Chronicles of a Patagonia Road Trip: Part IV

My arrival to Buenos Aires on April 20^th marked the end of my trip through Patagonia, as well as the end of my journey through Latin America. It has been quite the experience and I could not have asked for a better finale than this road trip.

Day 17

"Woke up to a view of Mount Fitz Roy through the wind shield of our truck. We had arrived to El Chaltén. Excited to be hiking after two weeks of inactivity. Fall colours against the backdrop of Fitz Roy the whole way. After setting up camp at its base, decided to hike to a glacier that caught our eye from the drive into El Chaltén. Getting there involved an hour or two of bush-whacking through a swamp and scrambling over loose rocks. But it was worth it. I was in awe of its baby blue colour and the thunderous sounds it produced as it cleaved. The shore of the glacier pool was dotted with chunks of ice, some as big as I. It had been days since I had last showered and the pristine water was just calling my name. It was the coldest water I’ve ever swam in, but being somewhat clean afterward was well worth it."

Woke up to this view near El Chaltén

Fall colours & Mount Fitz Roy

Taking a dip in glacier run off

Day 18

"Got out of the park just past noon and decided to treat myself to clean laundry, a bed, and the cheesiest Roquefort pizza in town. Will be back on the road tomorrow."


Day 19

"Glad to have picked up another longterm hitch-hiker, James from England. Not only can we now split fuel costs four ways, but we can sing along to 'The Proclaimers' in a four-part harmony."

Guanacos

Llamas

"Hard to believe that the Landruiser was able to handle the sharp turns on the way to Perito Moreno Glacier at double, and sometimes triple, the posted speed limit. We were silent and holding on for dear life as Tom negotiated the windy road of the national park trying to get us to the glacier before the sun set. While the passengers all made it, the truck took a little bit of a beating. The suspension was a little squeakier than usual, one of the windows was stuck, and one of the speakers ceased to work. But we managed to make it just in the nick of time, and had the entire park to ourselves."

"The glacier truly was one of the most amazing sights. It was baby blue, laced with crevasses and stretched as far as the eye could see. The sounds it made as it calved were deafening, and some lasted nearly a minute. Furthermore, it would often prompt the calving of another part of the glacier, perhaps hundreds of metres away."

Perito Moreno Glacier, El Calafate, Argentina

Managed to fix the speaker, but no luck with the window

Day 20

"Last night we ate at an all-you-can-eat parilla in El Calafate. We were stuffed and several bottles of vino deep when we discovered that the restaurant had wifi, fast wifi. As it was the first place in Patagonia that we've managed to find wifi good enough to open our e-mail, all of us, with the exception of James for he lost his cell phone, busted out our tablets and computers and went at it. We were the last people in the restaurant and eventually the staff got fed up and simply shut it off to get us to leave. After  Tom and I dropped off Thomas and James at a hostel we decided to park our truck - i.e. mobile home -  outside the restaurant in hopes that they reconnected the internet. We were in luck and spent some more time sending e-mails, calling banks, etc."


Day 21

"The streets of Puerto Natales at six in the morning are not what you would expect of a small town in Southern Patagonia... It made for an interesting start to our multi-day hike of the 'W'-trek in Torres del Paine National Park. Due to bad weather forecasts and a time constraint on our road-trip, we opted to do this four to five day hike in three. We traveled lightly the nine kilometres to the lookout point for the towers. The weather was beautiful and we had a great view of the towers at the top. But we only had maybe a half hour to soak it in as we still had the majority of the hike in front of us. We raced down the trail, picked up our packs, and had to set a fast pace for camp if we were going to make it in day light. The wind was incredibly strong. We made it just as the sun was setting and, at the end of the day, we covered about 32 km. Quinoa for dinner."

Gauchos herding horses

Parque Nacional Torres del Paine

Los Torres del Paine

Day 22

"More hiking, more incredible scenery and more Quinoa..."

The Towers at night

Setting up camp

Day 23

"The absurd cost of transport to get back to the parking lot at the start of the 'W' trek left us with a bad taste of Torres del Paine National Park. We were further aggravated when we got to the parking lot and the hotel wouldn't sell us any gas. We asked every person in the parking lot if they had any gas to spare. After an hour or two we collected maybe a litre. Decided to push for a small town between the park and Puerto Natales where rumours hold that there is a black market for gasoline. If we didn't make it, two of us would watch over the truck for the night while the other two hitched a ride into town to fill up a gas can. We made it, but the police wouldn't help us and said we'd need to hitch a ride. Finally we found the black market and bought out their whole stock, a whole six litres for more than $12 US. We had doubts that it would be sufficient to take us to Puerto Natales, but we made it with one litre to spare in the tank. Will we never learn..."


Day 24

"Slept at a nice hospedaje last night run by a grandmother named Gloria. Surprised to find the windshield wiper snapped off the car. Used some fishing line to fasten it to the truck. At least it came in use somewhere, for I'm surely not catching any fish with it... After conquering the 'Towers of Pain' (Torres del Paine)  we are ready to continue our journey sur, down the 'Road to the End of the World' (Carretera al Fin del Mundo) to 'The Land of Fire' (Tierra del Fuego). I hope the scenery lives up to the expectations set by the epic titles..."


Day 25

"Took a ferry from Punta Arenas to Porvenir, the gateway to Tierra del Fuego. While the road here looked better than most we've been driving, it was by far the worst. The dirt road was saturated with water - it was essentially mud. In 4WD we were sliding off the road into the ditches lining it, getting spun around over 90º at times, and getting covered in mud. It was comparable to driving the worst black ice. This drive would be impossible without a proper truck. Made it to Ushuaia, Argentina."

Tierra del Fuego, Chilé

In the 'Land of Fire'

Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. The southern-most tip of South America reachable by road.

Day 26

"Today we discovered that Argentinians do not take kindly to British folk. They hold a grudge over the Falkland War and continue to claim the islands are theirs. Signs prohibit 'British pirates' from docking. James is convinced that he is given higher hostel prices once they hear his accent."

Day 27

"Trying to get off the Land of Fire is not easy. Rumours hold that one may be stuck up to 70 hours waiting for the wind to die down before the ferry can attempt the three kilometre crossing. We arrived at night to find a line stretching about two kilometres. And while the ferry was going, it would close in two hours and we would not make it until the next morning. James slept in the drivers seat, I in the passenger seat, and Tom in the back. We were fast asleep when we got woken up and told that there would be one last ferry and its our turn. James has never driven a large truck before and when Tom mentions it's a four speed, James is thrown off, "Is that just like a five speed minus one?!" Half asleep it was a jerky ride onto the ferry, and we almost missed the ramp."


Day 28

"Had to change the tire today for the first time this trip. Discovered that the jack is too small. Made for an interesting, and miserable, tire change in 70 km/hr winds. Sad to see James leave today as well. And, once again, there were two..."


Day 29

"Getting fairly proficient driving a manual transmission, but haven't quite graduated to driving stick with a hot cup of coffee. Tom was asleep and it was my turn. Grabbed a coffee and managed to navigate the parking lot without spilling a drop. My confidence was high. But then I was forced to stop on an uphill before merging on the highway, and, to make matters worse, there was a truck right behind me. I made it fine, but spilled half the cup on my crotch. Curse the lack of cup holders in this Landcruiser."


Day 30

"Arrived to Buenos Aires today. Bittersweet about it. As excited as I am to explore this city which I've heard so much about, it very well be my last day in the ol' Landcruiser. Over the course of the thirty day road trip we've had numerous experiences - some good, some bad and some ugly. It was a journey I surely will never forget."

Tango show in Café Tortoni, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Chronicles of a Patagonia Road Trip: Part III

Crossed into Chilean Patagonia for this portion of the road trip. Saw some breath-taking scenery, stumbled upon a friend’s home, camped in some amazing places and took the single-lane, gravel Carretera Austral back to Argentina. It’s been quite a ride…

Day 9

"We lost our brakes on the way to San Martin de Los Andes. Turns out you can't cross the border to Chilé with 60 litres of gasoline strapped to your roof, so we decided to burn the gas by giving a lift to a couple of French hitch-hikers we met earlier today. Whether it was the gravel road shaking the truck to death, or just regular wear and tear over the course of thirty years, we were literally dumping brake fluid down the mountain pass to town. But I'm not surprised that the brakes failed. We've learned to take everything in stride. Instead of letting the truck get us down, we're going to make the most of our time in Patagonia. We celebrated safely arriving here with a steak, which turned out to be the best I've ever had."

Day 11

"The beauty of having your own vehicle is that you can choose your own route. We crossed into Chilean Patagonia at Ruta 231 and planned to take some smaller roads that weave between the Siete Lagos in search of some fishing spots. While I've heard that Argentina's portion of Patagonia is more stunning, I'm not convinced as I look at the snow-capped peaks towering over the lakes and grazing fields."

Northern Chilean Patagonia

"Spending the night in Puerto Varas. After seeing the amount of snow and wind this far North, I need to purchase some last minute gear before venturing any deeper into Patagonia and this looks like the place to do it. We had some tapas for dinner at a ridiculously expensive restaurant, where we heard from the camarero that an 8.0 earthquake just hit Iquique in Northern Chilé. If Tom and I had stuck to our original timeline and not left Peru as early as we did, our schedule would’ve put us right in Iquique for the earthquake. Something to think about as we return to the truck and call it a night.”

Day 12


"We're starting to get deeper into Patagonia. Took a ferry from Puerto Montt to a gravel road that eventually led us to Hornopirén. The ocean, pristine forests, and rugged peaks surround this quaint fishing town. Made a new friend, a stray, who we dubbed ‘Horno’ after Hornopirén. Fed him a can of tuna after he accompanied us through town and I don’t think he’ll be leaving our side for quite some time.”

Ferry

Carretera Austral

Hornopirén, Chilé

Day 13

“No luck starting the car this morning, even by popping the clutch… With two large Russian lads, Vladimir and Dmitri, pushing from the back, and a truck pulling from the front, we managed to get our truck on the ferry just in the nick of time. Can’t help but laugh at how right Tom was in preparing for the worst, which stems from his military background. I thought he was anal when he insisted on buying shovels, tow ropes, extra gas cans, etc., but we’ve used each and every one of them. Hope for the best, plan for the worst… Oh, and Horno did accompany us on the ferry. We planned on taking him to Ushuaia with us so he could be the world’s most travelled perro, but he wouldn’t get in the truck. I hope he doesn’t perish on the tiny, uninhabited island we left him on…”

Vladimir & Dmitri on the ferry

Our stray, Horno

“It truly is a small world. We picked up a Belgian hitch-hiker on the ferry, Virginie, who needed to get to a hospedaje in Chaiten in which she was going to work for a month. We pulled-up along side the place when I noticed a sticker on the truck in front of us, a ‘Tribe’ sticker. ‘Tribe’ is a group of kayakers that I know from back home, from my time paddling the Ottawa River. I asked the owner of the place, Javier, if he knew who the truck belonged to. It was his son’s, Marcos Gallegos. I was shocked. I knew Marcos from paddling in Canada and here I am, just happened to stumble upon his home. I learned that he was on his way to the White Water Grand Prix in Canada. Talking to Javier I discovered we shared a bunch of mutual friends because he hosted the athletes from the previous WWGP. After several cervezas and laughs he fired up the grill – a fiesta was under way. Fresh salmon, sausages, chicken and pisco, lots of pisco, was consumed. Javier wouldn’t let Tom and I sleep in the truck and offered us warm beds to sleep in. Gotta love the whitewater kayaking community.”

Tribe

Tom and I with Javier and our hitch-hikers

Fresh Salmon

Cooking for the fiesta

Day 14

“I’m a little disappointed to be so close to some of the world’s best whitewater, namely the Futaleufu, and not being able to paddle it. Especially since the futaleufu is what sparked the dream not only to travel to Patagonia, but to come to Latin America in the first place. I remember seeing pictures and films of the Fu as a child and dreaming of the day I would be able to paddle it. I’m trying to not let it get me down; I’m trying to convince myself that I’ll be back someday, back solely to paddle. I’m focusing on the fact that I’m in a place that few will ever have the opportunity to see. There are pristine forests, mountains and glaciers at every turn. The only sign of development is a single lane, gravel road – the Carretera Austral – carving its way south.”

Day 15

Despite not covering much ground, we had a good day today. On the way to Lago Tranquilo with our two new hitch-hikers from España, we hit a chicken. As Tom was cutting its neck to finish it off, a Chilean woman came running out shouting, 'Necesitan pagar! Necesitan pagar para el pollo!" After explaining that we hit it and were simply putting it out of its misery, she stopped demanding payment and took the chicken for herself. I'm a little disappointed that we're not eating fresh chicken tonight... But at least we have a top-notch campsite free of charge. We hopped a fence to sleep in a pasture under a huge tree by Lago Tranquilo after being assured that Chileans are 'muy sympatico' to travellers in our situation. Had a nice fire, some vino tinto, and conversed in Spanish with our new amigos. Feels great to be able to hold a decent conversation in a foreign language."

- Buena Onda

Chronicles of a Patagonia Road Trip: Part II

Despite a few scares with the ol' Landcruiser, la aventura a Patagonia continues...

Patagonia

Day 5

"After fifty-two hours of driving, I'm glad to have left both the desert and the car. The Andes are a nice change in scenery from the arid Atacama desert. We've arrived to Mendoza, Argentina but are too physically and mentally exhausted to explore the city. I fell asleep in a chair while waiting for the mechanic to service the camioneta. Bad news, the oil leak is irreparable and we're losing 1/2 - 3/4 of a litre per day. Good news, no oil changes necessary for the rest of the road trip... Just keep topping her up."

Los Andes near Mendoza, Argentina

Day 6

"Mendoza is wine country. Today is our first day not on the road. A bottle of wine sets me back $1.60 US on the low end and $12 US on the high end. There are vineyards and bodegas to visit, and world-renowned Argentinian bistec to be had."

Bodega Lopez

Day 7

"Late start this morning... Probably should've laid off the wine a little earlier. Nevertheless, we're on the road and hoping to make San Carlos de Bariloche in under 24 hours."

"The turn-off for Ruta 40 Sur was tough to identify. We drove past it twice before realizing it was the gravel road to our right. May not make our timeline."

Ruta 40

"The road got worse - from gravel to dirt. But this is why we bought a 4WD Toyota Landcruiser, so we kept pushing forward. Unfortunately, we eventually got stopped and turned around by a construction worker. For the six hours we've been on the road, we're only 120 km away from Mendoza. We're definitely not making it to Bariloche in under 24 hours."

From gravel to dirt on Ruta 40 to Patagonia

We definitely put our 4WD to use

Day 8

"Made some espresso and milanesa sandwiches for breakfast on the side of the highway before push-starting the truck. In addition to the problem starting the truck, which happens every morning, we can't get it to run at RPMs greater than 1500. Crawled the 15 km into the next pueblo, Malargüe, to fix it up. Fortunately, its an old Toyota with few moving parts and we only paid $50 US to fix it. Unfortunately, we're in Argentina where siesta shuts down the whole country from one to five in the afternoon. Meaning, we won't be back on the road until then."

Tom cooking some breakfast at the side of Ruta 40

"We're really in it now. Rugged mountains, sandstorms hurling golf ball-sized rocks, and gauchos. Ruta 40 turned into gravel once again. A hundred kilometre stretch took us over four hours to negotiate. In the two days since we left Mendoza, we've covered less than 450 km. If this is an indication of the rest of the roads to, and in, Patagonia, I'm afraid we may not make Ushuaia."

Gaucho Territory

Gaúcho

"Running on fumes and this pueblo has no gas station. Forced to knock on doors in search of fuel, anything to take us to the next town. First door I knocked on turned out to be some sort of boarding school or orphanage. It caught me off guard. I was swarmed by the kids and staff, and needed to greet each and every one of them before they would even hear out the reason of my being there. I was escorted to the police headquarters where an officer hooked us up with several litres of gasoline free-of-charge. My driving shift begins in three hours."

Day 9

"It was 01:30 and I had an eight hour driving shift ahead of me. And the shits. I had to pull over about three times an hour and brave the unrelenting winds, while Tom slept in the back without a worry in the world. But if all goes well, and Yvon Chouinard is right, drinking the un-purified water will have been worth it - I'll be able to drink river water all throughout Patagonia... Furthermore, at least I got the front row seat when the sun rose - we had reached the gateway to Patagonia."

The gateway to Patagonia

Lago Nahuel Huapi, Patagonia, Argentina

Chronicles of a Patagonia Road Trip: Part I

It began in the Avenue of Volcanoes in Ecuador. I met a lad named Tom at a mountaineering base camp near Volcán Cotopaxi who sought the same types of adventures as I. I easily convinced him to join me in my search for a cargo ship headed deep into the Amazon Basin, and that is when the dream of a road trip to Patagonia was born.

We were sitting in a bus terminal in Quito looking at a map of South America. The lack of ground I had covered in South America over six weeks, coupled with dwindling funds, had crushed my plan to explore Patagonia. But that didn't stop me from dreaming about it. We were discussing theoretical routes that we could take to Patagonia when it suddenly became a real possibility - if Tom decided to bail on his plans of travelling to the Gallapagos Islands and Rapa Nui, and I would commit to splitting fuel costs, buying a vehicle for a road trip to Patagonia would be feasible.

Less than two weeks later we were surfing the web in Starbucks in Lima, Peru researching how, if possible, a foreigner can buy a vehicle to drive to Patagonia. After verifying that it was possible, we hired a guy to drive us around the city and help us out with the logistics, Eddie. Not only did he help us with finding the right vehicle and dealing with the legal stuff, he invited us to stay with him and his family for a couple of nights. This road trip would not have been possible without him.

Car purchase dilemmas in Lima, Peru

Outfitting the '84 Toyota Landcruiser for a Patagonia road trip

We settled on a 1984 Toyota Landcruiser. It was a beauty, equipped with a gasoline and propane powered carbureted engine, manual transmission, four wheel drive, and bench seats but no airbags. It had its quirks that we would learn along the road, but we thought it'd be sufficient to deal with whatever we encountered on our journey to Patagonia.

Below are excerpts from my journal during the road trip to Patagonia:

Day 1

"After a long week in Lima, Tom and I have finally hit the road and are headed Sur. Can't express how stoked I am to be actually driving to Patagonia. I've dreamt of exploring these desolate and extreme landscapes for as long as I can remember..."

Panamerican highway, Peru

Day 2

"Breathtaking views cruising along the Panamerican Highway on Peru's Southern Pacific Coast. We're averaging 50 km/h in our thirty year old Landcruiser, but happy to be moving forward..."

Pepé and I

"First mechanical problem with the truck today. The carbureted engine cannot adjust for the thinner air at higher elevations as we climb to Arequipa. We give her some TLC and keep trudging along in a lower gear at higher RPMs."

She definitely doesn't like high altitude

"We were worried about armed, highway-side robberies driving at night, but turns out protests and riots are more concerning. Crowds of people in the small pueblos are blocking the streets, blocking traffic. Rumours hold that they've been throwing Molotov Cocktails at tourist buses, lighting cars on fire and spreading innards of dogs at the entrances to towns. Riot police are at standby."

Protests in Peru

Riot police on standby

"No better way to learn than by trial under fire. After dropping off a couple of hitch-hikers in Arequipa, it was my first shift driving the Landcruiser. But I had limited experience with a manual transmission in the best of conditions... Now it was dark, I would have to negotiate numerous switchbacks climbing and descending the mountains, and would have to watch for attempts at highway-side robberies. My last piece of advice driving stick in the mountains before Tom went to sleep was, 'If there's an unofficial road-block, throw it into second and let them think you're coming to a stop, then, at the last minute, line-up the headlight with the tire of the car in your way and give 'er.'"

Day 3

"Driving through the driest desert in the world, the Atacama desert in Northern Chile... Running out of both GLP [propane] and gasoline. Questionable whether we're going to make it to the next gas station."

The driest desert in the world, the Atacama desert in Chile

"Just made it to the closest pueblo and filled both the tank and one extra fuel can. With gas costing about $2 US a litre, we're thanking the lord we picked up a couple hitch-hikers at the border of Chile."

Strapping a couple of extra fuel cans to the roof

"Starting to realize that we grossly underestimated this road trip. Bought a Landcruiser because it was really fucking cool, and now we're paying the price. It maxes out at 90 km/hour, so we'll be trudging along slowly. It also consumes so much fuel - it is so inefficient - that a full tank of gas won't take us to the next gas station in this desert. Consequently, it is going to take longer to get to Patagonia, and it is going to cost a fortune, more than I can likely afford... But that's the price of a once in a life-time experience, and I wouldn't want to do it any other way."

Day 4

"We've been travelling for nearly forty hours straight. Tom and I are making a push for Mendoza, Argentina after dropping off our hitch-hikers in Santiago. It looks like I'll have the night shift again tonight. Looking forward to the peacefulness and solidarity on the Panamamericana, which has surprisingly little traffic even during the day. Just me and the road..."

Stars above the Panamerican Highway in the Andes at the Chilean - Argentinian border