Punta Arenas - Chile

Chile is the most 'civilized' country in Central & South America - clean, organized, safe - the food is still terrible though!

There is a WW 2 Torpedo boat near the naval yard as you enter Punta Arenas - nice clean small town and very very windy! Average wind speeds daily is 30 to 40 km!

The red tipped tubes are the torpedoes and with 20 mm bofors anti aircraft guns at the bow and stern - they were phased out after WW 2

Vehicle Sale - Punta Arenas, Chile

Crossed into Chile to try and sell the Pathfinder as Punta Arenas is a free zone where foreign registered vehicles can be sold - after a long drive from Ushuaia checked into a hotel and next morning visited the Aduana (customs) office to check if I could sell the vehicle and good news I can! Actually the customs officer was interested in buying the vehicle! :-)

As it was a Friday afternoon most of the car dealers were closed but did have a couple of good leads by the end of the day

Day 2 we found a dealer (Polo Sur Autos) interested in buying the car and the owner Manuel Munoz Sanchez was very impressed with the Pathfinder and how well it had been maintained told us to come back Sunday evening as he would have his son’s girlfriend there and she spoke English!

It took all of 30 minutes Sunday evening and the deal was done!

I was told by various people that it was impossible/very difficult but apparently it all depends on the quality of your vehicle - if you have a good quality vehicle with low mileage and are realistic on the selling price - it’s not a problem! As for the paperwork - it's largely the same as buying a local vehicle done at a Notary office

Had planned on spending a couple of weeks trying to sell the vehicle and here I am trying to buy a ticket home!

Time spent selling the vehicle in Punta Arena - 2 and half days!

Day 1, 2, 3 & 4 - Tierra del Fuego & Fin Del Mundo

At day break headed for 50 South (southern most latitude before the ice pack) - hence the title of the blog!

The entrance fee is a little expensive - 140 Argentina pesos which works to around 20 dollars and only a very small part of the park is open to visitors - after a drive around thanks to my young German navigator we found a good spot and now I had literally reached my final destination as the Pathfinder is sitting on 50 south!

Meet an Indonesian who has been on the road for 7 years and has already visited 94 countries - on a motorcycle - now that’s a road trip!! Makes mine look like a walk around Stanley Park

I had now, not only, reached the end of the world but also the end of my journey - and all endings are sad

There's a place where I've been told

Every street is paved with gold

And it's just across the borderline

And when it's time to take your turn

Here's one lesson you must learn,

You could lose more than you'll ever hope to find....

But hope remains when pride is gone

And it keeps you moving on

Calling you across the borderline

Ry Cooder

Day 1 & 2 - Patagonia & Ushuaia

After 12 days on the road in Argentina and a ferry ride through Chile - finally reach Patagonia!

place is very windy and cold and this is summer! With on and off rain through out the day

Finally, I reach Ushuaia, Argentina! Nice Little town - packed with tourists at this time of year - took a few hours to find a hotel - tomorrow I will head for the Tierra Del Fuego national park and do some camping (weather permitting) certainly did not drive all this way to sit in a hotel

Day 4, 5, 6 & 7 - Argentina

It’s been a long drive trying to find ATMs that work with my debit cards - for  a country that compares itself to western Europe - the banking system sucks and so does every other system - they don’t start work till late and then break  for a 4 hour siesta!? And for the hungry traveler the restaurants do not open till 9 pm!

I did get my first ticket - for not slowing down at a check point - apparently in Argentina if a cop is present at a check point all traffic has to slow down to max 20 km - how was I supposed to know that!?

Now comes the funny bit - so the fine was 400 Argentine pesos (45 dollars) so I pay up and guess what she pushes the money back as she did not have the required tokens (in denominations of a 100 - needed 4 tokens) for 400 pesos!? In response to my surprised look - I got a ‘pay it at the next police station!’ Right!

BTW - the food sucks! And now I have a travel companion - not quite sure how it happened but the German girl I met in Bolivia decided to ride along to Patagonia - good to have some company (Pathfinder and I were running out of things to say to each other) - still too bloody young though 

Day 1, 2 & 3 – Argentina

Crossing into Argentina was a daylong event - 2^nd longest crossing after the Panama ferry fiasco! Long lines at both sides of the border, long line of vehicles as a result - the cops put a wheel lock on the Pathfinder as I was just short of where the line for vehicles entering Argentina ended!? Had to explain to them that it was a immigration officer who had recommended I park there - well after a prolonged discussion they did remove the lock and I could continue with a never ending border crossing - I expected the Argentinians to be a lot more competent but had to settle for just a ‘little’!

Ran into a fellow traveler from Germany - seems like a nice girl - too bloody young though

Well after hours of waiting (doing nothing) I was into Argentina - it does have a European feel to it and is a lot more organized/cleaner than other Central and South American countries - other than that - same old, same old

Most of the country is an unremarkable semi arid landscape

Long drive before I get to Patagonia and the end of my journey