The flight from Ushuaia was uneventful and we landed in Buenos Aires about 15 minutes early. The approach from the east to the domestic Aeroparque airport is very nice if you have a window seat on the left, with great views of the city. Clapping in the plane still appears to be a thing here… Continue reading Summer Is Hot? Buenos Aires
At World’s End: Ushuaia
I celebrated the completion of my tour with steak – what else – and then had some beers in the local Irish pub, since that’s where tourists everywhere are supposed to go for a drink or two. Or more. Thursday 4 January Thursday morning I took a bus tour of the city. The tour might… Continue reading At World’s End: Ushuaia
Running out of Road: Río Grande – Ushuaia
New Year’s Eve was a massive anticlimax. Río Grande isn’t a very touristy city, so there aren’t many places to go out to begin with. When William and I went out to find a restaurant that evening, everything turned out to be closed. Back to our rooms we went to have some bread for dinner.… Continue reading Running out of Road: Río Grande – Ushuaia
Tierra del Viento: Punta Arenas – Río Grande
Thursday 28 December The ferry leaves at 9:00 and I planned to leave the hostel well before 8:00 to make sure I would certainly be on time. By about 7:00 I had all my bags packed and went downstairs. The manager was preparing breakfast and said it would be available at 7:30. He also said… Continue reading Tierra del Viento: Punta Arenas – Río Grande
A Crazy Christmas: Puerto Natales – Punta Arenas
Monday 25 December On Christmas day I got started a bit later than usual, but so did my host. At breakfast I got a large piece of cake in addition to the usual bread. As I walked out the sun was shining and I got quite warm, so I was thinking about removing a… Continue reading A Crazy Christmas: Puerto Natales – Punta Arenas
An Aeolian Adventure: El Calafate – Puerto Natales
William spent Tuesday evening and most of Wednesday in bed being ill. Thursday, the first day of summer, was our planned departure date and that morning he said he felt fit enough to ride. We left just before 10:00 the same way we had entered Calafate, heading east. We were somewhat disappointed about the absence of a strong wind this morning, which should normally help us along for the first part. There was still a little bit of a northwesterly wind, which is good.
William was having trouble riding and after 16 kilometers decided to stop for today. He would try to hitch a ride, though he didn’t know yet where to. Thus I continued alone. The first 45 km are more or less flat and I was easily averaging 20+ km/h. Then started the largest climb still left and also one of the higher ones on the whole trip. It was however a very pleasant grade and the wind was also getting a bit stronger now, pushing me uphill. On the hill I saw two bikes parked by the side of the road and two people eating down below. Since I was doing so well on the climb I decided not to stop to talk to them.
Learn to Fly: El Chaltén – El Calafate
Thursday 14 December Thursday we had bad weather all day, so we spent most of it in the Casa del Ciclista. I had some things that needed repairs or replacement, so I looked around town for these. I succeeded with my bags, but did not find anyone to repair my phone. El Chaltén is one… Continue reading Learn to Fly: El Chaltén – El Calafate
The Real Line: Villa O’Higgins – El Chaltén
The Carretera Austral is sometimes called the road at the end of the road, because it starts more or less at the end of the Pan-American Highway (depending how exactly you define that one) and continues south from there. But now we’ve reached its end too and there’s no more road to continue on. So… Continue reading The Real Line: Villa O’Higgins – El Chaltén
The End: Cochrane – Villa O’Higgins
In Cochrane I started by going to a car mechanic I had already seen when I entered town. He couldn’t weld my rack and according to him there’s no aluminium welder here. He had another bike rack out of steel, but there’s no way that will fit my bike because of the rear suspension and… Continue reading The End: Cochrane – Villa O’Higgins
Into the Wild: Coyhaique – Cochrane
The meetings continued in Coyhaique. When I was walking back from picking up my laundry I saw Tim and Timo entering town, who will stay here tomorrow. The fuel bottle for my camp stove was almost empty, so I’d been looking for white gas for a while, but unable to find it. Thus I went… Continue reading Into the Wild: Coyhaique – Cochrane