Monthly Archives: March 2019

Heading North up Ruta 3, Argentina

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February 21, 2019 – March 2, 2019

To get off the island of Tierra del Fuego and continue north in Argentina one must first re-enter Chile, then take a ferry to the mainland, and then re-enter Argentina. We drove to a small municipal camp on the Chilean side of Tierra del Fuego on the first day, then took the ferry to the mainland before re-entering Argentina the next day. We were tired of the frequent rain, wind and cold, and hoped to make some longer driving days north in search of warmer temperatures.

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Ushuaia, El Fin del Mundo

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February 17, 2019 – February 21, 2019

On February 17th, 2019, after 480 days on the road and 47,370 kilometres, we arrived in Ushuaia, affectionately known as El Fin del Mundo, the end of the world. It is the farthest south that one can drive, farther south than Cape Horn in Africa, farther south than the island of Tasmania, and about 1,000 kilometres from Antarctica.

Derek and Piper give each other a congratulatory “high five” at the gates to Ushuaia.
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Tierra del Fuego and King Penguins

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February 14, 2019 – February 16, 2019

We drove along the Strait of Magellan to where we would load Seymour onto yet another ferry, to make our way to Tierra del Fuego. Strait of Magellan, Tierra del Fuego…..names that I had read about in history class so many years ago, but that my teenage self never, ever would have imagined having the opportunity to visit. It was a bit surreal.

The Strait of Magellan
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Puerto Natales & Punta Arenas

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February 11, 2019 – February 14, 2019

What I left out of our last post was how, on the way to El Calafate, we had stopped at a mirador, and when we got back into the truck and tried to start it, it would not start. Dutch tourists that we had been chatting with, and who were also about to pull out of the mirador, knocked on our window to see if we needed help. “No, I think we are okay,” said Derek, and so they pulled out. We sat. We cursed and we both pondered a bit. Finally, Derek “bumped” the ignition to cycle the new lift pump a few times, and then was able to start the engine. We continued on our way to El Calafate, neither of us stating the obvious….the truck was clearly STILL not fixed.

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El Calafate and Perito Moreno Glacier

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February 8, 2019 – February 11, 2019

Our next stop along Ruta 40 was the town of El Calafate, where most tourists stay before and after a visit to Perito Moreno Glacier. Calafate is the name of a berry producing bush that grows in the Patagonia region of Chile and Argentina and that tastes similar to the Saskatoon berries we have at home. It is said that if you eat a calafate berry that it ensures that you will return to Patagonia….so we bought a jar of calafate jam, as this is a region of the world that is definitely worthy of a return visit.

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El Chaltén

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February 4, 2019 – February 8, 2019

El Chaltén is a small village full of outdoor gear shops, hostels, cervecerias, bake shops and restaurants, all focused on servicing the thousands of visitors that come during the short summer season to hike in the surrounding Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. It is a fun and friendly little town, whose existence is completely reliant on tourism.

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