Refugio de Arrieros – Porvenir, Tierra Del Fuego, Chile
Quite a day . . .
Really, every day is quite a day right about now.
Let’s see, the sun rises late – like 8:15. And it’s freezing for several hours thereafter. But there is no point in waiting until it gets warmer – because, by the time it warms up a little – to maybe around 43-44 degrees – generally around 1 or so – the wind comes up. And the wind around here is no joke. Even if it’s with you it is just kind of relentless.
Oh, and there is no shelter. None. We might as well be back in the Atacama as far as shelter goes. No trees. Just some scrubby and stilted bushes.
It’s pretty and all. And we saw a bunch more guanacos and rheas, but between the cold and the wind these are exhausting days.
Oh, and lest I forget, it’s not like these have been short days. We ended up covering the full 152 miles or so from Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas in two days.
We are tired. Or, at least, I am.
But we made it to the ferry on time.
(Diana had figured out that the ferry left at 5 Thursday but then not until 5 Friday – so it was make the Thursday ferry or lose a whole day . . . As we’ve covered, sitting around eating bon bons is not Diana’s speed – especially when there are places to go and things to do . . .
Funny though – Cassie from last night’s Refugio thought there was a 9 a.m. ferry on Friday. Diana and Cassie went back and forth for a while:
Cassie: “I think the ferry runs every day at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.”
Diana: “I don’t think so. For some reason the ferry only runs at 5 p.m. on Fridays . . .”
There was no way to verify who was correct because there was no service at the Refugio (surprise, surprise), but I never doubted who had the details right . . . I mean, come on – are you really going to doubt Dr. Liu about something like this?)
So now we’re in Porvenir – on the Chilean side of Terra del Fuego.
I’m not sure why Terra del Fuego is supposed to be such a big deal. Maybe it’s just the name. I guess Magellan named it while on his famous exploratory voyage in 1520 or so. He saw a bunch of fires on the island – apparently lit by the indigenous people living there – and, thus, it became the land of fire – Tierra del Fuego.
Regardless, though, Tierra del Fuego is a big deal for us. Because Ushuaia is on Tierra del Fuego. And we cross the border into Argentina on Tierra del Fuego. Ushuaia is still another 280 miles or so – some of it ripio – and, I think, all of it in the unrelenting wind. But the end of this long leg of our journey is in sight . . .
And thank goodness.
Because I don’t know about you – but I, for one, am exhausted. It’s not just the physical part. Although my legs feel like overcooked meatloaf at this point . . . It’s also just that we have been going hard for a few months now. I mean, with good reason – we wanted to get here before the place truly became the South Pole for the year.
When we do finally reach Ushuaia let me just tell you that there will be some intense nothing happening. Lie on a perfectly manicured bed. Munch on some Doritos. Maybe look out the window, if that isn’t too much effort . . .
Okay, you get the idea . . .
Remarkably, after all of this whining, I have a very nice day to report on. Sunshine. Wind generally at our back. More guanacos and rheas.
Diana twice escaped roving herds of wild animals – one might even be called a guanaco stampede.
Now, you might ask, where I was for all this? Well, someone had to take the video for all of you – and for posterity . . . And it’s definitely not like I sent my wife first in order to act as a human shield between me and the animals. What kind of husband do you think I am?!?
Oh, and we met another biker yesterday. Sálahe Ddine from Morocco. Super nice young man. He started a week or so ago from Ushuaia – and he’s heading to Alaska. Expects to be there in about two years.
Did I mention that he’s from Morocco? Kind of a big deal for us because Morocco is our next destination. We fly to Marrakech a week from Saturday.
What do we know about Morocco? Not much. I mean, I think they did pretty well in the last men’s World Cup – but, really, that’s not much to go on . . .
How many people do we know from Morocco? Two. And we’ve met both of them in the last week. Aziz from the Love Boat, and Salahe Ddine from yesterday. And they’ve both promised to help us figure things out.
Aziz already did. Because we were planning to go from Morocco to Algeria to Tunisia and then into Europe.
The only problem with that plan? I guess the border between Morocco and Algeria is closed. It’s not just a temporary closure either. The border has been closed for like thirty years. I guess these people don’t like each other . . .
So unless someone has some other bright idea, Algeria and Tunisia probably aren’t going to happen . . .
Alright, that’s enough foreshadowing. Lots happening in the present. We need to shop for groceries because we have a few days out in the elements with no services.
Fortunately, we’ll have wind and ripio to keep us company. Hopefully some more guanacos and rheas as well. Maybe even some penguins.
“Austral Santa – we’ve been really good this year – we even helped some people fix their flat tires. And all we want for our Austral Christmas is a few penguins. They don’t even have to be of the emperor variety. Kings will do . . .”
(By the way, we looked it up and “austral” means something like “of or pertaining to the southern hemisphere – thus, Australia, the Carretera Austral, or Austral Santa . . .”)
We don’t have to go a million miles today. There are no more ferries left to catch. So that’s good. Biggest goal: finding some type of modest shelter – like a tree or bush to hide behind – to get through the night. Because tomorrow’s weather shows one of those wind symbols. Wind off the ocean (which we’ll be biking and staying next to) with gusts up to like 35 miles per hour. Supposed to kick up around 11 tonight. Hoping we don’t end up inventing the new sport of para-tenting – where you sail through the air while trapped in your kite-like camping gear.
Wish us luck. Or send us some shelter . . .
By the way . . . How did the indigenous people that Magellan saw survive around here? There must have been more trees back then. Probably the Spanish cut them all down later . . . 😦
Might be a day or two . . .
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Diana & John's Biking Adventures 
Hi John,
I’ve reading your and enjoying it, a lot. I got an email which seems like it’s an April 11th entry that, maybe, you haven’t posted yet?
Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I think you were “mixing and matching” centigrade and Fahrenheit when you said it’s usually 1 and then it gets up to to 43 or 44?
Great video of the guanacos crossing in front of you guys!
You writing is excellent, John. Your emotions and stuff come across so well! Reading what you wrote I can almost feel how exhausted are feeling. And I like how you kind of pose questions and then speculate or say your thoughts. Like Tierra Del Fuego and then the explanation about the explorers on the ship seeing the fires! And the story goes along with the cold, and everything.
Good luck and thanks for telling me about your blog.
Paul
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Paul!
So glad we are connected now and hoping we can cross paths again. Great to have you along through the blog. We love the comments and thoughts!
Where are you now? Coming to Ushuaia at all?
And I’ll be careful not to mix centigrade and Fahrenheit…
Talk soon!
John
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Punta Arenas is a nice city. That was our jumping off point for the flight to Antarctica.
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Kind of a bummer the way the ferry schedule worked; we didn’t end up seeing much of the city. But hoping to see penguins and such in Ushuaia as we’ll be there for a few days. Trip to Antarctica sounds amazing! Will want to hear and see more about that on our return!
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del
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I am happy you are on Tierra del Fuego. We were told that the four tribes of the region were isolated from (and frightened of) each other, spoke different languages, wore different clothing (seal skins vs. bark), and did not interact. They spent a lot of time hiding from each other. Magellan’s boats most likely triggered signal fires warning of danger — hence the “fuego.”They were right to be frightened, the Spanish eventually did what we did to Native Americans — removal and reeducation to kill their specific cultures. The last person speaking an indigenous dialect died in the 1970’s. A sad story. You should see drawings and photos in Ushuaia, which also started out as the Alcatraz of Argentina. I hope you enjoy the creature comforts of the town. There is a national park further into the mountains that is beautiful and that has camping. We visited a lodge where they famously barbecue whole sheep in a specially designed glass smoke house. I found it creepy, but it is something people in the area think is really great. You can ski there too. Congratulations on being near the next leg of this adventure. I can’t believe the thigh muscles each of you has developed! JH
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Great to hear from you Jenny! Yes, really sad about the indigenous peoples and cultures. We just watched The Settlers – a story about some of the atrocities here. Not a great movie, but it did help us understand what happened. Hope they have some interpretative stuff about that in Ushuaia.
Were you guys in Cuba recently? That must have been amazing!
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Quite the adventure you’re having! We’ve read every blog😀. We’re planning to go to Morocco for a few days via Southern Spain after the 1/2 Ironman in November, we’ll have to get the scoop from you!
We left Marquette Mar 24 (they are still skiing on groomed trails though!) and we’ve been in AZ since then. We visited friends and Brad’s parents in Tucson for about 10 days, then a couple days mtb in Sedona. We’re in Prescott now and love it here! There are trees and scrubby grass and not so hot! Trails right from our campsite too 😀. We’ll head to Moab, then Fruita before a stop in Denver to see Anni and Jonah. Then we’ll meet up with Rudd’s in Bentonville. Hope to be at the cabin May 1. Good luck these next few days as you end this part of your journey! Kelly and Brad
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Thanks Kelly and Brad! Sounds like you’re having your own epic adventures! Diana is jealous. She loves Sedona! Very cool about the half Ironman and Morocco. We’ll definitely give you the scoop! Miss you guys!
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Glad you guys found a flight out of Ushuaia! Too bad you won’t be passing through NYC after all😉
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Thanks for talking us through the flights Lauren. Looking forward to seeing you next month!!!
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Wow, you almost have reached your destination, what an accomlishment, only using muscle power and resilience for every situation. I enjoy your blogs tremendously and reliving our two trips to Feuerland, even with a cruise line. The history of the indigenous people is so fascinating. Punta Arenas began as a colony for relapsing criminals and later became one of the busiest ports on earth. In the cemetery in Punta Arenas the indigenous tribes are celebrated with the ONA grave, and sculpture, a very sad story of the genocide of all the tribes. There is a book of Rosa Yagan, the last link to that tribe. In Ushuaia we took a boat trip on the Beagle Channel. We could watch hundred of sea lions and penguins in their natural habit. I hope you will see penguins in their habitat, it is a joy to walk in such a habitat and observe their family life, as we did in Argentinia.
I hope you will have the wind on your backs for the last miles to Ushuaia.
Happy travelling, upbeat spirit and good health!
Marie-Luise T
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Thanks for the nice note Marie-Luise! We love sharing our trip with friends like you. The history you mentioned is interesting and important. And we are definitely hoping to see penguins and sea lions in Ushuaia. We’ll look into a trip on the Beagle Channel.
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Many Congrats John and Diana. So awesome!! I am sure the rest will feel good along with the sense of accomplishment and the the grandeur of being at the edge of the world!! Let us know if you overlap in Portugal time and route-wise (seems you are ahead of us depending on how much time you spend in North Africa).
John and Kang
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Thanks Kang and John! Yeah, I think we’ll be in Eastern Europe by the time you guys make it to Portugal. But we should compare notes. Would be great to find a way to connect!
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All i notice is the Centro de Ski in 44km 🙂 Enjoy
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I know, right? Hoping to see the ski facilities in Ushuaia.
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I think it’s super cool 😎 that you have arrived at that super cool 😎 point in South America right on our baby Sister Julie’s birthday! Now there is the pink full moon so cool you are flying to Morrocco 😀 Juju and Dan flew to California! I think that Julie wanted to escape the relentless cold of MN for her BD! Way to go Sis! 😉 bdw Happy Birthday! Awesome Sis! 4.12! Huge Pink Full Moon pending. 😀😃🙂🙃😊
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Crossed the border into Argentina today. Arrived at the border in Julie’s birthday!
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