Finally, Fin del Mundo

The journey to Ushuaia was a real mixture of emotions. I knew that we had gravel road to travel and that was always going to make me a little nervous. We left Puerto Natales early on quite a grey morning. Fortunately we had put all the layers in our riding gear as pretty soon we were riding in rain with a very icy cold wind. However, it did brighten up as we left the coast and soon we were arriving at Cerro Sombrero, a small oil drilling town and we found the only Hosteria there (which also had one of the few restaurants) The town was only 5kms from the start of the gravel road so I knew we would be riding it feeling fresh and hopefully without any of the very strong winds that you get in Patagonia. True enough, the following day we woke to dead calm and blue skies. The shed behaved herself and Brian was clearly much happier riding her without the added baggage of the camping gear. I, however, didn't have very much to say but this wasn't because I was anxious or concerned about the gravel but more to do with the fact that I had my teeth clamped closed so that I didn't bite my tongue or chip my teeth. The road was incredibly rough and at points gave me 'brain ache' with all the bouncing up and down.

In fact, the ride was really quite good but also quite boring. Brian asked what the scenery was like because he hadn't been able to see much of it due to keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead. I reassured him that he wasn't really missing anything and that the changes in the road surface were much more frequent than any change in the flat, green landscape. However, just so he could see what he had missed, I took pictures and recorded some of it for him.

I also had a very important job as 'Llama watch'. These things are very quick and in abundance along this road and believe me fences do not keep them in the field or off the road!

We got to the border by 11am and though we got there as coaches arrived we still managed to get through quite quickly. The Argentinian guys were really friendly and helpful and we were soon on our way looking at more sheep and more flat green and then it started to change. The landscape developed hills and mountains, rivers and lakes. The roads were smooth and had sweeping bends. It was beautiful and we both started to really enjoy the ride. We had planned to stay and Rio Grande but when we got there we agreed that it didn't look like a very relaxed or interesting place to stay so we pushed on thinking that we could get to Ushuaia. We made good progress but then we spotted big black clouds over the mountains and neither of us wanted to get into Ushuaia cold and wet so we stopped by Lago Fagnano in Hosteria Kaiken. It was lovely. Our room overlooked the lake, the weather brightened up and the view was spectacular.

It was clear from the interior design that any food or drink at this place was going to be on the expensive side and, as the funds are now getting very low, we decided to have a sandwich and call it a day.

The next morning we were up and away quite early after just a cup of coffee. Once again we were travelling in beautiful sunny but cold weather arriving at Ushuaia around 11.30. Of course we stopped to take photos at the Bienvenidos sign before making our way down into the town and heading towards a restaurant. I didn't really feel how I expected to feel about getting here. There wasn't the sense of achievement I thought I should have nor any sense of the significance of 'fin del Mundo' people tell you about. In fact, as we were waiting for the coffee to arrive Brian and I chatted about our thoughts and tried to figure out why we felt so flat. I thought maybe the ride in had been too short and undemanding and so we had arrived at somewhere that was really just another town. However, that soon changed after we found the hostal we had pre-booked. This was up an unmade, incredibly dusty road where we were confronted with many dogs chasing the shed. It was quite a way out of town and when we finally found it we were fully intent on cancelling the reservation and heading back into town. All this changed when we got in and found it to be warm and welcoming. We thought we'd give it a try and what a wise decision that was. The view from the bedroom looked right over Ushuaia town and across to the mountains. We could see the cruise ships coming into the port and Elenilda, the lady who ran it, was incredibly helpful. After we had booked into the hostal we rode the remaining 22kms of dirt road

to the end of the world sign post where it really dawned on me just what a special place it was. Lots of people were walking, cycling or driving to or from it and people at the post were offering to take each others photographs. There was just a general feeling of having common bond. We recorded our Christmas greeting for the blog and took a special photo for Henri before heading back and finally parking the shed for a few days.

John, a guy we had spent some time with in Panama had contacted us to say he was in Ushuaia so we arranged to meet up that night. Now, I was expecting a big Christmas party atmosphere in this town with all the back packers and bikers there should be milling around but to our surprise the town was dead. No restaurants or bars open, and believe me we tried very, very hard to find one. Luckily we managed to find a shop selling beer and whiskey so armed with our supplies we headed back to John's hostal where we were very kindly invited to join their Christmas Eve BBQ. We spent the evening sat round a table chatting to travellers from France, Argentina, Canada and Brazil. Huge platters of meat were brought out and the wine flowed easily. It was certainly a remarkable and memorable Christmas Eve.

In the morning we got in touch with as many family members as we could on Skype. Unfortunately I just missed my son and his partner (Mark and Kay) and had to leave them until much later and the same situation with Brian's parents. My Mum was delighted to hear that we had reached the end of the road and were now going to be heading back north and home. It seems that getting this news was the best Christmas present she could have been given. For Christmas dinner we went to a chinese restaurant for an 'all you can eat' buffet. There was very little choice of place to go because many of them were closed for the day.

We spent the next couple of days visiting the town, locating stickers and postcards and booking a trip out to the Island where we could walk around the Penguins. Something we had both been looking forward to.

On 27th December we were up and out at 7.30am and then on the bus to the ranch where the boat was launched to take us to the island. We stopped a a couple of beauty spots to take photos one of which showed clear evidence of how strong the winds are in this part of the world.

Our guide was a lovely young girl who had a very difficult job with members of our group. She patiently explained the rules about visiting the colony and emphasised that it was breeding time, many chicks were being nurtured and that we had to keep our distance, not linger around the burrows too long and must stick to the trail keeping together at all times. Simple enough rules you'd think but clearly not meant for everyone judging by the behaviour of a group of six travelling together and a guy from Vancouver who were hell bent on getting up close and uncomfortable, splintering away from the group and walking where the hell the wanted to. It never ceases to amaze me how little consideration and respect people have for each other or the environment and how people can be so full of their own feeling of self importance so as to believe the rules do not apply to them. Still, the guide managed it beautifully by informing them that if they could not abide by the rules she would call the boat back to take them off the island. It was amazing being amongst the penguins and there chicks.


Lots of photographs were taken and it was yet another memorable experience.

And that was that. Back to the hostal, packed and paid the bill. The lady that ran the hostal gave us a complimentary bottle of pink champagne as part of the festive season booking there. It helped us chill and prepare ourselves ready for
leaving and heading back north and home.