Additional comments from the present (Aug. 29, 2019): This is the final entry in The Great Patagonia Adventure. I’ll be adding other trips soon!
Jan. 6, 2018
Hello again, everyone! Buckle in… this one is long.
Today was different. It was a days of lasts. The last time buckling my boots. The last tear down some ripio roads. The last ride on that bike at all. Lasts. Fin.
Patagonia is a land of extremes. Extreme weather. Extreme sights. Extreme emotions. Extreme highs. Extreme lows.
Patagonia, when taken on alone, is a place that forces you to adapt. Improvise. Overcome. For your efforts you are rewarded immensely. In scenery. In the kindness of it’s people. In the bounties it provides. In discovery – both of a magical place as well as personal.
Patagonia knew today was a day of lasts, and she was determined to make sure last didn’t mean disappointment.
The morning was drizzly. Overcast. Decently warm. All things I’ve come to associate with Patagonian mornings. Well, minus the warm (14.5c!).
Because I knew my time was slowly coming to an end I savored the morning. I took my time. There was no hurry today. Not on this day of lasts.
I didn’t throw a leg over the bike until nearly 11am. Like I said, no hurries today.
I left my hotel, climbing up the overlooking road, taking one final glance at the valley I was fortunate enough to call home for one night. Less than 2 kilometers away I pulled up to the Parque Nacional Torres del Paine ranger station.
The plan for this lazy morning was a big loop through the park, then back to Puerto Natales. The last destination on the trip.
The entry fee is a hefty 21,000 Chilean Pesos, but I paid it gladly. It would end up being worth every penny.
As you go along in the park you work your way every closer to the mountains that were distant the day before. Gorgeous in the sunlight, they looked even more amazing in the grayness of the day. Patagonia even stopped the rain for me nearly the whole day. Like I said, I was not to be disappointed today.
The first spot I stopped overlooked a lake with mountains everywhere in the background. I was blown away. So much so that I spent at least half an hour just staring. Taking it all in.
The park moves you closer and closer to the giant towers before it finally pushes you away, onto other landscapes. I stopped as often as I could, but some of the riding was just too good. Committing the scenery to memory would have to suffice.
Honestly, a few spots were so amazing I nearly rode off the road. It’s incredible. These massive, jagged, sharp mountains towering over everything. Hiding glaciers. Covered in snow. Lakes laid out at their bases. Truly something to behold.
Quite a few roads were closed so my loop became longer. I didn’t mind at all. The meadows and hills I discovered as I turned away from the hulking spires provided a nice contrast. Some softness to the day.
I found fields covered in flowers. Herds of guanacos, closer than ever (sometimes too close). More lakes. Every turn revealing another gem. The entire time nearly alone. Perfect.
I had lunch at this place called El Ovejero in Cerro Castillo. Apparently a popular place that also sells souvenirs and things. Decent sandwich of beef and avocado. Something I noticed here is the bread… it’s all terrible. Crumbly. Dry. Not sure what the deal is there. That is not a magical part of Patagonia.
After lunch it was mostly asphalt back to Puerto Natales. Asphalt punctuated by sections of ripio 3-100 meters long. For no reason. At all. None.
The roadside was still beautiful, giving me plenty to see on the way to my destination. The last hotel of the trip.
As I neared the port town the rains began again. Just in time. While I rode through yesterday, I decided to do a bit of poking around. I wasn’t ready to be done. Not quite yet.
I fueled up, wandered aimlessly, before finally facing the inevitable. The last press of the stop button.
That’s it. The trip is over. There are more last’s to be had – dinner, sleep, etc. But each one draws me closer and closer to home.
Home. A place I’m both ready and not ready for. A place I both miss and don’t. If only this adventure could continue forever.
I hope everyone enjoyed the images, the thoughts, the ramblings. Thank you for following along for the last time. Of this adventure. There will be more. Always.
If you do one thing in your life discover Patagonia. Do it any way you’re able, by any means of conveyance. Do it by Segway if that’s what works for you. Just do it. Sooner than later.
I put some pictures of my gear as well, as a few people mentioned they were curious. Let me know if you have questions. It doesn’t look like much (maybe it does?), but I could pare it down a bit further. Almost everything was used.
Signing off from Patagonia,
Ryan
P.S. final count: 4,572 kilometers. 2,841 miles.
Additional comments from the present (Aug. 29, 2019): the next day I had to catch a taxi to take me to a bus station, which then dropped me off at the Punta Arenas airport. I landed in Santiago with just enough time to collect my bags, cut the entire customs line, and catch my flight to Mexico City. I barely made it.
My layover in Mexico City was almost 7 hours. Not quite enough time to leave the airport, but certainly enough time to be slightly miserable. At least the airport is nice, the food is excellent, and Dakar is actually shown in Mexico. I also got to fly on a Dreamliner.
The rest of the trip home was pretty uneventful. Such an amazing adventure, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Ryan Cavalier 