unURBAN Adventures - Alaska to Argentina to AFRICA!

[jpvm]

Very beautiful pictures Espen / Malin thanks a lot for sharing (these passages probably remind you of northern Europe or home)

I've done all these roads but in January (high summer) and seing all those snow capped mountains surrounding the lakes and rivers make me dream to see them now in spring (also being a skier somehow we are biased towards the white...).
Carretera Austral is slowly being paved and so it will lose its magic and increase the traffic and fences ... Futaleufu (the first bridge of this strip of pictures) is a world known spot for white water rafting where kajackers and rafters of all the world come in summer to ride the class 5 - 7 rapids. And the waters are turquoise colored... good / wild camping around.

 

[unURBAN]

ChileArgentinaChileArgentinaChileArgentina

This could be my last border crossing uppdate from the American continent... And I'm even cutting it a little short as the borders between Chile and Argentina are so easy. Still, there are pics and some tips and tricks to get across as easy as possible. We have crossed between these two countries 9 times so far... All the crossings are put into one post.

Read about it at unURBAN.no

E&M

 

[vivithemage]

Any plans if you're going to hit South Africa?!

 

[bobDog]

Any plans if you're going to hit South Africa?!

Mmmmmmm. SF....good. Just being greedy......living wild and young through you.

 

[Ruined Adventures]

Any plans if you're going to hit South Africa?!

:coffeedrink: Please do!

 

[unURBAN]

Cueva los Manos and Mt. Fitz Roy in Patagonia

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The landscape changes dramatically when we cross the border to Argentina from Carretera Austral. Suddenly we are back on pampas and plains that go on forever. We were almost out of foood and fuel as we chose not to stock up in Chile before crossing the border. Not that we've had any issues with food going into Argentina, but you never know. The fuel in Argentina is also a little bit cheaper than in Chile, especially in Patagonia as they hav a few cents "Patagonia-discount". Probably some kind of subsidizing from the government for people living in a region considered to be quite far away from everything.
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The first gas station sent us away with a "No hay gasoil". Da##! We wondered if the fuel situation could be as bad as up north. Also note the South Argentinean word for diesel - gasoil. Dangerously close to gasolin, and we did actually run into a german backppacker couple that had just bought a car (petrol engine) in Chile, and got it filled filled up with diesel as soon as they got across the border... They had filled up somwehere ut in the sticks, and had to spend the night at a run down hotel full of local truckers. The funny part was that we had driven past that same hotel the day after they got going again, and thought it was kind of a strange place, like out of a roadmovie.
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After some asking around in Perito Moreno we found a Petrobras fuel station that had proper diesel and filled up. Next up was finding a supermarket, but for some strange reason everything was closed. It was Sunday, but normally shops are open. We soon discovered that it was election day in Argentina this day, and everybody was over at the city hall to vote. More asking around, and finallly we found a small Tienda with some bread, cheese, pasta, vegetables, and even chicken filets. But anything with alcohol was completely out of the question.
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The roads on the pampas are normally fast and good. Most are paved, but here and there we come across roadwork that slow us down. In a couple of years you can probably do the PanAm in a Ferrari...
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Some of the smaller roads are still gravel, of course, but with good suspencion you can still blast across the plains doing a hundred kilometers per hour.
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On our way south we stopped at an UNESCO world heritage site, Cueva los Manos. This is an amazing site where you can study 9000 years old rock art up close. Take a close look at the pictures. These are the original paint. No reconstructions!
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The road we are now driving south is the "Ruta 40". This road runs for more than 5000 kilometers parallell with the Andes mountain range from the northern part of Argentina and all the way down south. Now mostly paved, but this was THE adventurous rute for years and years. Getting closer to the Park Nacional Los Glaciares, we took off and headed west towards Mount Fitz Roy and the town El Chalten.
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El Chalten is a nice little town with camping in the town center, and many nice and cozy small restaurants (and good wifi ). For the first time in weeks we also start to see other overlanders. Getting further and further south, there are fewer roads to drive, and my guess is that down in Ushuaia it will be almost crowed. We'll see...
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The next day we had a hike up to Lago Torres. Fantastic views! A little later in the season this must be paradise for hiking and climbing. Still a little cold and snow in the higher areas. I think we both could have stayed here longer, but we have to make it to Ushuaia and back to Punta Arenas within a week. Now we really start to feel the end of the road coming close!
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E&M

 

[vivithemage]

Sweet, thanks!

Is it like Christmas when you actually find a place with diesel, after being told there is none?

 

[unURBAN]

Is it like Christmas when you actually find a place with diesel, after being told there is none?

Sometimes even better.... A good range will definitely give you more peace of mind driving in Agentina (and some other countries..).

E

 

[SnowZone]

Beautiful pictures as always! Thanks for bringing us along!

 

[unURBAN]

Tierral del Fuego - The last leg?

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We arrived at the ferry port late in the evening. It was still daylight as we were now at almost 53 degrees south, and we wanted to cross the Strait of Magellan before setting up camp for the night. The trip across the strait with the ferry takes about half an hour, and we drove onto Tierra del Fuego at about 9:30 in the evening. Finally, we were on our last leg of our journey across the Americas, almost 18 months after “starting” our trip from Prudhoe Bay.
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We found a place off the main road to camp just a few kilometers south of the ferry port. Normally we don't like to bush camp too close the road, but in Patagonia we feel very safe, and during the night maybe three – four – five cars passes us. Many travellers coming north from Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego have been telling us about the fierce wind that is ALWAYS present, but funny enough, even if it was windy during the day, it was calm at night. Early next morning we continued south along the east coast towards the Argentinean border. You may wonder why I decided to put in more than just one picture of sheep in this post..? Well, that seem to be the main business at Tierra del Fuego. There are sheep everywhere!
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We got to the border early afternoon, and the crossing was smooth. Like most Chile – Argentina crossings. Read about these on unURBAN.no
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As we drive further south on Tierra del Fuego, the road turns more and more west. This side of the island has more mountains and forest. We had heard that the best bakery on the island was in Tolhuin, and we made sure to stop and stock up on bread and pastries. We asked around for camping, and we were told to drive down to the Lago Fagnani a kilometer or two out of town.
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We expected a “normal”, boring camp ground, but that was not so. Camping Hain is definitely different, but a fantastic place to stay for a day or two. There was a nice shed with tables and benches, and a huge fireplace with as much firewood you could burn. 20 meters away was a brand new mast with long range WiFi. Probably the best bandwidth we'd had in Argentina…
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The tip of America was close. The next morning we got in the car and headed towards Ushuaia. It should be about an hour and a half drive to get there. We were quite exited, but it was still a little quiet in the car as we got closer. And finally, we saw the big signpost at the city limit: Ushuaia – the southernmost city in the world. We had made it to Ushuaia!
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We could probably have stopped here and still claimed to have driven to the tip of the Americas, but he##, the road kept going south… Actually, it took off from the main road even a few kilometers before we got to Ushuaia. So to really see how far south we could drive, we turned back and went south!
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The road go east from Ushuaia, and slightly to the south. On the way down we drove past the oldest estancia on Tierra del Fuego, Haberton. Today they only have tourists on the old farm, but we stopped for lunch and got a tour “in English” just for the two of us.
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The road go east along The Beagle Canal. Notice the weather and the calm sea. We were incredible lucky with the weather.
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So if you really want to look what the end of the road on the American continent looks like, 45 kilometers after Estancia Haberton, we found it. It ends at a house belonging to the Argentinean Navy, and it looks like a weather station or something. We heard people in the house, but nobody came out to say hi.
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We wondered if they got a lot of overlanders down here to look for the end of the road…. The house sits on top of a little hill just up from the beach. We turned around and went back down the hill and drove down on the sand. We stayed here for a while taking in the moment and popped a bottle of Champagne! (no, we didn't finish it. don't drink and drive&#8230
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And that my dear friends, was, in 2009 when we planned the whole thing, supposed to be the end of unURBAN Adventures. However, as we have touched in on a few times, letting go of the life you know in and out could possibly change way more than you could imagine when you started. Malin had actually worked there before, but I didn't really think I could. Well, the next leg on our adventure will unfortunately be without the Patrol, but we are actually getting on a plane and continue south….
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More soon. Very soon!
E&M

 

[suntinez]

:bowdown:

Thank you!!

 

[beartrap]

great read

followed your trip from alaska and enjoyed every bit of it....great pictures and descriptions...like being there with you...have dove hunted in argentina past several and it's a neat country and beef is best in the world......if i was 20 years younger,I'd follow in your footsteps(tire tracks).at age 72,I have to be content with talking long small boat trips(Old Goat in a Tin Boat on completed adventures page).....thanks for sharing with us and keep us informed on your blog on your new jobs..
Beartrap
who drove the Alaskan highway in a Honda Accord and stayed on the pavement...

 

[VanIsle_Greg]

Wow... I cant believe it has come to an end? I read the entire thread here in the past few months, and have been following along as you went along. I must say, there are many times a month that my heart yearns for the road... and the road less traveled. I admire your intestinal fortitude and your ability to follow your dream.

Congratulations on making it from one end to the other... well done both of you!

Now what do I do all evening? lol

 

[bobDog]

Congratulations!!!!!!! You have achieved your goal and w/ a lot of class I might add!!!!
If your adventure continues I will be more than happy to follow.....let me know.
Funny....you two are like friends I just haven't met yet.

 

[vivithemage]

nicely done! congratulations, I look forward to your next adventure .