Ushuaia-The Southernmost City in the World

Monday January 26th: We made it!

Tuesday January 27th: A chair-lift and brisk walk up to the glacier gave us all the justification we needed for coffee and doughnuts.

Wednesday January 28th: We took a boat tour of Canal Beagle.

...Out of Chile

Sunday, January 25th: The team arose early to tackle what lay between them and the Argentinian border: 5 hours of bone-jarrring, nut-shaking travel over ripio, which we speculate means "Devil´s washboard" in Spanish. Slowly, but slowly, we covered one kilometre after another on the dirt and gravel surface on a typical summer day in the Antarctic circle. (Read: "Cold and windy.") Back into Argentina without a hitch and, after yet another infamous ham and cheese sandwich, we were on paved road again. The little cars thanked us by cranking out the remaining miles blissfully until we arrived at our lodging in Rio Grande. We got there with enough time to prepare for tomorrow´s run to Ushuaia, the end of the road.

Into Chile...

Saturday, January 24th: Valuable lessons were gleaned at the Chilean border, as the team naively waited in a long queue of cars waiting at the Argentinian checkpoint, only to discover we were not even "in the system." Eventually, by watching the locals, we learned one had to queue up in person inside the Customs Hall. Four hours later, we had mastered the process with few scars to show (unless tedium leaves a noticeable mark). We were finally in Chile. Another hour of driving and the cars boarded the ferry to cross the Magellan Strait. While Jack mused about how the original explorer must have felt in the beautifully jade green waters, we were entertained by a pod of Commerson dolphins, the smallest dolphins in the world, who played in the ship´s wake as we crossed to the other side. Tierra del Fuego at last!

River and Diana Lose Their Bearings

Friday, January 23rd: A lo-o-o-ong day, interrupted by an "unplanned tea break" in very windy rain to pull the engine out of the Chummy (yes, the engine). The cause of the problem was the clutch release bearing, which failed, luckily enough, at the entrance to a roadside cafe. Some 3 hours later, we celebrated a successful "transplant" with hot tea and yummy scones and were back on the road to finish the 225 mile day. And the irony? The sun appeared only as we were finally pulling out, thawing most of our frozen bits as we rode on. Diana and River say "Many Thanks" to the "Awesome Austin 7 Pit Crew!" (You know who you are.)

Dolphins

Thursday January 22nd: We were able to sleep in today and after a leisurely breakfast we went on a boat tour of the bay. We saw more penguins, some cormorants, oyster catchers, and the highlight - dolphins.

Puerto San Julian

Wednesday January 21st: After several days of camping, dust, severe head and cross-winds, penguins, dirt roads, large rabbits, road-side repairs (blocked jets, timing, removal of an engine head, steering column, plugs, and dynamo), vast landscapes and coastal views, we arrived in Puerto San Julian where we'll stop for a rest day and catch-up on our laundry, sleep and supplies.

Sunday January 18th: At the half-way point between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia, we posed the four cars across the road for a photo (seen here).

Penguins and Such

Friday January 16: We all went on a tour of Peninsula Valdes today where we were treated to views of guanacos (llama-type creatures), sea lions, seals, and Magellan penguins. The weather is still hot but it is windy now, which makes it a little cooler. Back in the saddles tomorrow to explore the Welsh towns.

Spare Parts

Thursday January 15th: Spent the morning visiting car shops to buy spare petrol cans for the long stretches ahead of us where petrol stations are too few and far between, cement to fix the Chummy's door hinges, and other miscellaneous 'must haves'.

Spent the afternoon doing maintenance on the cars. The rough roads and wind have shaken all sorts of screws loose.

Don't forget to view the other website for a more detailed account and pictures.

Lots of Sand, Wind and Miles

Wednesday January 14th: We decided to drive straight to Puerto Madryn today, a 286-mile trip. Despite very strong headwinds that had the Chummy reduced to a top speed of less than 20 mph in second gear at times, it was a successful day of driving. For the last half an hour of the drive as we approached Puerto Madryn, we drove through sand storms that had us driving like bandits - bandanas covering our noses and mouths. We washed away the sand with a refreshing cold beverage and settled in for the night.

Tomorrow is a rest day. We'll maintain the cars and do some laundry.

Viedma

Tuesday January 13th: Left Bahia Blanca at 8:30 this morning and made it the 150 miles to Viedma by about 2:30 pm, stopping only for petrol and a puncture repair. Coffee-stop opportunities were sparse so we gave up and kept going. Off to explore the town after a quick beer and coffee.

Greetings From Bahia Blanca

Friday 9th January: After a brief visit to the British Embassy we left Buenos Aires in 90+ deg heat and drove the 125 miles to Las Flores. We stayed at a very nice motel where we dined on pizza, wine, and bread pudding. life is good.

Saturday 10th January: Getting a relatively early start to avoid the afternoon heat, we drove a further 174 miles to a very remote farm (21+ km down several dirt roads) belonging to our friend, Axel, near to Benito Juarez. We quite happily set-up camp for the night and the farm caretaker very kindly killed and cooked a lamb for our dining pleasure (River and Diana were extremely content with the lettuce and tomato sandwiches provided).
Sunday 11th January: Breaking camp, we journeyed 214 miles through countryside of sunflower fields to Bahia Blanca. Our hotel, Hotel Muniz, is like a film set from Poirot and quite a welcome relief from the heat and dirt of the road.

Monday 12th January: Bahia Blanca is a lovely town of older shops and wonderful service. We are having a rest day today and taking advantage of the local laundry service although some of us (first name beginning with "C" and last name with a "P") reluctantly surrendered his

 clothes from the challenge of seeing just how dirty they could get!

Finally!

After another day and a half spent at the docks, lots of hand-waving and frantic paperwork, we finally greased enough wheels and got our cars out of customs. We are due to leave Buenos Aires tomorrow to begin the drive South.

Arrival in Buenos Aires

We arrived safely yesterday and headed straight to the shipping company to began the long process of waiting to get the cars out of the docks. The evening was spent at fellow car enthusiast, Axel´s, flat where we were served sandwiches, local sweet treats, tea, and G and Ts!

Today so far, we have paid lots of money to wait at the docks to get the cars after a very hair-raising taxi ride.