2023 south amEriCa part 2

to the final border crossing back into Argentina. Successfully done, we pushed on in the rather vicious biting cold to reach the top of the pass, and then down into the big one; Ushuaia.

Day 18 was a milestone day. As we’ve ridden to Deadhorse in Alaska, the furthest north one can get by road, it was a good feeling to ride to the southern end of the road a bit west and south of Ushuaia. It took two attempts, during the first we were told that foreign motorcycles were no longer allowed, but National Park officials were argued by JC into letting 4 in at 10am and then the remainder at 12 noon. We were in the back half so went back to town to buy some shoe glue for a damaged boot sole – Bunnings self-service hardware doesn’t exist in Argentina but armed with “pegamento para zapatos?” and showing the hardware customer service technician the boot in question, some pegamento was bought. A stop with the bikes at our Triumph shop haunt to show the staff what modern Triumphs look like earned us a couple of stickers, then back out to the fin del road National Park for the second attempt, this one successful.

Triumphant at the Ushuaia entry sign

Lots of photos at the entrance gate, then to the hotel which was a few blocks up from the very touristy main street, and by up I mean up, the side of the hill running down to the waterfront is very steep. We had two nights in Ushuaia, so after a wander about the town and a celebratory beverage, we did some more wandering up into the cruise passenger-riddled tourist strip to purchase a few souvenirs and get some photos near the original Fin Del Mundo sign.

We last saw this sign in 2015 while on an Antarctic cruise

Fin Del Riding South

Back into town, we made another stop at the new Ushuaia sign which attracts tourists like a dead horse attracts blowies. Cindy did the usual and parked highly illegally, and the pressure was on to clear the crowds before someone in authority turned up.

reversal of Day 17.

Ushuaia is full of signs, this is the new one

A bit of dinner and a proper Pisco Sour at the Irish Pub and the momentous day was done. Only north from there didn’t start terribly well on Day 19, it was raining and bloody cold. Everything that could be jammed under suits, helmets, and gloves was jammed. It started off miserable but by the time we hit the snow line up at the pass it felt like fin del los dedos, or end of the fingers. 1°C in the rain isn’t much fun.

Lined up for yet another border crossing

Warmed and lunched on the Argentinian side, we headed west which was OK. Then the road turns due north for about 70km, and this was not OK. We’d thought the 80kmh wind in Patagonia up around Rio Mayo was bad, but that was a mild breeze compared with the 9095kmh gusting crosswinds we experienced on this section, which are truly terrifying. Travelling at 80kmh near the middle of the road, a vicious gust pushed me halfway across the lane, then another vicious gust pushed me to the edge; for a second I was riding at about 30° lean along the painted line on the edge which drops off into loose gravel, praying that there wouldn’t be another gust. Then luckily a truck went past me and I was sucked back into the middle of the lane. There is nothing that can be done but to just hang on and press on, stopping is out of the question. Luckily it had calmed a little by the time we got into Hat Hill, and it was a very happy group that arrived back into the same hotel. The winds were so strong that the ferry had been closed, and stories abounded of people waiting for it to re-open while cowering behind any solid object – a parked truck was actually blown over.

Looks better than we remember it

The stop at Tolhuin could not have come earlier, and at least the rain eased off a little afterward. We pushed on to the South Atlantic proper at Rio Grande for a refuel, and then off to the quick border crossing back into Chile, a complete