From Anchorage to Ushuaia by Bike

The wind is omnipresent. It is just as strong as ever and sometimes it feels like a headwind, although all the cyclo-tourists that we've met assure us that it is in fact behind us. The wind has been mostly favourable, and we take full advantage! Even though during the day it can get up to 10 or 15 degrees, we bike with our windbreakers and as soon as we stop for lunch, we put on at least two more layers to keep out the frigid wind.

The last few day we biked through the national park Torres del Paine, considered to be one of the most beautiful parks in all of South America. We explored the park by bike and on foot. The main attraction of the park is a mountain range with three granite towers more than 1000m straight up, enough to make even the staunchest climbers dizzy. We saw the towers at sunrise, bathed in a reddish glow, before leaving for a day hike to see them close up. We lunched at the base of the towers, 900m above sea level, frozen solid in the company of an antarctic wind and a few stray snowflakes.

For about three weeks now we have enjoyed the company of other traveling companions who encourage us from the side of the road... We mean of course the guanacos, the wild cousins of the llamas, alpaca and the vicuna. There actually quite tame, although not domesticated, even curious at times. Along the road we also frequently come across foxes, but the most surprising fauna are the parrots that occasionally fly by, and also the nandu, strange wild ostriches that roam the landscape.

With regards to the people we've met, we have had only good experiences recently. Late one very windy afternoon, we found ourselves next to a river with a few bushes that could work as a wind shelter. But it was visible from the distant buildings, and we thought it would be better to ask permission to camp on their land. It turned out to be an estancia, the famous Patagonian ranches. We asked if we could camp behind one of the buildings, and with a big smile on her face, the lady of the house told us that camping was out of the question, and that we would sleep warm and dry in the unoccupied sheep shearers' lodgings. In the meantime, her husband arrived back and welcomed us warmly. We were delighted to accept the invitation, and she brought us a kettle of hot water and some kindling to light a fire in the stove. We couldn't have asked for anymore! A little later a young woman came to the door and invited us for dinner. While we ate a lamb and rice broth and then a big piece of lamp with creamy mashed potatoes, we got to know the young couple employed at the estancia. She is the cook and he is one of the famous Patagonian gauchos. He spends almost the whole day on horseback. Surprisingly, however, one of his most important jobs is making sure that the estancia has enough firewood, but he also takes care of 40 horses, 120 cows, 25 dogs, and of course the 4500 sheep that live on the 4500 hectares of land. They have two boys, 3 years and 9 months, and they seemed very happy, despite the fact that the work is seasonal and not guaranteed for the year. We had a wonderful evening talking about our different lives.

This morning we took a boat to visit the penguin colony on Magdalena Island in the Strait of Magellan, home to 150,000 penguins. The strait is controlled by the Chile, and separates the South American continent from the island Terra del Fuego. We got to walk right in the middle of the penguins and see the strange creatures up close.

Time goes by quickly, and the kilometers roll away under our wheels, and we now are only 10 days from the end. How are we feeling?

Well, we are having trouble fully appreciating that the end is so close; it's hard to imagine. So many things have happened since we left Anchorage! For more than 3 years we've had the city of Ushuaia in mind, a distant dream... and now that dream as about to be realized. We are excited.

PS: Sara's new wheel seems to be working well and should last at least to Ushuaia!

Sébastien