(The TABSA ferry was a nice boat, took about 2.5 hours to cross, and cost about 30 USD for the 3 of us.)
Porvenir is a small town that has a gas station and a couple of small shops, as well as a few places to stay. But we only took advantage of the gas station and continued on.
There is a 115 km loop known as the Circuito del Oro (= Gold Loop) where many gold seekers set up during the late 1800's, continuing today. The ride was beautiful and the best part is that we only passed a few other vehicles that whole way. The majority of them (+ 1 helicopter) happened to be in one convoy for the Prime Minister of Croatia. There is some strong connection between Croatia and Punta Arenas that we never quite figured out.
(bordering Bahía Inútil (= Useless Bay))
(finding gas at Russfín took us into a timber facility, where we had to ask around to find the actual pump. We also met a chef who had worked all around the world and was super nice. Random)
(this is the gas station)
(We were vastly outnumbered by sheep, on our way to reten Pampa Guanaco)
Talking with the Carabinero at the Pampa Guanaco stop about 15km short of Argentina, he pointed us to a nice spot to set up a tent - Lago Blanco. The ride there was nicely wooded, and we had heard that the camping area was protected from the wind.
(Mike and TA thinking about camping, but the strong, cold winds said otherwise. On the shore of Lago Blanco)
The wind was strong and a bit chilling. We saw a sign to a refugio just 1 km away, so we figured it worth a question to see how much it would cost to have a roof. That turned out to be the best decision we made in awhile!
(Refugio de Caza y Pescar at Lago Blanco)
Standing in the parking lot we spoke with the caretakers, Francisco (Pancho) and Roxane for awhile. Asking how much a bed cost (~US$30/ppn) caused us to quickly turn the conversation back to free camping by the lake, among other things. After chatting for a few minutes, they invited us into the kitchen/lodge to see all of the stuffed (as in shot and stuffed) animals. Inside was the owner of the land, as well as 3 other guys who were retired from ENAP, the national petroleum company, staying there for a week or two. Then they invited us to coffee...and bread...and fried ham. And when Francisco mentioned that we didn't want to pay, the owner said that he didn't mind, we could just tip Pancho and Roxane instead of pay him. Perfect! So we gave them a good tip the next day, still half of what we should have paid, but got 2 meals, a snack, and multiple rounds of coffee with it. Not only that, we got to spend some time with Pancho and Roxane who were fantastic!
(Pancho and Mike going fishing)
(The walk through the Refugio de Caza y Pescar took us across this very strange terrain that was deep, soft, and squishy)
(beaver dam and extensive damage)
(beaver leftovers)
(Jill sees her first penguin up close, with no risk of getting bit)
(Terry with his first round of sticker accumulating complete)
(dinner with Pancho (at left), Roxane (at head of table), don Horacio (to Roxane's left as she sits, viewer's right), and others)
The next morning we finally got out of there and made our way towards Argentina.
(Luckily the river was low, allowing us to cross to Argentina)
(Even with the water low, it was moving pretty good and shifted the bike around a bit. Nothing more than wet socks on the Argentina side, though. Which we changed in the Migración building.)
(pulling into Ushuaia)
After nearly 2 years and ~32,000 miles (over 50,000 km) we can now no longer head south. Jill's quote sums it up with simplicity: "so...now what?"
We had arrived at the park at 8pm, when entrance is free. It was also nice because there was not many other park visitors then. We met a few people from Ushuaia (who take advantage of the after 8pm effect, too) and saw a few animals.
(this little guy was hanging out in the parking lot at Bahía Lapataia)
(fox face)
(view of Bahía Lapataia)
Ushuaia is home to a lot of reverence towards the Islas Malvinas, as this town was greatly affected by losses during the war with the Brits in 1982. The Islas Malvinas are a touchy subject throughout Argentina (don't call them the Falkland Islands), but especially so in Ushuaia. The unsuccessful war was launched by the military dictatorship in Argentina as a way to bolster patriotism, improve the economic state (perhaps just distract from it), and show their power. I don't think the war accomplished any of those goals. Scary thing today is that Christina (current president of Argentina) has made mention of the Malvinas, as if she were considering an invasion for the same goals. Please teach us a lesson, history.
(view of Ushuaia)
We had a wonderful celebration dinner at Christopher's - a bottle of malbec, a bife de chorizo and some merluzza negra. It was tasty!
(The bike back outside of the Hostal Cormoranes. They let us park in their office for the days we were there. The staff at this hostal was some of the nicest we have run across, and while the price was high, it was reasonable for Ushuaia (US$16/ppn). They even gave us a nice private room with bathroom for the price of a discounted dorm bed. Score.)
After about 5 days in Ushuaia, some used for errands (including an only partially successful attempt to mail a box of souvenirs home that taught some lessons, including: even though the post office is open until 5 does not mean that they send boxes until then, that stops at noon; sealed foods cannot be sent; the customs office down by the water has some nice staff and some not-so-nice staff, but they have the power to release a shipment after noon if you lean on them hard enough), other days used to wait out the wind and weather, we were ready to move north (still a strange concept).
(view from Paso Garibaldi)
On the way we caught up to this French unicyclist, living in Vancouver now, attempting to make it all the way to Santiago in the next 6 months. That is quite the undertaking!
(she had just lost her sunglasses that day, so we gave our extra pair to her, and we gave her 2 alfajores for later. Hopefully those small gestures picked up her day a bit. Not that she needed it - she was in great spirits - but unicycling through Patagonian winds still seems crazy to us)
(we forgot her name, something with 2-3 syllables that starts with "An". But whatever, here she is getting going...)
(...and on her way!)
Crossing back into Chile at San Sebastian was much different than Paso Bellavista. It was much more built up, there was a lot of traffic on the road (for us, another guy said it was light that day), and the officials weren't as interested in chatting (less bored, I guess?). But it was smooth. Then onto the ferry, which is less than a 30 minute crossing here. It is also free if you forget to find the person to pay.
(view from camp, outside of Pta Arenas)
(beautiful sunset with lots of depth and texture, outside of Pta Arenas)
(view from our tent, outside of Pta Arenas)
On the 3 hour ride between Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales, we took advantage of a few stops to just get out of the wind for a minute.
(this roadhouse was a common bike traveler stop)
Now that we are back in Puerto Natales, we have a few days to find a backpack and get sorted for a hike in Torres del Paine with some good friends. We are looking forward to it!
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