Patagonia. Santiago to Ushuaia — the southernmost city on earth. Picking up from Grey Glacier and the Towers: The Best of Torres del Paine. The series starts here: Patagonia: Santiago to Ushuaia — South to the End of the World.
On the road to Puerto Natales we stopped at the Mylodon Cave. The Mylodon was an extinct genus of giant ground sloth, and remains found here were among the first evidence of humans in the region — the two coexisted, briefly, at the end of the last ice age.
A life-size replica stands inside the cave. Daryl had a close encounter with it. He nearly didn’t make it out.
We arrived in Puerto Natales too early to check in, so found a nearby café. The owner had a system — a logbook of every visitor, entered into Excel, cross-referenced by town. Auckland got its pin on the map.
He was also curious about the haka. A Google-translated conversation about Māori culture followed — slow, enthusiastic, and entirely worthwhile.
After so long inland, the smell of salt in the air felt like home.
Back by the sea, dinner called for seafood. Afrigonia delivered — a proper feast, beautifully presented, the kind of meal that rounds out a long day exactly as it should. Daryl once again had a Pisco Sour. Research ongoing. Findings still inconclusive.
The next day was the longest day — over ten hours on the road, Puerto Natales to Pampa Guanaco. It started with long straight concrete roads. Janine’s absolute favourite. A diesel stop produced an unexpected bonus: grey foxes, entirely unbothered by the proceedings.
Then the first sight of the Strait of Magellan. Magellan originally named it the Strait of All Saints. Emperor Charles V, who had bankrolled the expedition, renamed it in Magellan’s honour. At Punta Delgado a line of trucks waited to cross — we have seen longer queues in Africa. The ferry arrived as we did, and twenty minutes later we were on board.
The Strait is famed for gales and difficult crossings.
Ours was smooth.
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