What a change Puerto San Julian was, a small seaside village half way between the two oil towns. At the end of the main street you are staring at a replica of a Portuguese sailing ship, a little way further down there is a Mirage jet on a pedestal as a memorial to those who died in the Falklands/Mavinas war. I had a very nice room in the Hostelria Miramar and a very nice meal in the restaurant just up the road. A very nice little place to stop.
There are also some cascades just at the back of the town, I couldn't see them the first time I walked round to look, but then I realised it was a tidal pool that filled up when the tide came in but then as the tide went out the water was trapped and slowly falls out over the rock/corral wall. I've seen a similar thing on the Great Barrier Reef.
The Dukes of Hazard are also alive and well in Puerto San Julian!!
Sunday 31st OCT
Rio Gallegos is another industrial town and the 430km to get to it are as featureless as the town. The only benefit is that it is only about 70km from the Chilean border.
Monday 1st Nov
Tierra Del Fuego is split in two halves. One half belongs to Chile and the other to Argentina. Neither side is willing to give their half up. So you have to cross the border twice to get to Ushuaia. Once into Chile the road finishes and the dirt (or ripio) begins, about 120km of it. Now why the Chileans haven’t paved their bit is a either that there is not enough traffic to justify it, or that by not paving it, that keeps the amount of travellers down that want to get to Ushuaia. It's also an Island so you have to get a ferry across the 5km of water.
Either way it’s a pain. Luckily the weather was good, the border crossings went smoothly and by the time I got to Rio Grande, which was were I thought I’d stay the night, it was only 14.30, so I pushed on the last 200km as I figured that I could then stay in Usuaia for three nights and not have to worry about packing everything up for a short day.
The last 100km made all the aches and pains go away. You start to approach the mountains at the back of Ushuaia. Snow capped peaks soon surround you on twisty alpine roads as you climb up over them, and then drop down the other side and into the town.
Chrispy!
ReplyDeleteLooks fantastic! The weather seems to be improving along with the terrain. They say the shortest path between two places is a straight line and the Argentinians seem to take that to heart. It may be short, but IMHO it takes the longest time! Those roads look amazingly straight on Google Earth.
The Melbourne Cup has been run & won. "Americain", a French trained horse, if you care (!).
The General Lee looks more genuine than some of the promo cars I've seen here! They must be big fans.
Now that you've settled in, the ride really begins. Enjoy the next few days relaxing and getting prepared mentally. How's your dirt riding style coming along?
As always I look forward to your next post. Keep up the good work. Now that you are stationary for a few days, how about a video....
Good luck & keep the hoop-like rubber bits toward the bottom...
Regards,
Mike H (5 days off and the Tenere is no closer)