By Jen
Disembarkation
We were up before 07.00 as we had to vacate our state room by 08.00. Leaving our luggage at reception, we went and had breakfast. Tomorrow we will be back to porridge! After saying goodbye to the crew we walked down the gangway, along the pier and into Ushuaia. Fortunately there is a taxi rank right outside the pier, as we had a lot to carry, and we got a cab to Wayfinder’s office.
It was only 08.40 when we arrived at the office and it wasn’t yet open. We decided Dennis would wait with the luggage and I would go and find the Claro office to buy more WiFi. Several shops weren’t opening until 10.00, so I was half expecting to find Dennis still sitting outside waiting. He was comfortably ensconced inside, though, and Sebastian was waiting to drive us to Poki.
Collecting Poki and getting back on the Road
When we arrived at the parking lot, there was another French Landrover parked next to us. An older model than Poki and very dirty. Poki started immediately.
We drove back into Ushuaia for fuel and a supermarket. I would have liked to have stocked us up again, but we will enter Chile tomorrow and any fruit, vegetables, meat or eggs would be confiscated by Customs.
It was a lovely sunny day day and quite mild, 18 degrees. Traffic was busy and there were many cyclists and walkers and car parks at hiking trails were full. Still being the festive season many people are on holiday.
We stopped at a Garibaldi viewpoint, along with some other travellers. It seems strange to be seeing greenery and forests after two weeks of whiteness.
The contrast! Old on new.
Got to love the attitude.
Reorganising Poki
At lunch time we found a track leading towards the sea. We stopped among some dunes and took the opportunity to unpack our luggage and reorganise ourselves in Poki. We have been given double layer parkas, waterproof rucksacks and water bottles by Swan Hellenic and hats, books, re-usable coffee mugs and scarves by Wayfinders. Space is already a problem, but we have managed to store most items in the roof boxes. As we were leaving and rejoining the main road, another Landrover was entering. We stopped to say hello. They were a couple from Belgium, heading north too.
Cabo Domingo
This evening we are camped at Cabo Domingo on the beach. There is a headland that we hoped would protect us from the wind, but it isn’t doing a very good job. When we arrived it was really busy with families picnicking, riding quad bikes, playing football etc. It is gradually calming down, but there are still a lot of people here at nearly 21.00. Hopefully it will be a quiet, if windy, night.
Where are we heading now?
We will cross back into Chile and head for Puerto Natales and Torres Del Paine National Park. After this, back into Argentina again, heading for El Calafate and the Perito Merino Glacier. Next Mount Fitz Roy.
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