Ushuaia, the southern-most city of the South American continent, was a pleasant surprise with its excellent free camping, well-developed trails, and beautiful mountain scenery. But, by the time we left in our camper, Mark and Maya had been there for five weeks and I for over three, due to my 10-day trip to Antarctica.
Needless to say, Mark was more than ready to head north again, especially since the weather had turned rainy. So, from the moment I disembarked the MV Ushuaia, we topped up our propane tank, received copies of our dog paperwork from the friendly attendant after asking for this favor, and left. Mark had taken care of groceries, fuel, and drinking water during my absence.
(As always, click on or hover over photos in galleries to read their captions.)
We made decent progress that first day I was home, but I felt like I was thrown right back into our challenging lifestyle. Extremely strong headwinds made the drive dangerous and ruined our fuel economy. We lost an hour at a fuel station near the border with Chile, because they were out of gas. We waited for the tanker to supply the station and filled up our truck and a jerrycan. This container travelled at my feet and was leaking profusely, spilling liquid and fumes. At the border in Chile, officials took all our beans and lentils, which had never been a problem before. And, the next morning, we woke up to a flat tire!
Day two started with a tire repair kit that didn’t work, us installing the spare tire before the relentless wind picked up, and Mark discovering that the flat was caused by the car reversing onto a screw that had fallen off our own camper due to all the bumpy, gravel roads! Irony is ever a big part of our lives. We left Tierra del Fuego on a ferry and continued our journey north to the real Patagonia, covering a chunk of miles every day.
That day ended unexpectedly as well. We had parked at the only level spot, in front of a small, seemingly abandoned boat that rested on the grass, not on a trailer. At 10:30pm, commotion outside had us up and about. You guessed it. Exactly on this particular Sunday evening, someone needed to pick up this particular boat! So, we moved. This one had us laugh out loud…
A detour to Punta Arenas was necessary to get our tire fixed with the last local cash we had and to stock up on groceries, Chilean pesos, alcohol, and Maya’s dogfood. You have no idea how much Mark and I had been looking forward to visiting these decent, affordable stores. We could finally splurge on a few items that are unavailable or unaffordable in Argentina!
The next town in Chile, Puerto Natales, also required a stop for more errands. We dropped off our dirty sheets, towels, and jeans, made dentist appointments for teeth cleanings, topped up with potable water, took Maya for a walk, and did work and research while waiting for our laundry to be done. I started to feel sicker and realized I must have picked up a bug on the expedition ship.
One of the main attractions in this part of Patagonia is Torres del Paine National Park. We had found an amazing free camping spot in iOverlander, one that friends had recommended, and looked forward to resting up and working in this pretty location, across from a river and the incredible park.
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