Day 61 Teirra del Fuego to Rio Gallegos, Argentina

We were back on the road the next morning and ready to get off the island, soon to overcome the same obstacles we encountered on the way in. Accompanied by the heavy winds, cold temperatures and a blanket of rain, we rode out of Argentina, into Chile, crossed the Straight of Magellan, and back into Argentina. We took the opportunity to warm up inside the ferry during the 20 minute ride across the straight. The trip began to take on a different feel, it was now a matter of the machines holding up for the final stretch. Everything on the bike had been put through the gauntlet. The rear sprocket teeth were so thin and hooked they looked like cheap, bent steak knifes. The tires were down past the wear marks, the brakes were beginning to fade, air filters clogged with soot, dust, and sand, and the spark plugs were crusted black with carbon. But like the troopers that the KTMs were, they kept us on the move.

Day 60 The road north

The new goal was to ride north to Buenos Aires where we would ship the bikes and ourselves home. That afternoon trying to leave the island, we crossed the border out of Argentina when Mikey's KTM developed a death rattle and the low oil pressure light came on. Generally speaking, when these two things happen you've just blown up your motor. We began to brain storm on our options for this worst case scenario. To add to the complication, we were not quite in Chile, but out of Argentina. Given the seriousness of the situation, we made the decision to cross the border back into Argentina and get to a hotel on the other side where we could work on the bike. After 3 hours under the knife, we had determined that the problem had come from excessive clutch wear. The clutch material had clogged the oil filter and blocked oil flow to the engine. The death rattle was only the timing chain, as it is tensioned by oil pressure. We threw in some fresh car oil, left the filter out, and called it good. All it had to do was hold up for another 2000 miles.

Day 59 Rio Grande to Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego

Wearing every layer of clothing I had brought, we set out for Ushuaia, the most southern city in the world. I was expecting more of the same barren and desolate terrain, but the bleak landscape soon gave way to snow capped mountains covered in brilliant red and orange trees. Tierra del Fuego translates to Land of Fire and now I knew why. I'm not sure if it is only like this in the fall, but it was magnificent. We reached Ushuaia in the early afternoon. Even though we had made it to the island the day before, it was here that the true finish line had been crossed. Despite any number of things could have happened to cut the trip short, we were fortunate enough to have made it to the bottom of the world. We had traveled 13,000 miles and through 13 different countries to make it here and it was a great moment indeed.

Day 58 El Calafate to Rio Grande, Tierra del Fuego

We rode through the cold morning across the open plains of Argentina with one goal in mind, to reach the "Fin del Mundo" aka the end of the world. While stepping foot on the island of Teirra del Fuego would have technically met out goal, we had come too far to not keep riding south until we ran out of road. This is easier said than done, besides 300 miles of partially paved roads, the island is split by both Argentina and Chile. In order to get to the bottom you must cross into Chile, catch a ferry across the Straight of Magellan, and then cross another border back into Argentina. As the ferry landed on to the island, there was nothing but gravel roads, heavy winds, and rain to greet us, but we had made it. The weather turned for the worse and daylight began to slip away, so we had to keep moving. It wasn't too much father that we realized that this island was not a very forgiving place and that reaching the bottom was going to be too far in these conditions. We made it to the city of Rio Grande and called it a day.

Day 57 A glacier and a nightclub

Looking over the map of Patagonia, we realized that El Calafate is within striking distance of the Perito Moreno Glacier. So we ceased heading south for a day to check it out. Your first reaction is of absolute awe, just the sheer volume of ice is almost incomprehensible. As you stand before this immense wall, you can hear it creaking and moving. If you stick around long enough, a ice cube the size of a small house breaks off into the water. The sound of it cracking is like a thunder clap, hollow, crisp, and echoing. It is one of the few glaciers in the world that despite global warming, is in fact advancing.
To add to an already amazing day, I scored a gig that night playing at a nightclub in town. By 1:00 am people started flooding in and I went on at 2:00 am to a packed house. For the next hour I proceeded to put their sound system through its paces... maybe even provoking the glacier to shed a few more ice cubes.

Day 56 Rio Mayo to El Calafate, Argentina

Immediately the roads turned to gravel and the terrain morphed into an area not quite desert, but not yet plains either. Off in the distance, snow covered mountains paralleled our path south. We rode all day and into the dark. As soon as the sun fell over the jagged backdrop of the mountains, the temperature dropped dramatically with it. The last 60 mile stretch into town left us completely frozen. It was clear that it was the beginning of a whole different climate.

Day 55 Bariloche to Rio Mayo, Argentina

A twisty morning ride through the mountains and around lakes soon gave way to the open roads as we moved farther inland. It was our first day of covering some mileage in Argentina and by the end of the day we made but only a small dent in the distance of this gigantic country. After a spectacular sunset we stopped in the only town that was around over a hundred miles. Making the choice of the only hotel, an easy one.