I was lucky enough to work and travel in South America for about ten months in the late 1990s. Two stints of voluntary work in Southern Chile , each followed by two months back packing around Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. Back then I didn't have a bike licence but I did used to look longingly at the bikes I passed as I made my way up and down the Careterra Austral and promised myself I would return and experience the region on two-wheels. It took twenty years and a bit of planning but in early January this year I flew out with my mate Rob for three weeks of riding.
In the ideal world perhaps, like twenty years ago, I'd have given up work and just cleared off for a few months but now with a young family, mortgage, bills etc that just isn't on the cards so we had to be a bit more regimented in our plans. I have a good friend in Coyhaique from my time working out there. Tim, from Hampshire like me, met the love of his life out there and settled down and has many good contacts. One of these is the local motorcycle outfitter MotoRent Adventure http://motorentadventure.com/en/ to whom we turned for bikes and support. A combination of family and work constraints for me and with Rob about to start a new business we were restricted to doing something in three weeks. It doesn't sound long when compared with people that take off for three years but it was all we had to work with. My original thoughts that we might be able to fit in a one way trip south from Coyhaique were soon dispelled when Wilfredo at Motorent said that with careful planning it would be quite possible to do a round trip taking in the Careterra Austral, Tierra Del Fuego, Ushuaia and back via Ruta 40 in the time we had. It had to be done.
I won't give a blow by blow account of the trip, suffice to say it was everything we hoped for and so much more. The round trip took us fifteen days in which time we rode in the region of 3,000 miles with two non-riding, rest days built in (one on the ferry through the Chilean islands and one day wandering in the mountains in El Chalten, Argentina). We were joined on the last four days of the trip by Tim who rode down from Coyhaique to meet us in Chalten ( a two day solo trip which was itself pretty full of adventure).
The bikes were the excellent Yamaha XT660z, absolutely brilliant for what we were doing. Given the tight time frame and lack of flexibility if anything went wrong we chose to do the trip with back up support from Motorent Adventure. Wilfredo proved to be an amazing guide and took us to many places that we would otherwise have missed.
DSCN3908 by Patrick Collins, on FlickrFirst day on the bike, a little 400km loop from Coyhaique to get used to the bikes. See how clean that kit is.
DSCN3916 by Patrick Collins, on FlickrRob and me back in Coyhaique at the end of the warm up ride.
DSCN3930 by Patrick Collins, on FlickrOn the Careterra Austral heading south. First encpounter with lago General Carrera. Not looking so clean now.
DSCN3949 by Patrick Collins, on FlickrGeneral Carrera bridge.
DSCN3965 by Patrick Collins, on FlickrPuerto Yungay, waiting for the free ferry service to Rio Bravo on the last leg of the Careterra Austral to Villa O'Higgins.
DSCN3975 by Patrick Collins, on FlickrThe end of the Careterra Austral at Lago O'Higgins, before turning round and heading back to Puerto Yungay.
DSCN3977 by Patrick Collins, on FlickrBikes loaded aboard the ferry Crux Australis for the 41 hour trip from Puerto Yungay to Puerto Natales. There were thirteen bikes on board with riders from Belgium, Germany, Russia, USA, Costa Rica, Brazil and Chile. If any of you are reading this, hello and hope your travels are going well.
DSCN3996 by Patrick Collins, on FlickrA few days later and we near the end of the road at Ushuaia. This is the start of the climb through the Darwin range on the approach to Ushuaia.
DSCN4005 by Patrick Collins, on FlickrThe end of the road at Bahia Lapataia. Nothing to do now but turn round and head north.
DSCN4013 by Patrick Collins, on FlickrCrossing the centre of Tierra Del Fuego towards the Chilean boarder. We encountered plenty of Guanaco on our trip.
Look mountains by Patrick Collins, on FlickrBack on the mainland we headed back to Puerto Natales then up to Torres Del Paine National Park. I trekked round the circuit of Paine in 1998 but it was wonderful to go back, even if it was just a brief visit on our way towards the border crossing into Argentina.
IMG_20190119_180726 by Patrick Collins, on FlickrA couple of days later we were on the road into El Chalten where we met up with Tim for the last few days of the trip.
DSCN4059 by Patrick Collins, on FlickrThe three amigos ready to leave Chalten. The clouds are obscuring some pretty amazing mountain scenery.
IMG_20190121_153245 by Patrick Collins, on FlickrOne of the rougher, and very windy, stretches of Ruta 40.
DSCN4065 by Patrick Collins, on FlickrOff the beaten track and heading for the border crossing at Paso Raballos.
IMG_20190123_121001 by Patrick Collins, on FlickrLeaving Argentina again at the remote Paso Raballos crossing. We crossed the border six times in all during the fifteen day trip.
IMG_20190123_173616 by Patrick Collins, on FlickrBack to lago General Carrera. Rob on the road to Chile Chico.
That's just a small taste of our trip. It would have been marvellous to devote two or three months to such an adventure but I think we proved to ourselves that it is possible to have a memorable adventure in two or three weeks without sacrificing 'normal' life.
