And the first 10 days on the bike are already over. After a few days in Ushuaia, which we used for shopping and a bit of sightseeing, we finally set off on Friday.
The first few kilometers were cycled in the “wrong direction” to the Tierra del Fuego National Park and the southernmost post office in the world. We arrived here just ahead of a huge busload of tourists and were glad that we were able to take a few photos in peace.
We then drove back to Ushuaia and northbound out of the city. The road was good and had a pleasantly wide gravel shoulder, so it was easy to avoid the traffic if necessary. On the first evening we had a really nice wild camping spot by the lake and were able to go swimming and filter water.
In the following days, we drove through Rio Grande, crossed the border into Chile at San Sebastián and took the first ferry of the tour from Porvenir to Puerto Natales. We saw so many animals that we would normally only see in zoos – guanacos (a type of llama), nandus, even a skunk and an armadillo crossed our path.
The weather down here is wild – when the sun is shining, sunscreen is useless and the only thing that helps is to be fully clothed. But without the sun, it’s pretty cold and it rains occasionally. Only the wind is constant – strong and 95% of the time it’s headwind 😀.
Some stretches were so dry and uninhabited that we had to take water with us for two days and, even with a total of around 15 liters, we almost didn’t have enough.
Yesterday we set off from Puerto Natales in the direction of Torres del Paine National Park, and despite the strongest wind we’ve had so far, it was one of the most beautiful days.
Disclaimer: As much as I enjoy writing in English, I might not always have the time for it. This post was therefore translated with DeepL and proofread to match my style at least a little bit.