Patagonia – Tierra del Fuego I Tierra del Fuego – Alaska

Across Patagonia to the "End of the World" and northwards via roundabout ways to Alaska – a dream we make come true.

The first part of our South American adventure took us from Santiago de Chile via the Ruta del Mar past beautiful coastal resorts to Concepción. A stop of several days at Motocamp Pucón was marked by intensive bike talk, lots of fun and deep insights into the Chilean culture and way of life.

Due to Covid restrictions, crossing the Andes into Argentina was not possible, so we had to find a route on the Chilean side to get us as far south as possible. The Chilean hospitality was of great help to us here, and we were given active support by a local biker family who generously took us in for several days and spent hours with us, planning a fantastic and adventurous route.

We took the Ruta de los Lagos along quiet lakes and snow-covered volcanoes towards Puerto Mont. After a detour to the Chiloé peninsula and a visit to the penguin colonies, we set off from Puerto Mont on the infamous Carretera Austral – 1350 km of pure adventure and a dream for every adventure rider.

Villa O'Higgins is the end of the Carretera Austral, and from here the only way to continue on the Chilean side is via an approx. 2.5-day ferry connection from Puerto Yungay to Puerto Natales. This ferry service is booked up months in advance and only runs once a week (Saturdays 8.00 pm). It took a bit of luck to get a seat on the ferry among the many people waiting without tickets. However, the helpful Chilean ferry staff did their utmost to make as much space as possible for vehicles without reservations.

Puerto Natales welcomed us with a cool breeze and rain. However, the next day, we were rewarded with sunshine, and the visit to Torres del Paine National Park was one of our Patagonia highlights. With its turquoise lakes and rivers, majestic, massive icebergs and lenga forests, the national park has been declared the 8th Wonder of the World.

Despite the ferocious and notorious Patagonian winds, which at times made it impossible for us to ride our motorcycles, Torres del Paine made a lasting impression on us.

Now Tierra del Fuego and Ushuaia were within reach. However, we still visited the southernmost big city of Punta Arenas and the southernmost point of the mainland, Fin de Camino, before we rode on to Tierra del Fuego – after adventurous border crossing experiences – and were welcomed by Ushuaia with sunshine and pleasant temperatures.

We had reached the southernmost point of the world and were very pleasantly surprised by the green vegetation.

After a flat tyre in the middle of an 80 km offroad passage, we rode on along the eastern side of the Andes, via El Calafate – visiting the Perito Moreno Glacier, one of the largest glaciers in the South American Andes – to Mendoza.

The second open border enabled us to cross back over the Andes into Chile via the Paso Los Libertadores – the main transport route between Santiago de Chile and Mendoza (Argentina). The border crossing is at 3200 m. Lorries battle their way through countless hairpin bends and you have to reckon with frequent traces of oil on the road.
The panorama, however, is gigantic.

Our Track South America Part 1 Santiago de Chile – Patagonia – Tierra del Fuego – Mendoza – Santiago de Chile was over. Both the motorcycles and all the Touratech equipment withstood the extreme conditions perfectly

In the meantime, we've embarked on Part 2 of our adventure on the American continent.

We picked up our bikes – which had been well looked after in the Touratech Santiago showroom – and prepared them to hit the road again. We had them serviced at BMW Santiago and then started off on our journey to Alaska. Before heading north, however, we'll take in another loop via Buenos Aires, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia back to Chile, to the Atacama Desert.

ONE WAY – A LIFE'S JOURNEY.... For an indefinite period.