King Penguins & The Last Stretch to The End of The World

I took the ferry from Punta Arenas to Porvenir in the morning, leaving me with the last 500 km to reach the ultimate destination: Ushuaia. I was excited to say the least! I bought some supplies for the ride, fueled up and took off!. The dirt road navigated through the vast and open country side, and up and down the coast line. At one point I saw flamingos, but the first stop was to be the King Penguin Colony at Bahía Inutil (The Useless Bay), which I had circled on my map since early on.

The park is run by an incredible person whom took it upon her own shoulders to protect this King Penguin colony from disappearing through damaging and unmanaged tourism. Now she manages the park so that all can enjoy this incredible close-up experience of the King Penguins without jeopardizing the longevity of the colony. The penguins do leave during the winter months, so be sure to check when they are home!

We were immediately reminded to respect the boundaries and not invade the penguins territory. She explained that these penguins do not cross where humans have walked before, so it is imperative that the boundary is respected. Still, the Penguins remain just on the other side of a small stream, which allows you to get close enough to fully enjoy the experience!

http://www.pinguinorey.com/index.php

I arrived at the boarder shortly after leaving the park, crossed it with little difficulty and later arrived at Rio Grande. As I pulled into the gas station, it was already late in the afternoon, and I knew that I wouldn´t make the last 200km to Ushuaia before sunset. Still I was not ready to ride around and look for accommodation, so i saddled up and hit the very last stretch toward the Most Southern City of our planet.

I must say this very fact gave me some chills. It made me think about the long road I had ridden so far, through both Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina. Even though it was getting really cold and my @ss really started to hurt, this very unique sensation of being just before the goal line made me fully enjoy every second of the ride! Yet, it got to a point when the sun had set long before, and I was carefully navigating the snaky road through the last mountain pass. The darkness made me unable to orientate the impressive landscape around me, and the long day was taking its toll. It felt like I would never arrive!

Still, at some point I finally passed the last turn and found the small town, lit up in the dark night, by the Beagle channel. Cold to the bones, walking cow-legged, and entirely exhausted, I checked-in at the first hostel I found. - Ushuaia, I had a strange sensation that my visit would no be short-lived! 

Ushuaia - by day

Punta Arenas

This part of La Patagonia is very, very plain, vast, and windy. It may not be so surprising that at the time, to give the Argentinians most of Patagonia was a fair bargain to settle their greed when Chile was occupied fighting both Perú and Bolivia in the Pacific War 1879. Still, Argentina was unable to fully achieve its intention of direct access to the pacific ocean. Evidently, the Pope intervened, hence the most southern point of South America still belongs to Chile.

Enough of history. In Punta Arenas, the last Chilean "city", I wanted to look for a new bike tire (my old one with an impressive 15,000 km through pretty rough terrain). I was able to find one of the only Honda retailer after circling the city for a some time, and I was recommended a place to buy the new tire. The generous older gentleman also helped me changed the tire for a fair price, and afterwards gave me a great recommendation for accommodation.

The next day I was off to the mainland of La Tierra de Fuego, The Land of Fire, and the last stretch on my route to the end of the world!

Torres del Paine

I must admit that Torres del Paine gave me one of the strongest impressions on my trip thus far. This may have been for several reasons, but the it is unquestionable that the extraordinary landscapes have something to do with it. The park is a must, if you are passing through these descolate parts of South America, especially if you are mobile with your own vehicle. ...

I put myself in a tricky situation with very few Chilean Pesos in my pockets, which ultimately limited my stay to only one night camping in the park. Therefore, instead of doing the famous "W" which incorporates some of the most impressive landscapes in the park, I decided to do the first hike in the "W", to the actual Torres del Paine.

I located the camp ground near the mountain and cooked some pasta with a delicious tuna tomato sauce before hitting the hay. I decided to wake up early the next morning to make most of the day, ...which implied a rise before the sun rise. After the legendary battle against the heavenly-soft-and-warm-sleeping-bag was won, I hadn´t lost too much time, thus ate some oatmeal, dismantled the tent, and prepped the bike for departure. (Early rises are less enjoyable not only because of the hour, but the dew outside which makes everything wet).

Fellow Honda Tornado Rider at the parking spot

The morning was foggy, I put my hopes on that it would clear up. The hike started with a steep climb, and then moved into a valley, with a river, with some small huts built deeper into the valley. ...you get it, I was entering the valley of Imladris (Lord of the Rings ref.). I think the expected duration of the trail was 4 hours one way, so I marched on. 

Eventually I made it to the glacier lake in front the the impressive Torres del Paine... except that I couldn´t see it. But I tell you, it would have been epic!.

For those of you as disappointed as myself:

http://www.iumiratravel.com/img/turismo-paine.jpg

As some people were waiting for the winds to change and chase away the fog, I decided to save the time to explore the park on my bike instead. I must admit that was a little sad to have come this far and not have the time to do the "W", nor actually see the Torres del Paine.

Art made by creative hikers 

On the hike, I stumbled upon someone I had met in El Chaltén. He told me he had already run into 4 groups of people randomly on this hike, that he had already met in La Patagonia previously. I thought about what he said when we departed, and right then did I run into the forth random person I had met before on my trip through La Patagonia. Coincidence! hahaha

The Japanese Crew

Sometimes I am torn between just enjoying the moment riding on the bike through epic landscapes, and interrupt "the moment" to take pictures (and make the memory eternal). This day I was forced to stop and take some photos, and I really should have stayed another day to further explore the park. I made frequent stops through out the day, and then cruised on at minimum speed. 

At the end of the day, I was exhausted and almost desperately looked for a spot to camp before the sun set. I did find a spot on the side of the road, of the side of a lake, magically reflecting the light from the fullmoon above. Fortunately I was outside the park, as the fine and possible jail time for camping outside of camping areas, would have been extremely unnecessary.

The next day proved tricky, since this road was under construction, and the next day I came to realize that the traffic was directed only in one direction. I can only say that they were confused to see me drive by at the various check points, ...not to mention the surprised drivers I had to creatively dodge in the sharp turns. The destination for the day was Punta Arenas, the last "city" in Chile on my route southbound.

I was determined to keep up the pace as the cold weather and winds were starting to really freeze my bones.

Tortel - A place not far away from the End of the World

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After an unforgettable time by the lake, we were off to Tortel. I took off just before my comrades, and because the bike better handles the sometimes tough dirt roads I was sure to arrive ahead of them. So I thought at least. But we all know who wins the race...the turtle! 

Because of really cold and chilly winds I was often forced to stop, do some push-ups and warm up my frozen bones, and then keep going. At one point, I also had to re-tie my luggage as it had become loose, and maybe not surprisingly a yellow van appeared from around the corner. I obediently followed the turtle the last bit to El Tortel and enjoyed the dream-like landscape around us.  

When we started to approach Tortel, we drove through landscapes with impressive mountain ranges, lots of rivers and streams, and a very humid climate. Tortel lies by the calm water of a fjord-like basin, on the side of steep and green mountain sides. It is entirely navigated on boardwalks built around the village, thus inaccessible to vehicles. The town is very quiet, and renders an unmistakable end-of-the-world atmosphere.

I have looked at this place on a map many times, and wondered what it would be like to see it  with my very own eyes. This mythical vision sort of came true as I walked along the boardwalk, passing the old tree buildings, boats in questionable condition, and wooden objects simply left to decay. Furthermore, the climate was super humid with rain always in the air.

wonder when the boat was last used!

After we were satisfied and began to discuss the various accommodation options, we realized that a lot of people in Tortel were not very enthused about tourism, hence little regard of a hospital welcome and charged quite high prices. 

At the end, we actually settled for some soup and bread, underneath a roof (with two walled corners) by the main parking area, where we eventually laid out our sleeping bags and slept quite comfortably until the morning pedestrians started to disrupt the peace.

Although I think it was worth visiting this remote and mysterious town, I think it would have been a less of an enjoyable trip to come here alone. It is truly a unique an spectacular environment, but I really appreciated the company I was with. Maybe it was just due to the melancholy weather and the emptiness...

After breakfast, we headed back up north, and I on my own towards the Argentinian Patagonia to continue en route south!

The Yellow Van & The road to Tortel

The Yellow Van

I was asking myself a few times if a trip to Tortel would be worth the while, since one is not able to cross the Andes range much farther south but has to backtrack some 100 km to the passage Roballo. But since my new found crew in the Yellow Van was going, I could not turn them down. - And Tortel is a truly (remote and..) unique place.

Wait! ...the Yellow Van Crew?? Sorry! Let´s back track! Before I even arrived to Puerto Rio Tranquilo where we all met, I was leaving Cerro Castillo after a coffee in the Bus restaurant. I enjoyed some truly remarkable landscapes I had only been looking at on maps before. I was thrilled to actually see this scenery with my own eyes, places I once thought were too remote and unreachable.

When I arrived to Rio Tranquilo, I encountered some people I had met previously. I hung out with them in that afternoon as they were trying to hitch a ride out south. It was interesting to get a little glimpse of the hitch-hikers life, (not being able to go as you wish, wherever you wish). We played a sesh of hackie-sack, and I really enjoyed a relaxing afternoon!

Now as we were huddling inside the camp owners fire-heated cabin that night, people kept joining our company and we grew to become a joyful group of travellers. As no one had any strict plans of destinations, but a general direction southbound, Will offered some 4 seats in his Yellow Van for people heading south. I myself joined the company, but on my own means of transportation.

The Yellow Van Crew & friends

Although we set out at different times, we easily found each other again in Cochrane farther south. We decided to leave the town behind us and look for a camping spot along the road. After some kms we found the perfect spot just off the road and next to this large, dream-blue lake surrounded by rolling mountains. We were stoked! Without verbal consent, we stopped, had a look around, and enjoyed the late afternoon in an irresistible climbing tree before anything else were to be done.

The Irresistible Climbing Tree

....and of course a mandatory afternoon swim in the beautiful lake

When the sun started to disappear, we quickly built up an impressive pile of wood, started a fire, and sat down to just enjoy this incredible moment in time. Out of sight, our very talented musician was setting up a concert with amp, mic and everything. Unbelievably, we were later enjoying a full-on lake concert in the middle of Patagonia, as the sun was setting across the lake beyond the rolling mountains on the horizon. 

Something I will never forget. 

The Crew

Our Guitar Hero

The festive time lasted long into the early hours of the night, when the impressive pile of wood had gone, the drowsiness finally gripped a firm hold on the joyous spirit, and my awareness of the trip to Tortel made it hard to resist the comfortable sleeping bag. Moreover, a strong wind had found our sheltered spot on the beach, and threatened to blow away anything not tied up properly.

Yes! We had evidently occupied the drinking water for our neighbours across the road, which after an initial attempt to clench their thirst despite our presence, left us alone for the duration of our stay. 

We slept till we woke up, had some individual breakfast, and I even took some time to sit down with some music to write my diary. At one point, it was time to move on, and we broke camp and hit the road. Toward Tortel!!