Uruguay to Tierra Del Fuego

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Dear family and friends

We left Brazil and entered Uruguay – and it was almost as though we'd entered Australia – cattle grazing country with lots of trees – and all of them eucalypts! The roadside trees are also eucalypts. Whatever native trees this part of Uruguay once had, they have been replaced with a surprising diversity of eucalypt species.



A country road lined with eucalypts - it looks like Australia, but this is in Uruguay.



Monk Parrot nesting in a eucalypt - the only stick-nest building parrot in the world, their communal nests can reach the size of a small car. In Uruguay and Argentina (where they are a native species) they are considered to be a major agricultural pest - numbers have apparently increased as result of establishing extensive eucalypt plantations (trees for nesting) near grain crops.



Capybaras - the largest rodents (size of a dog) - resemble huge water-loving guinea pigs. Uruguay.

We missed Carnival in Rio (probably not a bad thing as the people, traffic and prices all go crazy) but the capital (Montevideo) was in full carnival swing when we arrived – a smaller and more manageable version of the Rio Carnival – perfect!

Preparing for Carnival

Carnival in Montevideo. The sound of hundreds of beating Tambor drums is felt as much as heard. The Tambor drums are part of African culture, which came with African slaves brought to Uruguay.  During the slave period they were banned, and these days they are beaten furiously during Carnival to represent freedom.




Montevideo has been described as one of South Americas most 'livable' cities – and we agree. It was our favorite of all the capital cities we have visited – relatively small, scenic and everyone goes about their business at a relaxed pace – people still have time to stop and chat in the street - we even came across some groups of people offering 'free hugs' to people passing by.

Cafe and Bar, Montevideo



Cobble-stone street in the historic town of Colonia, Uruguay


Colourful houses in the suburb of 'La Boca' (River Mouth), Buenos Aires, Argentina.



You can still see Tango being played and danced in the streets of La Boca, Buenos Aires.

In Buenos Aires we went to see José, Rosa and the kids (the family who helped us in Florianopolis) and bought the correct parts for our bike in their shop. José's brother Alejandro has a bike workshop nearby, so we took the bike over there and Alejandro helped me give the bike a service.


My first taste of Maté (a green tea made from the plant Ilex paraguariensis, sipped from a cup with a metal 'straw') that everyone loves in Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. A 'tea-break' whilst Alejandro (left) and I service the bike, with José (right), Buenos Aires.



"Are we there yet?"   Route 3 from Buenos Aires going south to Tierra Del Fuego passes though a wind-swept plain of low scrub - for 3000 km!  These plains are the Southern Hemisphere version of the Steppes of Mongolia. This southern region of Argentina (and Chile) is also known as Patagonia.


We saw many rhea (locally known as ñandú) in the plains of Patagonia.


While we were looking for accommodation in a small town, a car pulled up alongside - it was Jorge who has the 'Riders Outpost' (La Posta del Viajero en Moto) - a bit of luck that our paths crossed as we'd not heard of it. Jorge (a veteran rider) has converted a large shed in his garden into free basic accommodation and a bike servicing/repair facility. This humble place has been an institution among travelling motorcyclists for over 20 years. Jorge raises the flag of the country of visiting motorcyclists - in this photo he is about to hoist the Aussie flag for the duration of our stay.


Breakfast at the eccentric 'Riders Outpost' - the walls, ceiling and any other space is full of writings and tokens from hundreds of motorcyclists who have passed though here on their trips around the world or through South America.


Stickers from riders and bike clubs that have passed by, on a service station window in Patagonia.


Bar of the famous old 'Hotel Touring Club' - part of Patagonia's history, and largely unchanged since the days when outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and the 'Wild Bunch' used to stay and drink. Coffee still comes from a huge ancient expresso machine that looks like it came off a steam train, and drinks are still served by waiters in white jackets to elderly gentlemen who spend lazy afternoons reading newspapers and falling asleep in the wicker chairs. In the photo above the owner is showing me books on the history of the Hotel and Patagonia, which is replete with Welsh settlers with the surname 'Evans'. We stopped at the hotel looking for cheap accommodation and liked this old place so much we stayed for 3 days.



Original 'Wanted Poster' for Butch Cassidy, on mirror in 'Hotel Touring Club'.



Carmen and friend



Magellanic Penguin rookery at Punta Tombo Fauna Reserve - part of the largest colony of penguins outside Antarctica.



Native wild Guinea Pigs (known locally as Cuy or Cui) use the burrows of Magellanic Penguins. These little guys are the ancestral form of domestic Guinea Pigs.


Guanacos (a common sight though Patagonia) and basking Penguin.

Just before we caught the ferry across the Straight of Magellan to the archipelago of Tierra Del Fuego ('Land of Fire' so-named due to the fires seen by early sailors, which were maintained by indigenous people to keep warm) at the southern tip of South America, we met Hector (a College mathematics lecturer), who lives in Tierra Del Fuego and was returning from a two-month ride around Argentina. Hector said he could show us the best route over the gravel roads in Tierra Del Fuego to get to Ushuaia (the most southern town in the world).

Nice day for a ride... Hector and myself waiting in the rain for the ferry to Tierra Del Fuego (while Carmen gets wet taking the photo).

It was 6 pm when we got off the ferry in Tierra Del Fuego – which looked very bleak and windswept, with no trees. Although it was cold, windy and rainy (typical weather for the region), it doesn't get dark until about 10 pm so we decided to continue on with Hector to his home town of Rio Grande, which involves 140 km of gravel roads, a border crossing (from Chile to Argentina) then 70 km of asphalt.


Teirra del Fuego - 10 pm and it's still light.

It was midnight when we came to the end of the gravel where the border post was located (fortunately it was still open, and no queues!). We arrived in Rio Grande at 1.00 am and Hector took us to one hotel after another only to find them either closed or full. Hector's house was full of house-sitting friends so he phoned his friend Ophelia, who was happy to receive two wet, muddy, tired Australians at 1.30 in the morning to stay for the night.

The following morning, after saying thank-you and goodby to Ophelia, we stopped in town to get fuel and met 4 crazy Russian riders. They could speak almost no English and even less Spanish, but were very friendly and enthusiastic in trying to communicate – we soon found ourselves part of an iPad video chat to Russia with their family (who could speak a little more English). They were trying to do a ridiculous amount of km's each day, and two of them had run out of fuel on the gravel roads and arrived later, during the video chat.

As the Russians were leaving, a huge Trike and two Harleys pulled in to the Service Station – it was 5 Brazilian riders (two couples and the trike guy) who we had met 10 days earlier on the ferry from Uruguay to Argentina. They were on their way back from Ushuaia and said it's beautiful but cold! More chatting - it was late afternoon by the time we set off to ride the remaining 230 km to Ushuaia.



Carmen thinking about getting a trike of her own.


Tierra Del Fuego near Ushuaia -  Sphagnum Moss bogs in foreground.



Trees covered in lichen, sub-antarctic Nothofagus forest.

On the way to Ushuaia we saw numerous streams full of dead trees and their banks deforested – havock wreaked by introduced beavers.  Taking advantage of the sunny day, we didn't stop in Ushuaia and instead rode a few km more to where the road ends, at a place known as the 'End of the World' in Tierra Del Fuego National Park (about 55 degrees latitude south). While we were taking the obligatory photo of the famous 'End of Route 3' sign, three Argentinian riders arrived with huge grins on their faces at having made it there – we recognised each other from a previous encounter at a border crossing. We spent some time chatting and taking photos, and enjoying our achievement of riding to the 'End of the World'.


Ushuaia - the most southern town in the world, and jumping off point to Antarctica.


End of the line. We have made it to where the roads stop at their most southern point! It's cold (Carmen is wearing 3 jackets) - we pose for the 'End of Route 3' photo while shivering.

On our way back through the park to Ushuaia (where we planned to briefly celebrate and spend a few days resting) we met Domanic ('Dom'), a young Aussie geologist who had ridden down from Alaska and liked Colombia so much he was about to turn around and ride back there to find work for a couple of years. The next day in Ushuaia we met Andy, a chemical engineer from England who was in the middle of a 3-year ride around the world. Although we didn't know it at the time, we would cross paths again with Dom and Andy on our ride up though Chile on our way back to Santiago.