Day 1,691

Blown backwards

In Puerto Natales the usual next step is to visit Torres del Paine and then head down to Ushuaia. Our ferry ride gave us an awesome view of the iconic skyline of Torres Del Paine, and getting there by bike is tough, an uncomfortable road and very expensive. It's also a ‘destination’ spot for all the vloggers out there. We decided we wouldn't go. Ushuaia, at the southernmost tip of South America, El Fin del Mundo or The End of the World is the normal end of the line for many long distance tourers, especially those cycling Alaska to Ushuaia but it's also 450 miles of mainly bleak and very windblown landscapes. It just didn't appeal. 

So we decided to cycle east across the continent towards the second windiest city in the world, passing through some very bleak and windblown landscape. Not sure we thought that through. Originally we planned to fly to Buenos Aires but then Tom had a brain wave, let's cycle there. It would be at least 3 weeks of, yes you guessed it, bleak windswept landscape! Not really thought that one through either! 

Then Tom had another brain wave, leaving Puerto Natales we would actually have a tail wind so why not try and beat our max mileage record in a day, 138 miles back on Day 294. We'd sworn never to attempt to beat it, but that wind was clearly playing with our minds. So we were off by 7.30am. Only one big hill of the day was done by 8.30am, then we had to pass through customs. 

At Chilean customs we were stuck behind a coach load but staff waved us to the front, yeh! Unfortunately 3 miles along the road at Argentinian customs another coach load had just pulled up and this time we had to wait our turn. Half an hour later we were on our way. 

A whole lot of nothing

Most of the traffic headed for the main road but we took the road less travelled. If we stayed on this we would have 280 miles of virtually nothing, just some wonderful wild animals and that windy landscape. Oh and at least 30 miles of ripio. 

We were confident though, until the ripio got worse and worse, and 30 miles turned out to be 60 miles, no way could we do this. Finally the ripio ended, we actually passed a remote farm at which we could have camped out of the wind, we really should have stopped, there would be nowhere else. But we still believed we could break our record. Finally at nearly 9pm and 126 miles, we admitted defeat, the wind was now gusting at over 50 miles an hour and we needed to find somewhere sheltered to pitch the tent, except, yep, there wasn't anywhere. 

We ended up pitching it at the bottom of a tiny slope which gave zero protection but there was a 3 foot high mud-lined drainage tunnel under the road, so if the tent blew away we could at least crawl under there to cowboy camp. By some miracle our tent, our beloved Nemo, survived, we ate our evening meal, cereal, sat inside the tent. It was too late to even attempt to cook in the tunnel. 

Morning finally arrived, Tom hadn't slept, he couldn't believe I had, but I thought if the tent goes it goes, can't do anything but hope! Obviously it also rained very heavily but the tunnel and our tent just about stayed dry. Oh my, this is such a glamorous life! 

So decision time, in another 25 miles there was a fishermen's club campsite and we knew they'd let us shelter there and hopefully filter some water. With the wind still blowing from behind it was fantastic, until we had to turn into it, head on for 3 miles. I seriously thought I'd go backwards. By now it was also pouring down again, at the fishing club we asked to stay and the wonderful host let us camp in a covered shelter, heaven. So just another 129 miles to a tiny town, nothing in-between and now we would have a busy road and a side wind to contend with. I tried cycling with the side wind, I thought I'd give it a mile or two to see how it went. About 10 seconds later I admitted defeat. I couldn't cope with the gusts, they simply  pushed me sideways, and off I fell. 20 miles off-route lay Rio Gallegos and an airport. We really don't want to, but we're going to have to get a plane out of here, the big question still to be answered is where to?