3rd Day - Back to Argentina / Rio Gallegos

31 Jan 2015
650 - 910 km
Punta Arenas - Chile

Although we really enjoyed our stay in Chile, their excellent coffee, cheese, and beer (my list of things better in Chile), we were off to Rio Gallegos where Caro´s brother Miguel was waiting for us. He had already arranged accommodation for us. On the map the route looked fairly quick and easy, with just a boarder crossing to worry about, it seemed.

As we were navigating the streets to leave the city behind us, we could not help but notice the strong winds. True enough, when we reached the huge flat lands outside the city, it was quite a struggle to stay firm on the road, especially when buses and trucks flew by and hit you with a huge wind gust. I must say my previous experience with Patagonian winds came in handy, as I could sit back and not over exert myself to keep the bike upright!

Dont leave the bike unattended! ...it will fall over

We met some bicyclist later on when we were adjusting the luggage. The Italians were quite skeptical to keep riding, and I can only imagine what it would be like to on a bicycle.

(Very) fortunate for us, as the wind came from the west, the road where we were going took off east back to Argentina and Rio Gallegos, hence we had an incredible tailwind for the rest of the day (which is a luxury rarely enjoyed for too long). Incredible!!

The boarder crossing looked like a chaos with cars everywhere and too many crammed inside the office. However, we had to go to the Argentinian side to do all the paperwork, so we left it all behind us! Phuu...! - Still, the Argentinian side was not that much better. We spent two hours at the boarder (always checking on the bike because of the winds) before we could leave again. 

At the end of the day, we found Miguel in Rio Gallegos and he introduced us to our host, a ninety year old (super) woman. After a shower and a chat, we headed out to eat, drink some vine, and finally try "the best ice-cream in the world"! We had a stellar night out with Miguel, eating great food at The British, and some of the best ice-cream I have eaten yet at Don Tito! ...keep in mind, Rio Gallegos! 

The following day began the long journey though the vast Patagonia along the Argentinian east coast. Ruta3! 

2nd Day - Race agaist time

30 Jan 2015

300 - 650 km

The boarder 

After a few hours of rest, we forced ourselves outside to organize and pack. It was a promising morning, a bit chilly but without too much wind. It was going to be a race against time to arrive to Punta Arenas before they closed for the weekend. Although with had margin on our side, we had barely slept for two days, and the wind can come right out of nowhere and totally turn your day around!

Bright and early! 

We left the boarder where the notorious dirt road which I had heard motorbikers comoplain about so much began. These days I don´t mind them so much, it makes it a bit more fun! Our next stop would be the ferry at the northern side of the island! The ride was less uncomfortable than the first day. The dirt road had me constantly alert to not lose the grip, and after a few hours, we arrived at the crossing! 

Without "real" food for too long, I was hungry! 

On mainland, we set out for Punta Arenas! The weather condition was not too bad, but the long stretches of road through vast, empty plains made it really hard to keep focused. We had to stop a few times to take a break, drink some "mate" before we kept going! 

The bike was performing well with an extra passenger and all the equipment! With a little bit of patience the km´s added up and we arrived to Punta Arenas! 

Such a relief!!

Since I already had been to the city, I knew exactly where to find what we needed. Due to "siesta", everything was already closed, but about to open an hour later, so we decided to go for a much needed coffee! 

After the break, I was able to buy the insurance. We found accommodation, and after a home cooked meal, we needed little motivation to crash, completely exhausted! - But we made it! We made it!

Now, the journey through Patagonia can begin!! 

What a beauty!!

1st day - A farewell to Ushuaia

29 Jan 2015
0 - 300 Km
Ushuaia

At the gate to Ushuaia, on La Ruta3.

The motorbike has a fairly high centre of gravity, so it makes it tricky to balance when you get on, off, moving it around. After having spent quite a chaotic day getting ready, already tired, we almost tipped the bike when it was Caro´s turn getting on! We barely avoided a catastrophic start of the trip!

We left Ushuaia relieved to finally be on the road, to leave all the stress and anxiety behind, to enjoy the peacefulness of the road. We tried to put a good distance between us and Ushuaia, to make progress early on. 

But after leaving the protective mountain chains surrounding Ushuaia, we were almost immediately hit by the cold Patagonian wind. As we stopped at Rio Grande some 200 km later, I told her; "Not all days are going to be like this!" as she looked a little worried what she had gotten herself into! 

100 km later, we were at the boarder. Although very tired, the plan was still to keep going. Maybe a fools errand, and I think we did the right thing listening to the kind lady who advised us to stay for at least a few hours till sun rise (it was already 2200). We met some bikers from Japan, Chile and Spain, and shared the common space, basically a kitchen, with them. 

We shared some "mates" (Arg / Urg hot drink, much like green tea) over some stories of our adventures so far. One person at the time could enter a shower lit up by a generous soul who had hung his / her head-lamp to light up the dark room.

Caro organizing our stuff, getting ready to get some rest

After the luxurious hot shower, a snack bar, we needed little to put us to sleep, even with the rest of the group cooking right beside us. It had been a looong day indeed! And a few hours later we were bound for Punta Arenas to buy the insurance that I so desperately needed to drive the bike outside of Chile (before they closed for the weekend)!!

We still had a long way to go!

Its going to be a looong day!

When I had my good-bye dinner at work, someone pointed out that I would most likely not be able to buy an insurance for my bike on a Saturday...! (HOW COME I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT!) So, that night when I got back home, I told Caro that we were leaving the next day! We slept very little that night...

In order to complete our must-do´s before leaving, we also woke up early. Although we were fairly efficient to get the our errands done, everything took its time, and time was not on our side. We had to get to Punta Arenas before 1700 the following day!   

I tried not to panic, let stress get the best out of me, and be as patient as ever. Because, on the motorbike, its all about harmony and peace of mind. The best trip can turn into the worst nightmare if you are not in a good state of mind! - And now we are two! 

Fortunately, Caro is an extraordinary organized, practical and smart person, so without too much difficulty, we were able to coop with what had to be done!

Packed! ...but there is always more! When I tried to make room for a last piece of clothing, and could barely fit it into our green-last-resort-bag, I realized we were fully loaded!  

So happy, innocent, and unknowing to what´s ahead! 

Although very excited to finally embark on this incredible journey, we were already tired from the hectic day. The day did not work out as planned! 

Everything Fits!!

I did not want to wake up the day we were going to leave without having packed everything on the bike, to see that it actually fit, including our co-pilot Caro! So after having packed the backpack, the side bags, and folded the tent, we brought everything out to the motorbike.

At the end, after everything was strapped on the bike, we were quite happy with the result! Everything fit!!  Moreover, the bike is not overburdened nor packed excessively horizontally nor vertically. Although the wind is strong, I think she will be solid on the road, not catch to much headwind, nor be hard to balance due its relatively low centre of gravity. 

Even though there are always more things you haven´t thought of, there is still space in the backpack, so I´m not worried. Spare parts packed, food and water will come later. So when the two of us took our seat, we were both comfortable and satisfied! We will take a tour to the national park tomorrow before heading off on friday!! 

Now Caro has started to work on a comfortable cushion, to make the long distances not soo terribly long! Even if the Tornado is an incredible bike to travel with, the seat makes you stop every 1-2 hours because of pain-in-the-butt!! - To say the least, Im excited to see the result! 

Organizing our stuff

Here we are, organizing all the stuff we need to take with us; spare parts, tools, camping kitchen + gas, etc. Fortunately all this fits in the side bags. We will pack the rest; cloths, sleeping bag etc in a 60 L backpack! 

Recently I bought the electric bump to inflate the tires, a windshield for the motorbike, and I am still looking for a 3 L tank to carry extra fuel (for the long distances without gas stations along La Ruta3 a.k.a. the highway along the east coast). 

We will take a tour down to the national park before we head out of Ushuaia, to see that everything works! I´ll up-load some photos before we leave on the 29th!

A solemn traveller no longer

During my long months here in Ushuaia, I have had the privilege to get to know Caro (which those of you who have been following my blog up-dates are already familiar with). She will be accompany me on my journey up north! Brave soul! - And I am very excited to at last share my adventures with someone!

As she works as a teacher, she has the summer months free, thus able to travel for an extended time. Our goal is to go to Paraguay where Caro has her extended family, a country I also have wanted to travel to. On the way we are going through Uruguay, and Iguazu in Brasil.

Now, the new challenge is how to fit another person on this bike! Even if she is relatively tiny, it will be a little tricky!

I guess this is somewhat what we are aiming for. I´ll keep you up-dated!

A bit windy

So this morning when I woke up the the wind howling outside, I found that the wind / rain cover for the bike had turned into a skirt,..from the look of things! I was once told: "If there is no wind, it is simply not Patagonia"...

La Patagonia is notorious for the harsh and unmerciful winds! Here in Ushuaia the strong winds come and go, but never stay for an extended time. It is the wind however that I am a little concerned about! ..still nothing you can really prepare for! Windguru is a useful tool though!

Back on the road again

Although the duration of my stay in Ushuaia has far exceeded all expectations, I have found it both meaningful and important to me. Yet, the time has come to seek new frontiers, up-root the comfortable daily routines, and spread the wings to reach new heights. Moreover, I will meet up with my parents in Uruguay in February, spend a two weeks with them before the journey carries. The final destination of this trip will be Santiago / Chile, to complete the loop, the motorbike adventures of South America (...this time around), and to finally find a new owner to my bike.  

The first stage of this last chapter is to arrive to Punta del Este in Uruguay before the 10th of February. I have decided to explore the vast emptiness that characterizes the Argentinian Patagonia as I mean to travel along the national highway 3 (Ruta3), which starts and ends in the two vertical limits of this loong country. From Buenos Aires, I will take the ferry across the river to Uruguay, and finally ride the last stretch over to the summer paradise of South America; Punta del Este. 

The red mark follows my intended route north. The green, the route I have so far travelled, from Santiago / Chile to La Paz / Bolivia, back to Santiago and then south all the way to Ushuaia. You can read all about it following the link below:

http://motorbiketoursa.blogspot.com.ar/2014/01/winter-break-in-sweden-i-brief-summary.html

I will post the plans for the rest of the trip in the following days!
Stay tuned!!

(Subscribe if you want to be notified by e-mail about my up-dates!)