22nd Feb 2015
The stars had disappeared by the time I woke up, and it
was grey, overcast, and raining ! The
joys of Tierra del Fuego – 4 seasons in one day – Every day !! So I hit the road pretty quickly, and headed
south towards Ushuaia. Heading toward south towards a little ton of Tolhuin, I
saw a couple of signs for a Panaderia in the town some 30 kms before the
town. This is unheard of down here –
They don’t usually advertise at all, let alone 30 kms before the town ! Definitely needed investigation, so when I
got to the town, I turned off, and after a little exploring, found this store
with big “PANADERIA” lettering above it – And cars everywhere, and even a big coach
stopped outside ! So in I went !
And inside it was just as busy – people everywhere, and
they even have to have a ticketing system to make sure there is some kind of
order ! I spent 5 minutes looking around
– Great bread rolls and cakes and empanadas (4 different types) and doughnuts –
Everything. Even a “chocolatier” side
with all sorts of home
made chocolates !
So I took my number, and while I was waiting I noticed they even run
tours through the kitchens and baking areas, which are all visible through glass
walls. People getting coffees, hot water
for their maté, and just a really popular place. Not very out of place in a big
city, but I just haven’t seen a place like this for so long it was surprising
! I got my (still warm) crispy bread
rolls and a couple of hot empanadas, and left to continue on my way. Luckily I have to come back up this road when
I leave Ushuaia, so I will certainly be stopping again at the “Panaderia la
Union” !
A little way down the road I came out beside Lago Fagnano
– This enormous lake goes all the way west through the Chilean border to where
we were yesterday – And I then drove alongside it for some 50 kms before turning
south and heading back into the mountain range that runs all along the bottom
of Tierra del Fuego – The Cordillera
Darwin.
The highest peak is 1490 metres, and we went through the Paso Garibaldi
between some peaks, where we stopped for some photos (I was with Joel and
Bridget by this stage). Coming down
towards Ushuaia there are ski tows across the road, and lots of hiking and quad
bike trails, together with lots of advertisements for Adventure Tours etc, so
it is a busy little area !
I stopped for some lunch (my great fresh bread rolls from
the Panaderia !) before finally dropping
down into Ushuaia, where I stopped to take a photo at the entrance to the
town. I then drove in around the front,
where I saw a large Argentinian flag – Went to investigate and found a big
memorial and eternal flame built in 2012 commemorating 30 years since a small
battle in the Malvinas.
Eventually I found the camp site I was looking for at Rio
Pipo – A centre for Overlanders where they don’t allow tent camping – Just self
contained vehicles. So you get all the
German, Swiss, Austrian, American, French (and Australian) overland vehicles
there, some just starting, and others like myself nearing the end. They have hot showers, good toilets, and a
great big room
heated with a pot belly stove to sit in and do your wifi
etc. They even have a big kitchen to use
for cooking if you want. Sergio the
owner lives on site with his family, and it is the perfect set up for people
wanting to stop and relax a while, and either unwind, or prepare for the trip
ahead. So lots of chatting about places
to see and do things on the way north, and lots of mixed languages (mostly
Spanglish !) being talked. My French
friends were also there, and I met an Austrian Anton and his wife Sabine who are
in an amazing wooden-bodied Unimog truck. Anton built it himself and it is a
work of art – Looks more like a ship than a camper ! They are still working so he works 9 months
of the year near Vienna, and then they come over here for 3 months of the
year. They leave the truck in Uruguay
while they are back in Austria, and have been doing this for 4 years.
I set up camp under the trees, and fortunately not much
wind so I had the pop top up. Also rain
is predicted so I put the awning out the back, and then finally crossed out my “Tierra
del Fuego” sign on the side of the car, and stuck on the little penguin figure
I had bought for a few pesos from a vendor back at the top of the Paso
Garibaldi. It seems so
long ago that I had put the Tierra
Del Fuego sign on the car, and as we have journeyed down from Alaska, people
always say “Tierra del Fuego – That’s a long way”. Well, now I am here, and have done the “long
way”, and it has been great.
But we are not finished yet. We still have another couple of months, and a
long trip all the way up through Argentina to Iguazu falls, and maybe even into
Brazil, before coming back down to Montevideo by the end of April to catch the
ship to Europe. O I may have reached the bottom of South America, of “Fin del
Mundo – End of the World” as they call it, but I still have many miles yet to
go ! But for now a rest in Ushuaia for a
few days.
Love the Penguin!! Make sure that the compass is recalibrated for the trip back north. J&S.
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