We took about eleven days to get from Buenos Aires to Tierra del Fuego, with stops along the way for various educational and entertaining things. We mostly followed Argentina Ruta 3 down the Atlantic coast. That stretch of Argentina is pretty monotonous: the pampas of the north gives way to Patagonia scrubbiness and then it’s several days of more or less the same scenery. I have driven through west Texas, across Nebraska and South Dakota, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that none of those places are even remotely as empty as eastern Patagonia.
Which is not to say I was bored. I like places for what they are, and Patagonia is mostly flat. It was pretty in its way, and the towns that did exist had their charms: the Welsh-founded towns along the Chubut river were especially pretty, and Puerto San Julian and Rada Tilly were nice towns to camp for a night. Puerto San Julian was where Magellan over-wintered in 1521, and they had a small museum and reconstruction of the Nao Victoria to look at.
Side trips off of Ruta 3 were generally over gravel roads, or ripio as they’re called locally. They’re generally well maintained and offer a mostly smooth ride, with the occasional jolt to keep everyone awake. Ruta 1 was an old provincial road that we took from Punto Tombo down to Camarones. It was the old main road until the paved convenience of Ruta 3 came through about 20-40 kilometers inland. We stopped for the night at the town of Cabo Raso, which had between 1 and 4 remaining inhabitants (we weren’t sure, our Spanish isn’t really up to the task of local history) but had a sheltered campsite and a nice restaurant.
Ah yes. The sheltered campsite. Patagonia is, more than anything else, windy. I think we’ve been in steady winds of at least 20-30 kilometers per hour with strong gusts for the last two weeks. I’m started to not even notice it anymore. Camping requires thought and planning: organized campsites here all have trees planted as windbreaks, and estancias are easily identified from far away because they have the only trees in sight.
We’ve also had some minor issues with the car: we got to change a punctured tired in an abandoned gas station forecourt before getting it repaired a few hours later, and the crack in our windshield that we got on our first day in Argentina grew quite a bit and required us to get a new windscreen in Punta Arenas, Chile. All in all, not too bad.
As we approached Tierra del Fuego and the southern end of the road, the days have been getting longer and longer to the point where I haven’t really seen darkness in a week or so. The sun sets around 10 pm and comes up around 5, but it is light until about 11 at night and starts getting light again at about 4 in the morning.
We’re looking forward to the drive up the western side of Argentina along Ruta 40. We’ll be along the eastern slopes of the Andes, and the mountains will provide some different scenery.
2 Responses
Your journey continues to amaze me with all that you have experienced. Those kids will never forget what you have done for them. Enjoy as much as you can while it is available. It’s really an experience of a lifetime.
When I saw you were planning this trip I wondered what you’d do if you had car troubles. I figured in the big cities you’d be ok, but in the flatlands of Patagonia what would happen if you had a water pump die? I’ll continue to hope for the best for that!
The sights, sounds, smells, and history of the places you’ve been have been interesting and, at times, amazing! You’ll have sensory flashbacks for decades to come. Enjoy!