Set off to the town's waterfowl reserve on turquoise Lago Argentino
Last views as we rise out of the plain uphill
and then the clouds tell us somethng is coming
The really strong winds start. Motorbikes are leaning heavily on straight roads
and we pass a forlorn pair of cyclists resting against a crash barrier probably unable to continue. It gets worse for them we imagine: by Esperanza we are in a howling gale and make it back into the car after a loo stop just in time to miss the hailstones
coming almost horizontally. Just 17 mins later, though we are driving in beautiful sunshine,
Last views as we rise out of the plain uphill
and then the clouds tell us somethng is coming
The really strong winds start. Motorbikes are leaning heavily on straight roads
and we pass a forlorn pair of cyclists resting against a crash barrier probably unable to continue. It gets worse for them we imagine: by Esperanza we are in a howling gale and make it back into the car after a loo stop just in time to miss the hailstones
coming almost horizontally. Just 17 mins later, though we are driving in beautiful sunshine,
albeit still windy! Less than 20 mins after that, we're in driving snow and hail as we climb even higher on RN40 towards the Chilean border
Ice starts to build up on the window and front of the car for next hour – cars approaching us are covered. We turn onto a muddy road to the border, and very soon the sun is out once more. Vadar's bumper and number-plate are iced up
the force of the wind has imprinted onto the plate
The border is in farmland but it's a quick process to leave Argentina
and enter Chile, the new province of Torres del Payne
where our first stop is a small town for some provisions (we'd had to jettison all fruit and veg, and milk, to cross the border)
but too small to stay, so further towards the end of the world, onto Puerto Natales
This is a chilly night - lots of layers; hats, shirts, leggings, socks. And thankfully the campsite has a kitchen to boil water for the hottie
No comments:
Post a Comment