Wednesday, August 31, 2016

We Love Patagonia.. And Not Just Their Clothing

We made it! We have reached the southern-most drivable part of South America— Ushuaia, Argentina! It has been a long time coming, but very well worth all of the effort we put into our adventure. On June 1st we left home, on June 17th we were at the Arctic Ocean at the top of Alaska, and yesterday, August 30th, we arrived at the bottom of South America. to recap our route to Ushuaia; on August 23rd we headed east out of Osorno, Chile, and entered Patagonia, Argentina. From there we have been heading south and visiting national parks on our way to our destination. 

The first night we spent outside of Osorno (before we crossed into Argentina) we found ourselves up in the mountains with snow three feet deep alongside the roads. At first I was nervous we were going to be in for snow the rest of the trip, but as we drove further down the mountain it had all disappeared. Although I love the snow, I not a huge fan of camping in it! That afternoon we decided to check a camp on Lake Pueyrredon Mat had found of iOverlander. When we arrived we were driving through some thick fog (not uncommon here). Because of the fog, there was a very eerie feeling to the place, and a strange beauty of it all. After checking out a few spots and deciding against them, we ended up finding a 4x4 trail around 7pm. The sign at the trail head stated it was 7km long and went to Lago Parisio. We drove about 1km down the trail before deciding to call it a night. Since the trail was only one car wide and lined with trees, tall grass, and lots of bamboo, we had to cut a clearing alongside the trail to park.

The Jeep on our way to the 4x4 trail.

Camp on the 4x4 trail.

In the morning Seth went to scout the rest of the trail while Mat and I made breakfast. Seth returned with news that the trail ended at a gate, but there was a river crossing to continue driving the trail on the other side. Of course, any time Seth and Mat get a chance to do a river crossing, we must. So, on the trail we went and crossed the river. However, the trail was no longer drivable only a few hundred kilometers further. Instead, we had more than enough time to kill for the day and decided to hike it! After another brief scouting trip, Seth and Mat said we simply had to do it. There was a sign stating 3.7km to Lago Parisio, but the hike seemed longer. Our surroundings and views were stunning. We felt like we were in the Forbidden Forest from Harry Potter and Rivendell from Lord of the Rings all at once. After hiking up hill for about two hours, we made a steep descent down to the lake. The lake was beautiful. The fog was thick, the water was completely still, and the trees were dripping from melting snow. Our surroundings were so quiet and so still that it seemed almost surreal. There were no animals or birds making sounds in the forest, and the wind died down as well. Although we had warmed up during the hike, we quickly grew cold while taking in the view, and turned back towards camp. 

The river crossing.

A dried up waterfall on the hike to Lago Parisio.

Seth hiking on the trail to Lago Parisio.

Forrest on our way to Lago Parisio.

Lago Parisio

In the morning we made our way back to the main roads and crossed over into Argentina. The crossing was easy because Chile does’t care what you take out of the country, and Argentina doesn't have a list of items we are not allowed to bring in. This means that we simply get stamped in, and then on our way after a brief stop at the aduana! Plus, there were no entry fees! We had been told it would cost us roughly $150 per person to enter Argentina, but we had no fees! We spent the night camping under a tall bridge and Mat was able to make a fire for the first time since we were in Colorado. 

Mountains views during our drive.

On the 26th we drove further south along Route 40 and got to take in a lot of the Patagonian beauty. Although most of the land looks like tundra, there are many mountains and lakes to see along the way. On the first day of driving in Patagonia, we wondered what sort of animals lived there since the land seemed so desolate. It turns out there is all sorts of wildlife-- just not what we where expecting! Imagine lots of sheep, wild horses, and cattle-- not too interesting, right? Now add in emu, llamas, and flamingoes. It just became a lot more interesting! After driving for several hundred miles, we found an awesome campsite at Arco de Piedras.  Although it took us roughly 80km off course through teeth rattling bumpy roads, we had one of the quietest nights ever. No one was around for miles, and the nearest town was at least 10km away. We camped up on a hill overlooking the lake, which had a huge rock formation in the shape of an arch. Further beyond the lake were beautiful snow capped mountains. You could say we were spoiled with amazing views at this camp. Later that night, like every night in Patagonia, the wind picked up around 9pm. However, we were parked with the wind hitting the passenger side of the vehicle, causing strain on the sides of the roof top tent. We needed to reposition so the wind was coming straight at us. 

Now imagine this scenario. It is 10:30 pm and we are all tucked in for sleep, but the wind is coming at us and we need to move the Jeep. I was laying inside the Jeep on the sleeping platform, while Seth and Mat were in the RTT. Seth jumps down in his army thermo long underwear, volunteering to reposition the vehicle quickly. Then, after piling the bags from the drivers seat on top of me, he starts to reposition. And then gets lost. He's all turned around and doesn’t know which way we were facing, or which way we need to go. Literally driving in circles. And then after a few circles asks 'Where the hell am I going?!' And we lose it. We all start laughing at the hilarity of what we must look like with Mat in the roof top tent, me laying inside the vehicle with three bags stacked on top of me from the drivers seat, Seth driving in circles, and not having any clue of what direction we are pointed. It was a full on, wheezing, coughing, ohmygod I can not breathe, dad-style laugh (anyone who has seen Knute Aasen laugh so hard looses his shit and you think is going to die, imagine that). It was probably a mix of tiredness and being food-drunk from the insane amounts of pasta we consumed a few hours earlier. 

Flamingoes!

Arco de Piedras

In the morning we packed up camp and took some amazing pictures of the Jeep... and drove through a few mud holes :) Again, we drove a few hundred miles to Chalten, Argentina. It is a small community which thrives off tourism from the amazing mountain views. We spent the night at the trail head parking in a dirt lot on the outskirts of town. Although we are not equipped to hike long trails such as these, we still plan on going back to check out the town more.


Mat filling our water purifier from the lake at Arco de Piedras. The water is so clear!

Jeep at Arco de Piedras.

Mud holes. 

Mountain views during our drive.

Mountain horns of El Chalten

In the morning we made our way to El Calafate for lunch and to get gasoline before crossing back into Chile. The route we are taking to Ushuaia crosses between Chile and Argentina numerous times. This is the night we made it to Torres del Paine! We found a camp and spent the night alongside a lake that was supposed to have amazing views in the morning of the famous mountain horns. When we got there, the camp was supposed to have showers and bathrooms available from a private owner on the National Park, but all of the buildings were locked up. We went to a nearby ranger station to inquire about this, and found out not only was this section of the park was closed, but we had completely missed the ranger station to pay our entrance fees! They let us stay at the spot, but without the accommodations. We went to bed planning on exploring the park in the morning.

Sunset on our way to Torres del Paine

The stars in the southern hemisphere. Can you see the southern cross?

Too bad it was raining when we got up! We went out in search of the nearest place to pay our entrance fees (we found out took a back road into the park.. oops). Since we paid, but could not see the mountains, we the opted to see a few waterfalls instead. We saw Waterfall de Rio Paine and El Salto Waterfall. They were both glacial waterfalls with water that was the bluest we have ever seen! The falls were huge and water was roaring over the cliff into the river below. At noon we made our way out of the park with intent to return on our way back up north in a few days (we gotta see those mountains!). We drove to Puerto Notales and stopped for groceries, gasoline, and lunch. We got back on the road and made it to the ferry that would take us to Tierra del Fuego in the morning. We parked in a lot that had bathrooms and showers available for public use. 


Waterfall de Rio Paine

El Salto Waterfall

El Salto Waterfall into Lago el Salto

August 30th we woke up and took the first ferry of the day at 9am. The ferry ride was short--20 minutes long. There were three cars, and five semi trucks on board. It only cost us $ 25 for all three of us to get to the other side. Once across, we were on our way to Ushuaia! We stopped quickly to exit Chile and enter Argentina, and a few short hours later we found ourselves up in the mountains surrounding the famous city nicknamed 'Fin del Mundo--The End of the World'. We poked around town for a little bit and stopped at the tourist center for some free wifi before checking out some hotels and hostels. We decided on a hostel which only $45 for the three of us. 

Ferry to Tierra del Fuego

Sign on the road after exiting the ferry.

Filling the gas tank in the wind!

Mountain views on our way into Ushuaia.

Patagonia has been one of our favorite places to visit so far in our trip. Although it is very windy and the temperature does not get over 45 degrees this time of year, the mountain views are the best we have ever seen. The views alone makes all of our daily effort worth it to get here. Knowing we took the ‘Ruta de Fin del Mundo' (Route of the End of the World) to the southern-most drivable place after being at the top of Alaska only 75 days ago, is one of the best feelings of accomplishment. 

Entry into Ushuaia.


Ushuaia-- End of the world!

1 comment:

  1. Your travels are just amazing !! You are making memories for a lifetime !!
    Enjoy :)

    ReplyDelete