Here we get a chance to step outside our neighbourhood of San Telmo.

With our truck enjoying its four to six week Atlantic cruise, it was time for us to settle in for several weeks and wait until our beloved arrived at the Jacksonville, Florida port.  It made more sense for us to rent an apartment in Buenos Aires and stick around in Argentina than it did to fly… well, basically anywhere.  Lucky for us, Buenos Aires had quite a bit to keep us busy for those weeks.

Our road trip Groundhog Day looked a lot like this: wake up at the empty campground (it was off season) or behind the YPF gas station (beside the truck drivers), fill up on fuel and coffee, and settle in for a long drive.  We had some audio books, so we started listening to the longest one we had, Shantaram, and drove north for hours and hours.  When the sun went down we found another campground or gas station and prepared to do the exact same thing the following day.

Upon leaving Puerto Natales we realized that literally within several days we would arrive at the end of the road: Ushuaia, Argentina. Despite this fact, we still had close to 1,000 kilometers to go. A quick boat ride from Punta Delgada across the narrowest section of the Strait of Magellen placed us onto the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego, translated into English as “Land of Fire.”

There are numerous hikes throughout the park, but we had our eye on the “O Trek,” a six to 10 day trek over a span of 130 kilometres.  This would be our longest multi-day trek to date and we hoped we were prepared.  There are a series of refugios (huts) along the trail offering accommodations and sustenance ranging from camping and eating your own pre-packed food, to sleeping your own room inside a cabin with pre-made meals.  It all depends on how much you are willing to spend and how comfortable you would like to be!  We packed in our own food and slept in our trusty MEC two-person tent.

Perito Moreno is monstrous with a width of 5 kilometres, an average height of 240 feet, and a total ice depth of 558 feet. It rests in the Argentino Lake, moving slowly across at a rate of 1.1 to 2.64 metres per day.  This movement is due to the pressure and force of the glacier’s weight. It is one of the only glaciers in the world that is actually advancing, not retreating.

Our next destination was the northern sector of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares— home of the Fitz Roy Range. You may recognize this mountain range from the clothing brand Patagonia as its logo features the same spires.

The Carretera Austral (otherwise known as Chile’s Route 7 and translated as “Southern Road”) is a highway that runs from Puerto Montt to Villa O’Higgins over a span of 1,240 kilometres through Northern Patagonia.  In 1976 Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet (what a guy!  Check out this Wikipedia article for his messy history) ordered the Chilean army to commence construction of the road.

More than 100 years ago Chilean cattlemen made their way by foot through the Cochamó Valley to the Argentinian border to trade dried and smoked fish and shellfish for Argentinian beef cattle.  Rumour has it that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid drove their cattle from their ranch in Argentina for this exact purpose.

Nahuel Huapi is the oldest of Argentina’s national parks.  The name is usually translated from the Mapuche (group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and south western Argentina) as ‘island of the tiger,’ referring to the spotted South American jaguar whose habitat once included northeastern Patagonia.  There are no entry fees and camping is free in the park.  For those who aren’t interested in carrying a tent and are willing to shell out some cash, there are four refugios (huts) along the trail.

My Grandfather became ill in October (we were in Peru at that time) and was hospitalized for four months.  He was released from the hospital in February.  While housesitting at Lorraine’s place we made the decision to travel home to Vancouver for two weeks to visit my Grandpa.  I didn’t want to have any regrets and my family had told me that he was quite frail.  So we hopped on an airplane and arrived in Vancouver 15 hours later.

Anyway, we got to chatting with Ian after seeing his British Columbia license plates and he mentioned that during his time in Chile he housesat for an American woman and her two dogs. This piqued our interest so we e-mailed Lorraine (a fellow Pan Am traveller; check out her bio!) to see if she needed anyone for the month of January.

The next day we met Richard’s mom, Louise, at the airport.  It was Christmas Eve.  While we waited, I was reminded of the opening scene from the movie Love Actually– the heart-tugging airport scene.  It is a magical place.  A half-moon shaped crowd of people gathered in the arrivals section which was gated in order to allow the passengers to move through the airport with their various pieces of luggage.  People smiled, their eyes filling with tears as they saw their loved ones.  They hugged.  They cried.

From the Paso Internacional Los Libertadores (Argentina/Chile border) we snaked our way downwards from 10, 500 feet, completing the 29 hard switchbacks carved into the Andes.

After arriving in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile it was time for a legitimate American/Canadian Thanksgiving dinner with Jenine, George, Mallary and Chris, complete with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, veggies, and wine.  We all raised a glass and enjoyed each others’ company, as this would be the last time the six of us would all be together in one place in South America.

We had been dreaming about Bolivia’s Lagunas Route (also known as the Southwest Circuit) for, well, years. Except it was no longer mythical. It was time to actually start our engine and complete what would most likely be our longest off pavement experience in South America. Crazy.

“We’ll meet you at the Train Cemetery on Saturday night.”

I admit, this is not the most common phrase you’ll hear, but that was our plan for meeting up again with George and Jenine (Traveling the Americas). From the train cemetery we would head into the Salar de Uyuni (salt flats) together with Mallary and Chris.

After negotiating a rate for some sweet Bolivian gasoline and subsequently filling our tanks, it was time for us to leave the city of La Paz and find some fresh air and freedom.  Chris and Mallary joined us for a mini convoy to Sajama National Park.

The first day of trekking started in thick fog. As we descended steeply the rain started. The El Choro trail is like Bolivia’s version of the Inca Trail

Here’s the scoop about gasoline and diesel in Bolivia: it is illegal for gas stations to sell to foreigners.