2019 was a year of firsts. From a January departure of my first trip to South America till December when I first heard of a novel Corona virus, the year was most exciting.
A friend said to me, "I didn't know Patagonia was a place, I thought it was just a store." When I sent a picture of both, a Patagonia store in Patagonia, it became clear; Patagonia is more than a store and more than a place, it is an experience.
There are many ways to experience Patagonia, the region is the trekking mecca of the world, cruise ships regularly ply the waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Antarctic oceans that surround it, but on a motorcycle is the best way to experience Patagonia.
Patagonia is a region encompassing the vast southernmost tip of South America, shared by Argentina and Chile, with the Andes Mountains as its dividing line. The Argentine side features arid steppes, grasslands and deserts, while the Chilean has glacial fjords and temperate rain forest. Argentina’s famed RN-40 highway passes the pinnacles of Monte Fitz Roy and Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park.
My trip started in 2018 with a reservation with Motoquest, a motorcycle touring company based in Alaska. They take care of the details, bike rental, lodging at night, a guide who speaks Spanish, a mechanic that follows our group in a truck with spare parts, tires, and a lot of off road expertise when a bike loses its rider or a wheel or tire. All of those happened more than once.
After spending a couple of days enjoying Santiago, I flew to Osorno Chile where I met up with the rest of our tour group and picked up our rental bikes. Our group included riders from the US, Canada, and England; along with our guide Phil Freeman, from Alaska and mechanic who accompanied us in a truck with the luggage, spare parts, tires and a ton of motorcycle repair experience.
With everyone being total strangers when we started, we quickly became a group of friends whose friendships continue on with a shared love of riding, camaraderie and love of God’s amazing creation.
With sights such as this, the riding adventure crossed back and forth across the Andes between both countries with many challenging border crossings, interesting people, animals that only exist in this remote part of the world, and just about every climate zone on the planet.
The Andes mountains run the length of Chile, with the Pacific to the west, the Atlantic to the east, and the Antarctic to the south, water was never very far away. Our group crossed the Chile/Argentina border multiple times and each crossing was an adventure. From remote mountain crossings with only one or two machine gun toting soldiers and no one who spoke English, to busy commercial crossings with waits of several hours, we experienced it all.
We experienced all types of roads, paved and unpaved, mud and gravel, sometimes all on the same day. Below is a portion of the main “highway” that runs the length of Chile, the Carretera Austral. Portions were wide and paved and other portions are what you see here.
Torres Del Paine National Park with its three granite peaks is an iconic symbol of Patagonia. It is hard to describe the beauty and majesty of this place. We walked across the bridge shown below and had lunch outside to enjoy the majestic view.
In addition to a variety of roads, highways, and dirt trails; the food was just as varied and interesting. While beef dominated the menu in Argentina, Chile had its share, but also lots of fish, pork and wild game.
One of the biggest adjustments was the time dinner was served. As in many parts of Europe, dinner is an event not to be rushed. Restaurants generally open at 8pm, and there is no rush. So, two to three hours for dinner, wine and dessert became the norm.
At La Angostura, a remote estancia that was totally off the grid, with its own wind and solar power, the fourth generation owners fed us with locally grown beef, pork, vegetables and wine, and gave me their passed down recipe for chimichurri, which is served with most everything.
Another treat most every evening was the start of dinner with the most popular drink of the region, the Pisco sour. The drink consists of Pisco, the base liquor, one egg white, simple syrup and lemon juice. While variously claimed by Peru, Chile, and Argentina as the national drink, it is delicious.
This meal was perhaps the most unique. Phil had heard about this little remote house/restaurant somewhere outside of Ushuaia. Ushuaia, being the last stop before boarding a boat to Antarctica, was cold even in the middle of summer. We pulled out in the snow with the temp hovering around freezing and started looking for this place. Remote was right, on a windswept peninsula overlooking the frigid water, the owner had caught these two fish, salmon and red fish a few hours earlier. His daughter, the chef, prepared them and we did the rest.
The previous night in Ushuaia we found this great seafood restaurant run by a German couple. My friend, Terry Ewing, had recommended it to me and we were not disappointed. The food was amazing as was the view.
With so many experiences to remember, here are just a few more memorable moments.
Fortunately, our ferry made it across the Straits of Magellan (twice). This one didn't.
A motley crew no doubt, but we made it to the southernmost tip of South America. There's always someone who does more than you; we met a guy who had ridden all the way from Toronto to Ushuaia, and was about to turn around and go back. Over a year in his journey.
Dipping a toe in the Antarctic. Hoping to do the same on the other end of the earth, the Arctic some day.
The official post office at the southern tip of South America. The thing to do is buy postcards and snail mail them home. Sent some to the grand kids, most arrived a few weeks later.
Not only are there mountains, rain forests, and strange animals, one of the world's largest glaciers, the Perito Moreno Glacier is over 200 miles long. According to locals, it is one of the few glaciers that is still growing, not shrinking.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid stayed here during their escape to Argentina. Not a bad place to escape to.
People are what makes a journey an adventure. Below are some of my new friends that braved the elements and hazards to make this trip memorable.
This is Aguilar one (Phil gave us all animal names b/c the waitstaff couldn't understand our name when we ordered food). He and his son , Aguilar two were the fastest riders of the group.
Susan being the lone female was a great sport and kept us guys on the straight and narrow.
Paul, aka Toro had a bout of vertigo and was left behind for a few days. We would toast him remotely.
It takes a village when your bike breaks down in the middle of nowhere.
Nope, not dead, just a siesta.
Every picture has a story. This one shows our little group separated from the rest of the group when the 'buddy' system broke down. Roundabouts are a great traffic solution, but when there are 6-8 exits and someone is not paying attention to the signs, s**t happens, After a few hours the stragglers showed up and we were on our way together again.
Patagonia was an adventure of a lifetime.
The back half of 2019 included.....................
A mission trip to Tijuana with family provided some memorable experiences and a spiritual renewal for many of us. Afterward a little time in San Diego allowed for rest.
Family time at our favorite Colorado destination, Breckenridge, never disappoints.
Any back to Colorado in August with my biking and hiking buddies allowed me to bag another "fourteen-er."
Later in the year, checking off another national park, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky led into our annual trek to the food and wine festival at EPCOT in Orlando.
The new decade is beginning and the travel plans that had been made are now on hold. They were many and varied and will hopefully talked about here in the future.
Stay tuned............................
