I was more than a little apprehensive about getting here, though. All the signs were telling me not to. Accommodations are ridiculously expensive here, and the only way to get here from Chile is by bus - 12 hours no less!!! I asked at the bus station when I bought the ticket if there were any rest stops on the way, but the girl insisted it was a non-stop service. I did not relish the prospect of 12 hours uninterrupted arse-sitting (Deep Vein Thrombosis is real, people, and it's a killer!), but I have come this far, I can't not visit Ushuaia. So up I got at 5:30 this morning and at 7 am, I braced myself for the long journey ahead.
Now I must say, it certainly was a long journey, but it was not as hellish as I thought it would be. First of all the girl was talking bollocks. We had a total of four leg-stretchers en route, which made the whole experience just about bearable for me. I did look for other travellers' accounts of this journey online, but no one addressed the intense wear and tear of the buttocks I so dreaded. I will therefore give you the low-down on my experience. This may be an internet exclusive, so remember where you read this!
07:00 - Departure from Puerto Natales
09:30 - Changed buses at Kon Aiken - the bus we joined came from Punta Arenas, and after some 20 of us got on, it was completely packed! So no space to spread out...
11:20 - Arrived at the ferry taking us across to Tierra del Fuego Island (15 minute crossing and we had to board on foot, so leg stretcher #1)
14:30 - Arrived at the border control in San Sebastian - first the Chile exit (leg stretcher #2), and quite a few miles later the Argentina entry (leg stretcher #3)
16:10 - All immigration formalities completed and we're back on the road
18:15 - Refuelling for 20 minutes in Tolguin (leg stretcher #4)
20:15 - Arrived in Ushuaia
Yes call me Mr. Knackered Knackeredson... And in only three days, I get to do it all again in reverse! But I'm jolly well here now, at the very bottom of the world! Antarctica is still a very long way away, and if you compare the latitude to the northern hemisphere, I'm only in Newcastle! Which explains why it rains so much here... The weather forecast for tomorrow is rain and 6 degrees, for Wednesday partly cloudy and 11 degrees, then rain for the rest of the week. So hopefully I'll have one clear day to take some photos before I leave. March should see 52.3 mm of rain according to Wikipedia, the third wettest month of the year...
Apart from border controls, one reason it takes so b***dy long is the horrendous roads on the Chilean side of the island. Just gravel and dirt, and when it rains as it did today, the windows are soon covered in mud and you can't see a thing. Not that there was much to see anyway, bleak steppe and a whole lot of nothing best sums up the scenery... Only for the last hour and a half were there some trees and some views of the lakes, and by then the bus had had a wash.
Further info for anyone planning to make this trip: on the ferry to the island, you can purchase hot and cold drinks and hot dogs (called panchos in Chile and Argentina). At the border exit from Chile in San Sebastian, you can buy a variety of hot and cold snacks, sandwiches, and hot and cold drinks. And they're not ridiculously expensive either. I used Bus Sur and the ticket cost CLP41.000 from Puerto Natales. From Punta Arenas I think it's 35.000. Sounds like a lot, but there is 1000 pesos to £1.
I will also tell you about the conductor on the bus from Puerto Natales, Pedro, who for some reason seemed to take a shine to me. He found out I was from Sweden and he told me he had Swedish currency! And sure enough, he soon came back with a wad of bank notes from all over the world, including a couple of Swedish ones! They were gifts from tourists, he had never been to Sweden (nor anywhere else outside his bus route I suspect). He was very chatty and enthusiastic, but no idea why he chose me. There were plenty of other tourists on the bus. Unfortunately I had nothing to contribute to his collection from the currencies I carried.
On the inconsistency of South American long-distance coaches: I took a 3-hour trip from El Calafate to El Chaltén and the double-decker bus was equipped with semi-camas that really reclined, quite comfy. On a 12-hour trip - regular seats! And legroom that makes Ryanair feel like business class! Not to mention the headrest was at the level of my shoulderblades. I don't often wish I were a short-arse, but when it comes to travelling, it would certainly solve most of my problems. I swapped my window seat with the French chap next to me, and popped my legs into the aisle. Much better!
I'll come back to Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine tomorrow, I just wanted to post this scoop asap. Dodgy wi-fi still haunts me.
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