Ushuaia - Fin del Mundo - The End of the World

Ushuaia - Fin del Mundo - The End of the World.

Well, that is what they like to tell you around here and, yes, Ushuaia can boast to be the southern most city/town in the world. The end of the road. For many travellers it is just that - the destination/ the goal which they are trying to reach. And it is not such a bad place to visit either. For me it is neither the beginning nor the end of my trip but still a definite milestone. From here I turn my bike around and slowly make my way North. My initial plan (before I left Australia) was to make a quick dash (3000km) to Ushuaia and then slowly make my way North. Hmm, it took me a month to get here and I covered over 6000kms.. At this rate I´m not sure how far North I am going to get but it really doesn´t matter. This trip is not about how far I travel but about the trip itself. It is good to have a goal to reach for but not to measure success only by the acheivement or non-acheivement of that goal.

To reach Ushuaia you need to cross the Strait of Magellan to reach the island, Tierra del Fuego.

I crossed at its narrowest point at 4kms. It is often wind swept (like the rest of this area) and quite rough. As a matter of fact the last couple days of travel I had the wonderful opportunity of experiencing the famous Patagonian winds. Getting blown across the road and not having to lean around (some) corners was interesting...

Oh yes, just before you cross the channel you pass by this mine field... Unfortunately I have no idea on the history behind this. And then you need to cross the border back into Argentina.

I have been in Ushuaia for a few days now. Checked out a few museums which focus on various topics- the penal colony, maritime history, and Antartica. - Being only 1000km from Antartica I checked out trying to get there, but two problems - still a bit too expensive (upwards of 4000USD) and the season to visit has just finished.

I went into the National Park here. More mountains and lakes but every place I visit is special.

Where to from Here?

Well I plan to head up through Chile to start with. I will need to retrace about 1000kms to get to the first road crossing back into Chile on the mainland (I was there about 3weeks ago I think). Once in Chile I will ride on the Carretal Austral up tp Peuto Monnt which has been highly recommended. This highway is almost all gravel, about 1200kms long and quite remote, cutting through dense forests, mountains and lakes. The alternative is to take a ferry all the way to Puerto Monnt (2000kms) which passes through the Patagonian Fiordlands and saves me some time. Both look interesting and I will probably end up making my decision on the spur of the moment.

While in Puerton Natales I had this idea to find a boat to take me from there to Tortel, which is near the beginning of the Caretal Austral Highway. Tortel is an old fishing village that has no roads, just kms of boardwalks or so I am told. Anyway I asked around. Went down to the docks but couldn´t find a way. This would have been the ultimate way to include both the fiordlands and the highway but now I will have to leave something for next time..

The smell of the sea,wood, paint and deisel, the slapping of the water against the hulls. Peaceful but with a definite air of adventure about it. I loved the place - maybe it was a link with my ancestral roots in the fishing industry...