After some to-ing and fro-ing the plan was set. Jojo would fly into El Calafate and out of Ushuaia, Argentina. Among her goals for the trip were glacier viewing, hiking in Torres del Paine National Park, seeing the Southern Cross ‘for the first time’, penguin watching and of course the excitement of just being in Ushuaia, the southern most city in the world.
Not an hour after JoAnn’s arrival we were headed to Los Glaciares National Park, home of the Perito Moreno glacier, one of the few still-advancing glaciers in the world. A quick lunch (with peanut butter brought from the US by Jo at our request ) and we set off along the walkways that front the glacier. Indeed this glacier is made for viewing.
The face of the Perito Moreno Glacier
Jo with Perito Moreno
Perito Moreno Glacier
Mike and Jo doing some glacier gazing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcBdZkJ6DjE - Here is a link to a video of the glacier in action. Not my work, but will give you an idea of the power of the glacier.
We camped at Lago Roca in the southern sector of the park and were treated to a rainbow sighting back toward the park at sunset and caught a glimpse of the Southern Cross that night.
Rainbow shot back toward Los Glaciares National Park
Los Glaciares from our campsite at Lago Roca
Not a bad start, and with two of the goals accomplished we headed to Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. After a long day of driving on ripio roads we camped at the Argentina/Chile border.
We crossed the border bright and early and after a little more ripio we reached Torres del Paine and found a nifty little campsite, relatively secluded with views.
Jo and I did two hikes from our first site in Torres, an easy (but really windy) out-and-back along Lago Nordenskjold (I know I had my camera but I do not have one picture of this hike) and a more challenging hike up to the Mirador Las Torres. The Torres (towers) are the icon of the park and though they didn’t show themselves to us completely we had a great hike and took pride in accomplishing a 12-mile hike.
Next we planned to check out a different part of the park and as we were leaving the area we were approached by a backpacker asking for a ride. We are asked frequently and we are generally happy to give folks a ride and so, though we were pretty packed we said ‘Sure’. He and a girl piled in.
And here is where we got the first whiff of what was to come.
They let us know the roads in to and out of Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales were being blocked by locals protesting an increase in natural gas costs. These being the two major population centers in the area it effectively shut down traffic in to and out of the park, including busses, food and gas delivery. Not being dependent on busses and with a 5 gallon jerry can of gas in reserve and enough food and water to keep us all alive, we were free to move about and we headed to Lago Pehoe and spent another night there.
From here our plan called for spending the next night in the Natales area, then going south to Punta Arenas to see some penguins. So far, the protests hadn’t interrupted our travel schedule and we set off the next day towards Puerto Natales to see what we might find.
As we neared the city we came to a truck crossing the road and chuckled at the lame ‘road block’ that we were able to just drive around.
We tooled down the road laughing at the ineffectiveness of this protest…..but the laugh was on us a few kilometers later when we encountered the road block for real, and there was no skirting this one.
We hatched a plan that Jo and I would walk the 5 kilometers to Natales, stay in a hostel, go out to dinner, check email, and generally enjoy the town and Mike would stay at the road block with Chettie and the van.
Jo and I checked into a hostel and taking a page from Jeri and Kevin’s play book, I emailed Mike to let him know where we were staying so if he made it into the city he could check email and find us. And we began to compare notes with other travelers. An interesting study in human nature, we saw the many ways people cope with the unexpected and how our minds work towards revising a plan gone awry.
The next morning at breakfast Jo looked out the window and saw the Beagle! The protesters had opened the road block and let those who had spent the night pass into town. Woo-hoo! Elation that we were all together again.....followed by the realization that now we were all three hostage in Puerto Natales since the protesters were not letting people leave!
We spent much of the day regrouping and scouting a place to camp. We were getting provisions and checking email when Jo found an article on line about the protest that said the blockades were being opened for one hour every 12 hours. With that information we decided to head to the road block and wait it out till the next opening, even if it meant camping there for the night.
And when we arrived the road block was open and we were allowed to pass through! We felt free! We hooted and hollered and celebrated our release and headed south, our plan still relatively on track.
And here is where our plan began to unravel. We had heard that the protests in Puenta Arenas had been more violent and though the best penguin viewing is on Isla Magdalena via a boat tour from PA, we decided not to attempt to get into the city.
There is another penguin colony you can drive to and we headed there over many kilometers of slow ripio. To our disappointment the entire reserve was closed. Why? Because of the protests/road blocks tour busses could not leave Punta Arenas to take tourists to the reserve. And so we back-tracked along the ripio and headed to the ferry crossing to Tierra del Fuego, beginning to let go of penguin viewing as an objective for the trip.
The ferry crosses the Strait of Magellan and lands in the Chilean part of Tierra del Fuego. We arrived at the port and found the ferries to be running (again, Woo-hoo) but due to the protests there was a back-log of cars waiting to cross.
We waited several hours and as Jo so aptly put it, ‘Today’s activity was queuing up’. We inched forward and loaded the ferry at 9:30pm. Again, celebrating our freedom.
We spent the night at the gas station in the town of Cerro Sombrero able to go no further without a tankful, and headed for the Chile/Argentina border crossing at San Sebasian early the next morning. Now we were really on our way!
But, we came over a hill and saw what we knew by now was another road block. We took our respective place and waited a few hours till they opened it up and let us through.
And then we crossed into Argentina and we knew for certain our roadblock problems were behind us! .
The three hour drive to Ushuaia was a pretty one and upon arrival we set up camp at the Pista del Andino, a small ski area run by the Club Andino Ushuaia that allows camping in the summer. The Pista del Andino is a known destination for overlanders and indeed there were many, many travelers of our ilk set up there.
We had Seattle-like weather for JoAnn’s last two days but were able to do a bit of touring around, we took a drive out to Estancia Haberton, visited the Fin del Mundo museum and enjoyed some dinners out.
Was it the adventure JoAnn expected when she decided to meet us in Patagonia? Certainly no one could have predicted the twists and turns of events, but you must admit it was an adventure.
We sent JoAnn off with our only glimpse of penguins at the airport.
Jo getting a sense of the expansiveness of Patagonia during a ripio break
Yup, it really is that windy
Chettie, Jo and I took an evening walk into Chile while we were camped at the border.
We crossed the border bright and early and after a little more ripio we reached Torres del Paine and found a nifty little campsite, relatively secluded with views.
Chettie and Jo sharing their space and catching a few Z's on the way to Torres del Paine
The approach to Torres del Paine
More great scenery on the approach to Torres
Mike sharing a little VW love with some French guys on the way to Torres
Jo and Trish at the Mirador Las Torres
This is the classic shot from the Mirador Las Torres....though our view was a bit obscured it was still stunning
Next we planned to check out a different part of the park and as we were leaving the area we were approached by a backpacker asking for a ride. We are asked frequently and we are generally happy to give folks a ride and so, though we were pretty packed we said ‘Sure’. He and a girl piled in.
And here is where we got the first whiff of what was to come.
They let us know the roads in to and out of Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales were being blocked by locals protesting an increase in natural gas costs. These being the two major population centers in the area it effectively shut down traffic in to and out of the park, including busses, food and gas delivery. Not being dependent on busses and with a 5 gallon jerry can of gas in reserve and enough food and water to keep us all alive, we were free to move about and we headed to Lago Pehoe and spent another night there.
Jo, Trish and Mike with Los Cuernos (The Horns) on the way to Lago Pehoe
(This picture was taken by Juliana, an Italian woman traveling alone that Mike and I had met several months earlier in Cafayete. Small world!)
From here our plan called for spending the next night in the Natales area, then going south to Punta Arenas to see some penguins. So far, the protests hadn’t interrupted our travel schedule and we set off the next day towards Puerto Natales to see what we might find.
As we neared the city we came to a truck crossing the road and chuckled at the lame ‘road block’ that we were able to just drive around.
...You call that a road block??
We tooled down the road laughing at the ineffectiveness of this protest…..but the laugh was on us a few kilometers later when we encountered the road block for real, and there was no skirting this one.
No, we call this a road block
We hatched a plan that Jo and I would walk the 5 kilometers to Natales, stay in a hostel, go out to dinner, check email, and generally enjoy the town and Mike would stay at the road block with Chettie and the van.
Jo all packed up and ready to cross the road block
Leaving Mike, Chettie and the Beagle behind
Upon our arrival in Natales (the 'Adventure Tourism Capital of Patagonia'), we were greeted by this Mylodon bearing the black flag symbol of the protest
Jo and I checked into a hostel and taking a page from Jeri and Kevin’s play book, I emailed Mike to let him know where we were staying so if he made it into the city he could check email and find us. And we began to compare notes with other travelers. An interesting study in human nature, we saw the many ways people cope with the unexpected and how our minds work towards revising a plan gone awry.
The next morning at breakfast Jo looked out the window and saw the Beagle! The protesters had opened the road block and let those who had spent the night pass into town. Woo-hoo! Elation that we were all together again.....followed by the realization that now we were all three hostage in Puerto Natales since the protesters were not letting people leave!
We spent much of the day regrouping and scouting a place to camp. We were getting provisions and checking email when Jo found an article on line about the protest that said the blockades were being opened for one hour every 12 hours. With that information we decided to head to the road block and wait it out till the next opening, even if it meant camping there for the night.
And when we arrived the road block was open and we were allowed to pass through! We felt free! We hooted and hollered and celebrated our release and headed south, our plan still relatively on track.
Celebrating our freedom after busting out of Puerto Natales (road block visible in background)
Roadside shrine to Difunta Correa just outside of Puerto Natales. Difunta Correa is one of the 'patron saints' of travelers who is loved and honored throughout Argentina. The story goes that she died of thirst while traveling and no one would stop to help her. Travelers now leave water bottles at the road side shrines in exchange for her protection.
And here is where our plan began to unravel. We had heard that the protests in Puenta Arenas had been more violent and though the best penguin viewing is on Isla Magdalena via a boat tour from PA, we decided not to attempt to get into the city.
There is another penguin colony you can drive to and we headed there over many kilometers of slow ripio. To our disappointment the entire reserve was closed. Why? Because of the protests/road blocks tour busses could not leave Punta Arenas to take tourists to the reserve. And so we back-tracked along the ripio and headed to the ferry crossing to Tierra del Fuego, beginning to let go of penguin viewing as an objective for the trip.
Beginning to see signs like this made my spine tingle
The ferry crosses the Strait of Magellan and lands in the Chilean part of Tierra del Fuego. We arrived at the port and found the ferries to be running (again, Woo-hoo) but due to the protests there was a back-log of cars waiting to cross.
This is a case of is the glass half empty, i.e. look at all the cars ahead of us....
...or is the glass half full, i.e. look at all the cars behind us
The Beagle loaded up on the ferry. It's an sad irony that the bus in front of us was named 'El Penguino'.
Jo and Trish on the ferry across the Strait of Magellan
Sunset from the ferry. The sun was now setting about 10pm
We were even treated to a little marine wildlife spotting with these Commerson's dolphins, aka skunk dolphins, who swam along with the ferry.
We spent the night at the gas station in the town of Cerro Sombrero able to go no further without a tankful, and headed for the Chile/Argentina border crossing at San Sebasian early the next morning. Now we were really on our way!
But, we came over a hill and saw what we knew by now was another road block. We took our respective place and waited a few hours till they opened it up and let us through.
By now we were old pros at this road block thing and we took the opportunity to make new friends.
And then we crossed into Argentina and we knew for certain our roadblock problems were behind us! .
The three hour drive to Ushuaia was a pretty one and upon arrival we set up camp at the Pista del Andino, a small ski area run by the Club Andino Ushuaia that allows camping in the summer. The Pista del Andino is a known destination for overlanders and indeed there were many, many travelers of our ilk set up there.
The view across Lago Fagnano towards the Chilean border on the way to Ushuaia
Trish and Mike and the Beagle in Ushuaia
The view over Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel from La Pista del Andino
The Beagle in her berth at La Pista del Andino Ushuaia Argentina
We had Seattle-like weather for JoAnn’s last two days but were able to do a bit of touring around, we took a drive out to Estancia Haberton, visited the Fin del Mundo museum and enjoyed some dinners out.
Was it the adventure JoAnn expected when she decided to meet us in Patagonia? Certainly no one could have predicted the twists and turns of events, but you must admit it was an adventure.
We sent JoAnn off with our only glimpse of penguins at the airport.
Checking off the final goal with a penguin spotting in the airport in Ushuaia
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What fun to relive the adventure reading all about it! Protestors did make a better story than the penguins I think. I had such a blast! Thank you both for including me on the tail end of your trail south. Amazing time!!
ReplyDeleteTrish and Mike, Can't wait to hear more stories in person. Here's to the journey and the adventure. Safe travels heading home. Jere
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