Fri 19.2.2016
The sun is shining and I decide to stay another night here in Pto Madryn and will do a day trip without luggage to Punta Ninfas. Unfortunately this 70km dirt road is so boring.
70km straight ahead
Except of some sheep and nice horses crossing the street nothing spectacular. At the end I got rewarded by a beautiful view
Pta Ninfas panorama
Sat 13.2.2016
I stand up very early to reach the ferry back to Punta Arenas. Everything is packed and my last egg is boiled because I can’t take it over the border to Chile. The sun is shining at 8°C and I’m fighting with the wind. Reaching the Argentinean border at 10 a.m. I’m in Chile at 10.30 a.m. giving me enough time. But my GPS is not working anymore. It re-boots all the time. Not important for now because I know the way and following Alex’ and Heinz’ hint I turn right 60km ahead of Porvenir into a nice small road which is open only in summer time. It goes up and has bends, too. But it is getting damned cold (4.5°C). It’s time to reach warmer areas. Even though I don’t know if I really like the 40°C in Buenos Aires.
After taking out the SD-Card and re-booting my Garmin works again. Good news. Earlier than expected we reached Pta Arenas at 4.15 and immediately I drive to Alejandro for my new tire. He says if I leave it there I can pick it up at 6 p.m. because he has to wash the bike completely before it can enter the hall. Then I asked him just to take the back tire and I take it off.
Tue 9.2.2016
I stand up very early and I’m in time at the harbor. And who was already there when I arrived: Isi. They don’t have as well a ticket and so I looked for Alex who already queues. We’re lucky and got tickets for today! And the price is fair: $ 11.300 (€ 16,-).
Ferry Pta Arenas to Porvenir
After an endless search for a dealer who has tires for my motorbike I finally found one in a little street who has “my” Heidenau available for $154.000 (€ 200,-) – only the rear tire. Then I visited the Museo of Magallanes that contains interior of that time.
games room
Punta Arenas itself has some nice buildings and places like the Plaza de Armas
Read More
Below you will find my trip from Chaitén to Punta Arenas.
After a lot of issues with the flat tire (many tries were not successful) we finally ended up in a nice Cabaña in La Turia where Diego, who came by on his way to his home, was so nice to offer it for free (!) and brought Alex back with a tire that worked at least for some kilometers. After border crossing, which was very easy again, he had again a flat tire 5km ahead of Puerto Natales. We were looking for a hostel and luckily got one with 3 beds available. An endless search for a new tube ended up in a still too small one. But he was able to bring the motorbike to the hostel. Then we said goodbye because they want to go to Torres del Paine by bus for a 5-days trip while I’m going by motorbike for day trips.
Already the way to the national park was nice. And the park itself is indescribable. I found a great camp ground in the middle of the park which was the best starting point for the 3 days.
Los Cornes from my camp ground
After a great day in El Calafate we were heading to Cerro Castillo in Argentina to visit El Torre del Paine National Park while suddenly we got stopped by a flat tire
After a quick repair we moved further for… another 5km before we got stopped again by flatness. And even with a new repair set we were not able to finally reach Cerro Castillo. But a nice Argentinean guy picked Alex and Isi up and brought them to his Cabaña in La Turbia where we spent the night. And the man in the “gomería” is a friend of him and he fixed it… until we crossed the border… Now we are stuck in Puerto Natales waiting for Monday and a new tube. And I will order new tires for me as well before I go to Ushuaia. In the meantime I have enough time to do some walking in Torres del Paine. Let’s see…
After a two hours cruise which was less stressful for me than expected we arrived in El Calafate at a nice camp ground. They also offer beds for ~14€ a night what we take for one night as we don’t like to built the tent again. Then we made the last 80km to the glacier (paid $260,- entrance fee; ~€18,50) and were deeply impressed of the size of Perito Mureno.
It cracks all time and you need not to wait a long time to see pieces falling down.
The atmosphere and the clouds are so beautiful when we drove back. 
Finally we bought a nice steak for dinner and a good Malbec!
Below the updated pictures!
Due to a horrible Internet connection here in Chaltén I will add more pictures later.
Sun 24.1.2016
The weather was much better than expected. So, I changed my decision and drove the 130km to Caleta Tortel. The road is a challenge but the landscape is wonderful. Along lakes though forests
and powdered Anden in the back I enjoyed the ride and arrived surprisingly without any rain 2 ½ hours later in Tortel, a village which has only wooden houses connected by wooden trails. Finally the sun came out. It was worthwhile to do it. On my way back to Cochrane I found a nice place with rabbits in the fields. And, after my tent was built up, other friends I didn’t think about. Ten cows are very interested in me and my stuff and I had a lot to do to get rid of them.
Mon 25.1.2016
After buying some stuff in the Supermarket – one where you amazingly could buy almost everything, e.g. boat motors, microwaves, routers, TV, all products from Stiehl, etc. – I drove back to North for 10km before I headed to Paso Roballos. Behind the third corner I met my first Guanacos
and a Condor is flying above me. After a while I saw in the mirror a headlight that came nearer very quickly and was overtaking me. What the hell is this? Two people on an Africa Twin (RD4), respect! At the Chilean boarder I met Alex and Isi from Tübingen again. And from now on we drove together. Only 10 min at this boarder and another 20 min at the Argentinian boarder, that’s it.
The road was very challenging because big gravel, big holes and suddenly upcoming wind needed high concentration. Flamingos and Nandus came along and after 70km we came to the well paved Routa 40. In Baja Caracola we got petrol and finally a little space for the tents at a strange landlord’s ground.
Tue 26.1.2016
Heading to the South we saw a fox crossing the road. The rest is not very interesting and in Governando Georges we were looking for money that is not that easy in Argentina because all credit cards with the new chip on it are not accepted. Damn! Luckily we got some Pesos in the restaurant where we ate the best empanadas so far. The owner changes US Dollars (1:13) as well as Euros (1:14). The wind is really low from Tres Lagos onwards to El Chaltén the scenery became more various. We found a very nice camp ground and ate one of the best steak ever. We will stay in Chaltén for three nights.
Wed 27.1.2016
A wonderful morning with sun and nearly no wind let us start the trail to Laguna de los Tres. While we see Monte Fitz Roy (3.405m) at the beginning surrounded by clouds we could see it better and better the more we walked. After the last kilometer of ten that was by far the hardest we got such an impressive panorama.
We had again so much luck with the weather
and after 8 ½ hours we were back to the starting point. What a nice route!
Thu 28.1.2016
While Isi and Alex are doing another trail today to Cerro Torre (3.102m) I maintain my bones and spend the day for recovering.
Panamericana 2016 