Travel Diary: December 2022 (Part 2) – Journey to the end of the World

In our last travel diary, we mentioned the strict border controls with regards foodstuffs that exist when entering Chile and how we had also got caught by surprise by an equally strict application of the rules when re-entering Argentina. So, for our second entry into Chile at a relatively tiny border post near the Torres del Paine national park we didn’t expect any issues as in theory by now everything that posed a threat to bio-diversity should have been already discovered and confiscated, needless to say the eager agricultural control officer still managed to find some honey and eggs which they deemed to be unacceptable.

At this point we were still in two minds as to whether it was worth driving a loop through the national park mainly due to the relatively high park fees that are applied.  The main attraction of Torres del Paine is its towering granite peaks and the various single or multi-day hikes that can be done around them but with Tania unable to do long hikes it meant we would at best be viewing the scenery from the car and perhaps an over-priced campsite or two.  

Leaving the border post we still hadn’t fully made up our minds but as it was mid-afternoon we decided to find a free wild camp at which we could hopefully soak up the last rays of the day while enjoying a beer and applying our minds a little more to the decision.  Tania had spotted a check-in on iOverlander which hadn’t been visited for a couple of years, probably because it was on a little driven side road which didn’t head directly to the peaks, but sounded promising and so we set off in search of it.  It turned out to be the perfect spot, perched above two aquamarine lakes with great afternoon sun and distant views of the Torres del Paine massif.

That evening we decided we would skip a full loop through the park and instead to just drive a little further the following morning in order to perhaps get a few closer views.  As it was the following morning we spent more time photographing wild flowers and funky bus shelter which line the road than of the world-famous spires.

Having taken our pictures, we once again turned Mr Jones nose south for 100km run into the small fishing and tourist town that is Puerto Natales. For a town that only has a permanent population of 20 000 it was surprisingly large and bustling, although a lot of the bustle probably has to do with the roughly 65 000 tourists that pass through it each month in December to March, it is no doubt very different the remainder of the year. 

Normally we would go grocery shopping when in such towns but with another set of borders to cross before reaching Ushuaia and knowing that something was bound to be confiscated, we opted to skip that opportunity and instead try and find a tailor or seamstress.   The zips in Stuart’s windproof pants were all falling off, after what must have been a very hot tumble-dryer at our last laundry drop.  It took a bit of searching but we eventually found a nondescript little house and a cute little old lady who could fix them.

Even though it felt like we were almost at our end destination, Ushuaia was still over 700 kilometres, a ferry crossing, a set of border posts and lots of strong winds away so once we had collected the pants the following afternoon we left town hoping to put a dent into the remaining miles.  We only drove 100km before stopping for the day, as in this part of Patagonia the choices for camping are very much determined by the wind and if there is a bit of shelter from it, so when we got to a spot next to a river and opposite a police checkpoint that only had a mild breeze blowing it was an easy decision to stop.

After a peaceful night, we were ready to put in a big day which would include a ferry across the Straights of Magellan and then a longish drive which included another border crossing back into Argentina, across the pampa of Tierra del Fuego.  

When we left South Africa, we had placed a country flag onto the number plate of Mr Jones, thinking that it might help other SAFFA’s spot us, never realising in fact how many people across the continent might recognise the flag.  It has led to many people approaching us with often the opening statement of “are you really from South Africa?”.  On this day as we approached the ferry crossing we were overtaken by a Colombia registered vehicle hooting wildly and the with the passenger hanging out the window waving and shouting.  Initially we thought they were just impressed by Mr Jones but when we both stopped at the ferry terminal we discovered that in fact while the car was Colombian, the couple was a Swiss/South African couple who had got stuck in Colombia during the pandemic and were now driving across South America.  While waiting for the ferry we exchanged numbers so that we could get together once we were both in Ushuaia.

Tierra del Fuego translates as “land of fire” which has something to do with the first Europeans impressions of the natives and the fires they made, we however think it should have rather been called Tierra del Viento (Viento being wind in Spanish) as in particular the route across the barren pampa towards Rio Grande and then south to Ushuaia is incredibly windswept.  Fortunately at the fuel station in Rio Grande we were able to find a sheltered spot tucked in behind the main building and spent a relatively quite night without too much rocking and rolling.

Rio Grande was a surprisingly big, but bleak, town which gave us the opportunity to stock up a bit on fresh food as we were rather low on the essential, after having done 2 border crossings in 4 days with all the restrictions around the movement of fresh food.  Leaving Rio Grande we first drove into a strong headwind and then a crosswind as we skirted along the edges of the Atlantic Ocean on our way south to Ushuaia until the road turned inland and needed to climb over the mountains that protect Ushuaia from the northern windswept portion of Tierra del Fuego.

On the city limits are two towers which probably every Overlander who has ever come this way has stopped in front of in order to take a photo as evidence of the achievement of having reached the most southern town in the world that it is possible to drive too.  Naturally we did the same.

Unfortunately our sense of achievement quickly transformed into one of disappointment as we drove into town and across it, we had pictured a small little village “at the end of the world” tucked between mountains and the beagle channel whereas instead we found a sprawling and rather dirty town with a fairly industrial like harbour area complete with areas of low cost housing encroaching up the mountainside having cut away large swathes of forest for the expansion.  Once through the industrial area the town does have a relatively attractive promenade overlooking the channel complete with both medium and large cruise ships anchored.  During the very short summer of December to March, it is the launch point for cruises to Antarctica.

Camping options in Ushuaia are extremely limited, you can either camp in one of the parking lots along the promenade or there is a large field a few kilometres out of town next to the very touristy train station for the “train to the end of the world”.  Either option offers no facilities but its possible to use the toilets in the station during daylight hours, so we opted for the latter.  One aspect we had expected to be quite different in South America relative to Africa was the presence of huge 4wd trucks, which are basically small apartments on wheels and are typically owned by either German, French or Dutch elderly couples.  Our expectations had been further enhanced at our very first campsite 10 months prior in Uruguay where Mr Jones was dwarfed by these trucks and a few smaller campervans.  At that time most of the owners were preparing to park them for the Southern Hemisphere winter as they headed back to Europe for summer which for us was a surprise as with such expensive rigs and luxurious living conditions you would have thought they might be full time overlanders.  In the subsequent 10 months we have seen very few such trucks and so it was with some surprise that we found the field/campsite full of such trucks – how we have missed them on our journey south we have no idea but clearly Ushuaia is the bottom of a funnel.

Apart from marveling at how we had missed bumping into such huge trucks over the last 20 000km in South America, we were also quite impressed that we found ourselves here just two prior to Christmas.  Before leaving South Africa, we had often tried to explain our route by telling people that we were first going to do a loop through Brazil in order to escape winter and then we thought it might be cool to spend Christmas or New Year at the “end of the world” BUT in reality we basically travel with no fixed plans. In fact, we often usually only decide where we will overnight (at best) the night before, although usually only over coffee on the morning of that day or sometimes it may only be at lunchtime of that day. So after 9 months of relative random wandering we were quite impressed with our timing.

Andreas & Genevieve (the Colombian driving Swiss/South African) couple had invited us to their Airbnb for supper so after a relaxing afternoon in the field/campsite we packed up Mr Jones and drove the few kilometres down the road to their spot.  In a classic example of the “6 degrees of separation” it turned out that for many years both of them had lived in northern Mozambique and knew our mutual friends Winnie and Arthur very well.

In theory being just the two of us could make Christmas Day quite a lonely affair but over the years we have in fact found it to be quite the opposite and this one was no different:  the morning was spent on video calls with friends & family spread all around the world, then Tania made an awesome lamb curry for lunch and finally we joined some fellow overlanders for wine and laughs in the evening until late.   Interestingly one of those couples was one of the campervan owners we had met in Uruguay at the start of our trip, although their camper, while definitively larger than Mr Jones, is still a relative midget compared to most of the “larger apartments on wheels”.

Travelling the way, we do is a constant evolution and sometimes “school fees” must be paid – our journey to Ushuaia had been exactly that.   On the side of Mr Jones door below a map of the world we have a phrase which says “we haven’t been everywhere but it’s on the list” and this lifestyle does afford us the luxury of going slowly and visiting many places however we have come to the realisation that for us, it is not that important to go everywhere and especially to tick off the must visit destinations.  Of course, many people may see Ushuaia differently and more than likely would not like some of the destinations we like – each to his own.

We are not sorry we ventured south into Patagonia and we really enjoyed the northern and central parts (as evidenced by our previous Travel Diaries) but, with the benefit of hindsight, could have easily stopped going south in El Calafate.  It is perhaps the difference between living full-time on the road and doing shorter trips of 3 – 6 months as most others do.  If you come away after a short trip exhausted, it is okay because afterwards you are effectively then taking a holiday from travelling. 

With the above in mind, on Boxing Day we put Mr Jones wheels once more back into motion and fled the world’s most southern city, our intention was to find some beaches and warmer weather.   It was time to have for a summer holiday.