After a full day of resting and enjoying the incredible view of Ushuaia, the end of the world, we were ready to start our migration north towards warmer climates. The snow falls we had the day before were mostly melted, especially on the road, and there were still some flurries falling down but nothing major. We would wait until late morning for the temperature to rise a little and then leave the city. We were a little sad to go since this place was such a special place on our journey but we were craving for warmer weather and there was not much to do in town anyway. So shortly before noon, we were on our bikes leaving the city.
We made it without incident to the police control gate at the entrance of the city where we had taken the arrival pictures two days ago. This time, they were checking each car and there was a line of vehicles. As soon as they saw us coming, they walked straight towards us even if we were at the back of the line. Bad news: there was ice and a lot of the snows in the mountains we had to cross. Motorcycles were not allowed to go and other vehicles could go only with chains or studded tires. We had no choice but to turn back but we did not want to give up that easily: maybe we could find a vehicle that could get us over the mountains and drop us 100 Kms north were the weather was fine. We drove back to town, straight to the tourist office for advice. They gave us different leads, one for private trucks that park in front of the local hardware store and can be hired to transport stuff, and the other for bigger official transport companies.
We started with the hardware store and found it closed. We had forgotten the sacred Argentinian "siesta time". Here, everything closes typically from one to four in the afternoon, except in the capital city, Buenos Aires. It first comes as a surprise but we had gotten used to it, especially since gas stations are open all day, which is where we usually stop. It was just after one so we were stuck for another three hours. We just went to our favorite gas station in town to hang out, read and have a sandwich lunch. Close to four, we left for Cruz del Sur, a freight company to check their prices. We explained our situation: they could
get our tow bikes to Rio Grande, 200 Kms north, that same evening. It would however cost us more than $200 for both bikes, or a little more than $150 after we negotiated a discount. It was a lot of money for such a short distance and also given that we could wait in town if necessary.
We decided to try our second option, the private trucks for hire. In front of the hardware store, there were a few of them and we started engaging a conversation. The two we talked to could not do it because they had no studs on their tires but they knew someone. As we asked the price, we were told it would be more than $200. Oh well, we could wait another day after all... We went back to our hotel, where they were pleasantly surprised to see us and told them that we would stay another night. The next day, similar game: finding out if we could cross the mountain. We called the National Guards and they said that it was no longer snowing, but there was still ice on the road. Moreover, they had been several accidents the day before; it had improved a little since but not enough that they would recommend we go, at least not this morning. We should call back in the afternoon. We stayed in our hotel for the day, watching a movie, talking to a nice couple from Italy and Spain who had been traveling from Cuba to here, hitchhiking and walking. They were really cool and we agreed to have dinner together if we were still stuck another night.
Finally the departure but quickly stopped by the wind
When looking for her book, Caroline found out that she had left it at the gas station the day before, along with our guidebook. We drove there and since and thankfully, they had found and kept both. Since we were so close to the police station, we went to see if things had improved. We could actually leave town if we wanted. It was already 4:30pm and by the time we would come back with our packed luggage, it would be much later. They did not know if it would still be possible to leave the next morning but we decided to take a chance, unexcited to leave so late in the day. We had a wonderful evening with the couple we had met, enjoying Boeuf Bourgignon (a French beef stew with a red wine sauce) that Caroline had cooked along with some good Argentinian wine. It ended up being the right choice since we were given the green light the next morning to leave Ushuaia! We had to watch out for patches of ice but overall, the one and unique road to leave town was clear.
The landscape we went through had nothing to do with the one we crossed four days ago. You could now see where you were riding as no snow was falling and the trees were no longer white. The mountains were still snow capped but much less than before. We could also now enjoy the incredible views as we were climbing up towards the Garibaldi Pass. You could see far away into the valley on the other side, appreciating the view on the lakes, that we had no idea were there. We stopped to take numerous pictures and the "new Chad" posed for a few of them, now showing off his beardless face. He had made the decision a while ago to shave it in Ushuaia, to celebrate the event. He just looked like a new man now ans so handsome!
When we arrived in Rio Grande, it was late enough in the afternoon for us to decide to stay in town and Chad's chain was making noise so we thought it would be better to take it easy. He actually found a chain at a motorcycle shop that he could use if this one breaks down. As we woke up the next morning, there was a lot of noise outside: the wind was apparently blowing hard. We learned that there was a high wind advisory, with 100 Km/hour gusts. We had seen strong winds before so this one would certainly not stop us. After a tasty breakfast, we were on the road again. In the city, all the flags were making strong noises and we had a hard time keeping the bike straight at the stop lights. Once outside of town, things got even worse since we were no longer shielded by the buildings. We were riding at a 45-degree angle to keep going straight, our entire left side beaten down by the wind: head, shoulder, torso, leg, it was pushing heard on each of our body part. Chad stopped to remove his tank bag threatening to fly away. Caroline only noticed later and stopped further to wait for him. She could not stop on the side of the road, as she would have for sure fallen in the gravel. Once stopped in the middle of the road, she could not even lift her left leg to put the side stand down as the bike would have fallen. Not even letting one handlebar go was an option to shut down the bike. She was stuck in the middle of the road, fighting the wind to prevent the bike from falling. No cars were passing and still no Chad in sight.
A big mountain cutting us from the rest of the island
We made it without incident to the police control gate at the entrance of the city where we had taken the arrival pictures two days ago. This time, they were checking each car and there was a line of vehicles. As soon as they saw us coming, they walked straight towards us even if we were at the back of the line. Bad news: there was ice and a lot of the snows in the mountains we had to cross. Motorcycles were not allowed to go and other vehicles could go only with chains or studded tires. We had no choice but to turn back but we did not want to give up that easily: maybe we could find a vehicle that could get us over the mountains and drop us 100 Kms north were the weather was fine. We drove back to town, straight to the tourist office for advice. They gave us different leads, one for private trucks that park in front of the local hardware store and can be hired to transport stuff, and the other for bigger official transport companies. We started with the hardware store and found it closed. We had forgotten the sacred Argentinian "siesta time". Here, everything closes typically from one to four in the afternoon, except in the capital city, Buenos Aires. It first comes as a surprise but we had gotten used to it, especially since gas stations are open all day, which is where we usually stop. It was just after one so we were stuck for another three hours. We just went to our favorite gas station in town to hang out, read and have a sandwich lunch. Close to four, we left for Cruz del Sur, a freight company to check their prices. We explained our situation: they could
get our tow bikes to Rio Grande, 200 Kms north, that same evening. It would however cost us more than $200 for both bikes, or a little more than $150 after we negotiated a discount. It was a lot of money for such a short distance and also given that we could wait in town if necessary. We decided to try our second option, the private trucks for hire. In front of the hardware store, there were a few of them and we started engaging a conversation. The two we talked to could not do it because they had no studs on their tires but they knew someone. As we asked the price, we were told it would be more than $200. Oh well, we could wait another day after all... We went back to our hotel, where they were pleasantly surprised to see us and told them that we would stay another night. The next day, similar game: finding out if we could cross the mountain. We called the National Guards and they said that it was no longer snowing, but there was still ice on the road. Moreover, they had been several accidents the day before; it had improved a little since but not enough that they would recommend we go, at least not this morning. We should call back in the afternoon. We stayed in our hotel for the day, watching a movie, talking to a nice couple from Italy and Spain who had been traveling from Cuba to here, hitchhiking and walking. They were really cool and we agreed to have dinner together if we were still stuck another night.
Finally the departure but quickly stopped by the wind
When looking for her book, Caroline found out that she had left it at the gas station the day before, along with our guidebook. We drove there and since and thankfully, they had found and kept both. Since we were so close to the police station, we went to see if things had improved. We could actually leave town if we wanted. It was already 4:30pm and by the time we would come back with our packed luggage, it would be much later. They did not know if it would still be possible to leave the next morning but we decided to take a chance, unexcited to leave so late in the day. We had a wonderful evening with the couple we had met, enjoying Boeuf Bourgignon (a French beef stew with a red wine sauce) that Caroline had cooked along with some good Argentinian wine. It ended up being the right choice since we were given the green light the next morning to leave Ushuaia! We had to watch out for patches of ice but overall, the one and unique road to leave town was clear. The landscape we went through had nothing to do with the one we crossed four days ago. You could now see where you were riding as no snow was falling and the trees were no longer white. The mountains were still snow capped but much less than before. We could also now enjoy the incredible views as we were climbing up towards the Garibaldi Pass. You could see far away into the valley on the other side, appreciating the view on the lakes, that we had no idea were there. We stopped to take numerous pictures and the "new Chad" posed for a few of them, now showing off his beardless face. He had made the decision a while ago to shave it in Ushuaia, to celebrate the event. He just looked like a new man now ans so handsome!
When we arrived in Rio Grande, it was late enough in the afternoon for us to decide to stay in town and Chad's chain was making noise so we thought it would be better to take it easy. He actually found a chain at a motorcycle shop that he could use if this one breaks down. As we woke up the next morning, there was a lot of noise outside: the wind was apparently blowing hard. We learned that there was a high wind advisory, with 100 Km/hour gusts. We had seen strong winds before so this one would certainly not stop us. After a tasty breakfast, we were on the road again. In the city, all the flags were making strong noises and we had a hard time keeping the bike straight at the stop lights. Once outside of town, things got even worse since we were no longer shielded by the buildings. We were riding at a 45-degree angle to keep going straight, our entire left side beaten down by the wind: head, shoulder, torso, leg, it was pushing heard on each of our body part. Chad stopped to remove his tank bag threatening to fly away. Caroline only noticed later and stopped further to wait for him. She could not stop on the side of the road, as she would have for sure fallen in the gravel. Once stopped in the middle of the road, she could not even lift her left leg to put the side stand down as the bike would have fallen. Not even letting one handlebar go was an option to shut down the bike. She was stuck in the middle of the road, fighting the wind to prevent the bike from falling. No cars were passing and still no Chad in sight.
After what seemed like an eternity, she turned the bike back on to go towards two buildings in the distance that should shield her a little. She managed to start the bike, with lifting a leg or moving a hand. Still no vehicles in sight to help. The bike started moving forward to a reasonable speed where she would not fall. It was the right thing to do: between the buildings she had reached, she was finally protected enough to park the bike. And there came Chad: we were definitively going back to town. It was impossible to ride in these conditions, especially since we were about to do 100 Kms on gravel. Back in our hostel, we waited and waited until mid-afternoon. The weather forecast had indicated that the wind should slow down in the afternoon but pick up again the next morning. At 3pm, after having walked in the city, we felt that the wind had decreased enough for us to go. Still strong winds but manageable. For the second time that day, we left Rio Grande towards the north. The Tierra del Fuego wanted to keep us longer but we made the choice to go and fight the wind!
Very brave to fight the wind. I can only imagaine how tired and sore you both were!
ReplyDeleteChad, I hardly recogonized you without your beard; looking good!!