.

Since my last post I rode almost the full length of the Carretera Austral, seen unimaginable grandeur and sailed on a ferry for two days through the fjords of Patagonia. I am not quite sure how to begin describing this part of the trip so hopefully with the use of many photos I can convey just how it is that being wet for so long can be such an amazing experience. There seems to be just two types of weather at this time of the year, raining or about to rain. During the periods of "about to rain" the sun comes out fleetingly and transforms the scenery into something magical.

Over the stile

Cerro Mackay

Through the fields, over the stile and through the enchanted forest brings you to the top of Cerro Mackay with a great view of  Coihaique, the largest town in the region

Moss covered trees

From Coihaique the road is paved and an easy ride to the little town of Villa Cerro Castillo where the sidewalks ends and the gravel begins again. 

Cerro Castillo

A 3 hour hike through beautiful indigenous forest and then tundra brings you to the the base of this 2800 m ( 9200 ft ) peak 

Bloody cold glacier lake

With the sun out and the wind calm I had no excuse not to, oh so briefly,  go jump in the lake

A real gaucho

On the road to Puerto Tranquilo on Lake General Carrerra the towing mountains with hanging glaciers made it difficult to keep my eyes on the road. Even though it had rained just a few hours before the fine dust on the gravel road coated me in white.

Catedrales de Marmol

Look at the color of that water!!

In the little village of Puerto Tranquilo a twenty minute boat ride takes you to the Catedrales de Marmol - Cathedrals of Marble. These caves have been sculptured by the waters of the lake pounding the cliff faces and created a fascinating labyrinth.


A beautiful section through indigenous forest on a gravel road brought me to the end of my Carretera Austral ride at the tiny town of Caleta ( Cove ) Tortel. I arrived with two days to spare before the, once weekly, ferry departed for Puerto Natales. I was concerned that I would not get on this ferry which would have meant either waiting a week or retracing my steps for many hundreds of kilometers and then riding south through Argentina - no need to have worried as there was plenty of space onboard.

Caleta Tortel

The fire brigade 

With two days to explore this tiny town I think I walked every step of the wooden walkways that connect all the houses up and down the cliffs. This walkway followed the cove for about a kilometer - what a charming little place to spend a couple of days. I can only say that in winter this fishing village must be frigid because even in the height of summer it was not exactly balmy.

With no roads in the town the fire brigade consisted of this minute vessel seen in the photo above, a couple of hoses and a portable pump on board. With everything in the town being constructed of wood and all heating with wood burning stoves I suspect that the fire department stays busy. I saw at least four burned-out buildings so obviously the equipment is in drastic need of an upgrade.

Fjords shrouded in mist

The two day ferry trip south from Puerto Yungay ( the ferry port near Caleta Tortel ) was stunning with the endless waterfalls cascading off the cliffs that hung over the fjords. Albatrosses followed along next to the vessel without seemingly flapping there wings, skuas and gulls would take off noisily as the boat approached and many seals, dolphins otters were seen along the way. There was a shout of "Orca" from a delusional passenger at one point but I think that might just have been a figment of his imagination brought on by the forced abstention from alcohol aboard this "dry"vessel

Wreck

A would have thought it safe to assume that these interconnecting fjords were thousands of feet deep - I guess that is what the captain of this vessel thought as well.

Puerto Eden

A brief stop in the remote fishing village of Puerto Eden brought supplies to this town that is only accessible by boat.

Forty one hours later we arrived at the port town of Puerto Natales, gateway to the hiking paradise of Torres del Paine National Park. I will not spend too much time here as I will be returning in a couple of weeks, with my daughter, Erin to take on some of the legendary hikes in the park.

Downtown Puerto Natales

Fishing fleet

Black necked swans

Next stop is Punta Arenas

Peanuts and Beer for New Year

I spent a very quite New Years Eve planning the next part of my travels.

Beer, peanuts and a little adventure

This was what I managed to scrounge up for supper.
The town of Castro on Chiloe Island was completely closed up for the night and not even a restaurant was open.

Nobody was moving around town but suddenly as the clock struck midnight a fireworks display erupted over the little harbor and people flocked out of their homes to watch. I guess spending the night with family and friends is what people do rather than going out and painting the town.

I needed to have few repairs taken care of before heading south. Small welding shops can be found in almost any town and the people who run them are usually just like this guy - very innovative and competent in their skills. In no time at all the frame for my panniers was ready to face whatever the Carretera Austral could throw at it.

Carretera Austral -- Southern Highway

This highway was begun in 1976 and most of the construction on the 1250km road between Puerto Montt and Villa O'Higgins was done during the 1980 by the Chilean army under the leadership of General Augusto Pinochet.

Nearly 40% of the road is now paved but the gravel ( ripio ) sections are hardpacked and although often potholed are fun to ride

Ripio ( gravel ) section

Traveling the Carretera requires spending many hours on ferries as the road winds along this amazing coastline

The ferry system is extremely well organized and ferries are on time and relatively cheap

Landslide and reconstruction

There are many unstable section of the road due to the terrain, rain and seismic activity often necessitating detours.

Overnight Ferry from Chaiten to Pto. Raul Marin Balmeceda

In mid December a huge mudslide buried the little town of Santa Lucia, killing more than 20 people and demolishing the road which will now be closed for at least four months. To get around this obstacle there is an overnight ferry that takes seven hours.

Breakfast on the road grader

Arriving at six in the morning there was a short distance before the next ferry across the Rio Palena was encountered. This ferry only started operations at 8.30 in the morning so there was a two hour wait which some fellow motorcyclist took advantage of to cook up a breakfast of eggs, toast and coffee. Wow that tasted good -- thanks!!

One of the things I have enjoyed so much on this trip is the incredible variety of wild flowers

Fuchsia Magellanica

Like these fuchsias that can be seen in large bushes on the side of the road.

Fox Gloves

Then there are these Fox Gloves -- I was trying to find out what the name is in Spanish and knew the name for fox -  el zorro. I asked a fellow traveller the name for glove and was told it is - el guante.

I then asked if he knew the name of the flower that translates to Zorro Guantes. I was told un flor - a flower. -- right!!

Ringed Kingfisher

In past posts I have talked a little about fishing. Now here is a little guy who really does do some catching.

I am hoping that this next week will dry out a little as riding for hours in the rain does get a little old especially as no how good your rain gear is water finds its way in.