and onto the mainland

In Punta Arenas in mainland Chile after 5 days of cycling and more headwind than you can shake a stick at. I´m happy that I´ve got a few miles under the wheels and have spent most of today eating and not much else. The last few days have been fantastic and I´m starting to get used to my new cycling career.

Ushuaia - Tolhiun (110km)

I was becoming a bit twitchy hanging around in Ushuaia for those first couple of days. When I packed up my bike on Saturday morning it was a little heavier than expected and took a good half hour just to get the 100m out of the woods where I was camping. The ride out of Ushuaia was superb except for the dogs chasing me and trying to take my feet off. Between Ushuaia and Tolhuin the landscape was mountainous but the road was only slightly hilly with just one pass. The wind was from behind and I arrived in Tolhuin mid afternoon. It was a fantastic sunny first day.

Tolhuin - Rio Grande (115km)

From Tolhuin the landscape became flatter with fewer trees and strengthening wind. From lunchtime the wind really picked up and I found it hard going. Although the majority of passing cars waved me on, beeping their horns and a couple even stopped to offer me for a lift. The area was full of llamas and I saw a beaver and some eagles. Rio Grande is on the Atlantic coast and was a bit of a odd spot. Apparently there was a goldrush there some time ago, but not much has happened since.

Rio Grande - San Sebastian (Chilean Border - 80km)

North of Rio Grande there were no trees and the land was very flat following the coast with no shelter from the wind. I was pretty lucky though as the wind wasn´t too strong. I arrived on the Argentine side of the border with Chile in the evening during heavy rain and found that there were no rooms available at the only hotel. I wouldn´t have been surprised though if they didn´t have anyone staying cos I was pretty soaking. So I asked the border guards if I could camp in the area. They pointed me to the ´waiting room´ where I saw another four bikes parked up outside. When I went inside there were four German cyclists and an Israeli who were all staying the night. It was probably the best accommodation I´d had since arriving with hot showers and a kitchen! So I spent a bizarre night sleeping there...

San Sebastian - Somewhere with no name (80km)

There was a 16km no mans land between Argentina and Chile where the gravel road started. The road headed due west into the prevailing wind and was tough going. I was blown off my bike many times. The landscape reminded me of that of the isle of Lewis. Again there were loads of llamas looking at me as if I were nuts and even some flamingos?? I thought flamingos lived in warm places, but maybe they were lost or had just been blown way off course! In the early evening I took a track off to a farm 5km from the road to get some water. There didn´t appear to be anyone in the house, so I grabbed some water from an outside tap and was pretty chuffed with myself! Then a guy appeared and caught me looking shifty, but from what I understood he offered that I could stay for the night. He invited me inside and I ate a dinner of lamb stew with him and his son, with a lot of nodding. I slept the night on the floor of the sheep shearing outhouse which I was happy with cos the wind and rain outside sounded viscous. In the morning the guy asked if he could take a photo of me. He brought out his camera which he must have been very proud of, but when he took the photo he had it the wrong way round, looking through the lens, so each time he clicked he blinded himself with the flash! I took a photo of him too and he asked if I could send him a copy. When I asked for his address he had to look it up - I don´t think he gets much post.

Somewhere with no name - Porvenir (80km) - Punta Arenas

The wind had picked up some more and I had a 14hr ride over this short distance stopping every few hours to cook up some pasta to get some energy. The road followed the coast looking out onto the snowcapped mountains of the Cordillera Darwin. I arrived in Porvenir - a Croatian Community who migrated for the farming - and was quite exhausted. This morning I took the ferry across the Magallanes Straits to the mainland. The crossing was pretty rough as its the first Strait of water between the Atlantic and Pacific. So I´ve spent the rest of today chilling and eating. I´m hoping to get back on the road northwards tomorrow lunchtime, but if the winds are anything like today (110km/hr) I won´t be making much progress. Its not such of a bad place to be stranded for a day or two though!