A taste of the wilderness at the southern fringes of South America
First thing’s first, we’re heading straight down to the southern tip of the continent, no messing. At 13.5k km (13.5 megametres?) from London this will be the furthest Mike’s ever been from the UK and yet there’s only a 3 hour time difference.
A campervan has been sourced from Condor Campers the highest rated operation run by a British expat couple out of Santiago. The vans are snazzily decorated, and we’ll be responsible for it’s safe return to Santiago from Punta Arenas
As the fantastically animated line shows, it’s a full 2,200km as the crow flies from Punta Arenas to Santiago, almost due-north (unlike how the map shows it…) That’s further from London than Kyiv, St Petersburg, Bucharest, Reykjavik or Casablanca
A more detailed planning of the route indicates we’re likely to cover around 6,000km, and in only 35 days!
Enticed by endless photos of snow capped peaks and pristine wilderness we are not deterred. Accommodation is very pricey in this area of the world, however with a camper we are hoping the costs won’t be too extreme. Wild camping is generally permitted in Chile and Argentina provided it isn’t expressly forbidden by the landowner. Further more most petrol stations offer showers and toilet facilities (for a smallish fee) and should be our lifeline.
From Punta Arenas we plan to cross into Argentina and head southwards across Tierra del Fuego to Ushuaia, the southernmost city on the planet at almost 55 degrees south. That’s as far south as Newcastle upon Tyne is north. Around Ushuaia there’s penguins, mountains and lakes. Hopefully it’s neither too windy nor cold, but that’s not a given.
From there we will tour northwards through the main sights of Southern Patagonia: The famous mountain peaks of Torres del Paine in Chile, and in Argentina the glacier of Perito Moreno near El Calafte, and the mountains and icefields around FitzRoy near El Chalten.
Having broken in our new pairs of lightweight walking boots we are excited to tackle some interesting terrain. Although the number of day hikes I have planned that are exceeding 20km in length is now getting concerningly long.
Crossing back into Chile once again we will travel the world famous Carretera Austral (1,000kms of gravel), from Villa O’Higgins north to the island of Chiloe. The island is famous for more penguins, whales and UNESCO listed colourful wooden churches.
From there we reach the more populated regions of Chile, with it’s numerous national parks amongst the lakes and Volcanoes. We may push for a final few days in Argentina before returning our vehicle to Santiago, and continuing northwards up the continent.
By mid-March 2024 we should be able to let you know how it went!
Small Holiday Big Dream 