Argentina

Argentina will be the last Sth American country for us for 2017. We entered for the first time up in the north of the country from near San Pedro de Atacama in Chile after leaving the Bolivian Altiplano.
Where we chose to cross from Chile to Argentina you have to be 'signed out' of Chile by the police at the actual border. You then drive some distance into Argentina where the paperwork is done.
Pulling up to the border I made the mistake of parking where I was visible (although with only one building it would have been impossible to hide) as the driver of a RHD vehicle.
The police officer noticing our RHD called me over for a chat, or lecture, as it turned out to be. Under his interpretation of the Chilean law, we were allowed to Temporarily Import the truck into Chile, we were not actually allowed to drive it.
I informed him that to the best of my knowledge on the subject he was wrong. This he did not want to hear!
He called in a mate who had some English language (as opposed to our complete lack of expertise in the Spanish language skills area) skills to back him up.
I can only assume that they were after some money to expedite our departure. This I was determined was not about to happen no matter how long we had to sit there. They eventually got the hint and let us go on our way. We crossed the Chile/Argentina border on many future occasions and the issue of RHD was never raised again.

 Driving over the border from northern Chile. Bleak but starkly beautiful.

                                      

Huge landscapes where you rarely see another vehicle.

 We thought that we were done with high narrow roads like in the Peruvian mountains, but this section raised our heart rate for a moment.

Now for the long windy road down Ruta 40 which will take us all the way down the Argentine side of the Andes to Patagonia.

Found this very old little bridge near the Chilean/Argentina border where we camped. Very cold, windy, and desolate but stunningly dramatic high altitude scenery.

Old railway town high in the Argentinean Andes. Remote windy and cold.

 The country on this side of the Andes is very dry. Chile side gets most of the rain.

 We drove up a dry water course and camped with this fabulous scenery all around us.

 Our morning walk up the dry creek was like stepping into a Western movie set.

 Shrines are part of the roadside landscape all through South America.

Rob keeping his fitness up with elastic exercise straps. He tries to drag the truck for at least 200 meters every night. (heh heh)

This camp was up another dry water course hidden from view of the road. Wild donkeys wandered past all night.

 We travelled for miles down this vast valley with crops along the river.

We had to drive along a long stony track past one of the most southerly Inca ruins to find this quiet and private camp site.

Oh no! A passing truck kicked up a stone and shattered our side window. It held together for a few days thanks to the special film applied by a Ballarat crowd in 2010 before we started shipping the truck overseas. Fortunately we found a replacement in Mendoza. How good was that.

Back over the mountains. One pass over the Andes was 4895 meters.

Most country close to the Andes in Argentina is dry with very few trees but with amazingly beautiful landscapes.

These roadside shrines with piles of large plastic water bottles had us stumped until we finally found the answer on google. Apparently a woman named Difunta Correa died of thirst with her baby at her breast (which survived) in the desert while searching for her husband. She is now an unofficial patron saint and the bottles of water are to quench her eternal thirst.

Wow! This was a great camp site.

The Argentinean lakes district went for hundreds of kilometers.

There's a Beech forest up ahead where we found a secluded spot for the night.

The wild geese in Patagonia were so beautiful.

Black necked white swans. We have only seen them in southern South America.

Taking a moment to soak up that fabulous view.

One of our favorite wild camps in a secluded wooded valley surrounded by snow capped mountains near Lago Lolog.

Another type of wild geese, beautiful rich color.

Lovely picturesque farming area outside Villa La Angostura.

This servo had a fantastic view in the lakes district.

The Patagonian Pampas.

Met this friendly gaucho checking his fences. Using sign language we established from him that he was OK with us camping on his boundary fence. 

Entering Argentina at the border near Fataleufu, Chile we had another run in with the law. Hearing Gael trying to explain to the man with the passport stamp that we had limited Spanish skills one of Argentina's finest spun around and started yelling that we should be able to speak fluent Spanish. 

He was obviously well traveled and knew more about crossing borders than we do, because he  informed us that he would be expected to speak fluent English if he wanted to visit USA, England, Australia, etc. What is it with uniforms and creeps! Everybody else was quite pleasant. 

Beautiful scenery driving Ruta 12 & 25 which takes us across the pampas from Chile to the east coast of Argentina. Wide valleys with poplar trees around estancias and rivers.

We thought these red flagged memorials were just for very popular road accident victims. However we discovered they were in memory of Gaucho Gill, a Robin Hood type character who wore a red scarf, hence the red flags. He robbed the rich and gave to the poor while being hunted by the law over 100 years ago. These shrines are all over Argentina and they even have festivals in his name.

If you look closely you can see the Gaucho Gill statue with cans of beer offerings and more.

Wild camping at Peninsula Valdes on the Atlantic coast. From this camp on the cliffs we got a great view of Southern Right Whale mothers frolicked with their calves only 100 meters from us. They were so close that we could hear them blowing as dozens passed every day. Just fabulous!

This is a young calf sliding over it's mothers back.

Boat loads of tourist from the nearby town of Punta Piramides would cruise between our camp on the shore and the whales. They put on a great show.

Argentine Oyster Catcher appeared browner than ours.

Many varieties of Cormorants.

There were a few rookeries of Magallonic Penguins on the peninsula.

This was the place where the film of orcas launching themselves at the shore to grab a seal was filmed. Unfortunately it was the wrong time of the day and tides for this to happen for us. You are required to drive with your headlights on, on rural Argentinean roads.

Gael still patiently searched the beach for something being eaten, but to no avail.

The Southern Sea Elephants and Sea Lions were all taking a siesta. I wish I could sleep as well!

This little guy was a Larger Hair Armadillo, he was scampering around the car park looking for scraps. We usually saw them tearing across the road at break neck speed.

This is a guanaco the wild cousin of the domestic llama. It was great to see small herds of them all through Patagonia.

We nick named these bird "chooks". They looked very comical waddling along the road in small groups then tearing off into the scrub when they saw us bearing down on them.

These huge cliffs near El Condor were peppered with holes scratched out by the only cliff dwelling Burrowing Parrots in the world.

There's one!!! There are about 35,000 of them living along a 12km stretch of this coast. The sky, fences, shrubs and power lines are full of them.

They perch on the power line then dive like fighter planes over the cliff to their burrows. Spectacular sight quite mesmerzsing.

Nice fish head for lunch.

Rheas, smaller than our emu.

What a pretty duck. Haven't a clue what type it is.

This little guy looks like it could be a robin. Perhaps!!!

Walked the streets of Buenos Aires. Pretty busy compared to where we have traveled over the past 7 months. 

This is where South Americans put their rubbish for collection. Off the ground on the nature strip so stay dogs don't spread it all over the neighborhood.

Our campsite at Andean Roads Camper Rentals just outside of Buenos Aires. We have left the truck in storage here for three months (Dec thru to March) while we return home to Tasmania to cut the grass. March 2018 will see us return to spend another month touring Uruguay and Southern Brazil. In  early April we (and the truck) go for a cruise on a cargo ship to visit Europe (again). There we hope to visit a lot more of eastern Europe and go as far north as Finland. Promises to be a BIG year!!!

Chile

Chile

   Chile has a varied landscape. From the northern deserts of Atacama to the snow fields of Patagonia.

All of it is absolutely stunning. 

With things to see on both sides of the Chilean/Argentinean border we found ourselves constantly crossing from one country to the other as we move south along the Andes Mountain Range.

Weather also became a determining factor on where we headed at any given point in time. Because of the Andes range it is invariably a lot wetter on the Chilean side of the mountains. If we wanted more sunshine we cross over to Routa 40 in Argentina. 

Because of this difference in precipitation we also found a marked difference in the amount and type of vegetation over a short distance, with Argentina generally being a lot less lush. 

Chile is the country that has probably the strongest economy in South America and as such has the best road infrastructure. This means that white knuckles are no longer the norm for Gael. In Peru she  often tried to climb over me to get as far away from a cliff edge as was possible. 

Traveling north/south from Colombia to Chile means that the weather gets noticeably cooler the further south we go 

(as in Oz), although this is moderated by the fact that we have been moving out of winter into summer. Many Overlanders, particularly Europeans, tend to ship into Montevideo in Uruguay and head south to get to Patagonia over summer.

Arriving in Chile after the Laguna Route through south Western Bolivia. The road drops thousands of metres from the Chile/Bolivian border into the nearest town San Pedro de Atacama.

Campsite in a gravel pit near San Pedro de Atacama (looking back up to the Bolivian Altiplano and its many Volcanos). Gravel pits can be an Overlanders best friend as they often provide a visual and noise barrier if there is any activity in the area.

Gael and the locals at flora and fauna reserve Los Flamingoes, Soncor Chaxa Laguna. That's a line of volcano's on the horizon along the Andean border with Argentina.  We crossed it many times as we drove south to Patagonia mainly because the weather in Chile was often wet whereas Argentina was always clear.

Heading east to Routa 40 in Argentina from Chile across the Andes.

The pass between the two countries lies at 4780 metres, the highest border pass in Sth America

Camping on the Chilean coast near the town of Conception. A busy stretch of coast but still possible to find a quiet spot for the night to wild camp. South America is a cheap place to travel, thanks mainly to the excellent opportunities when it comes to wild camping. 

Again on the Chilean coast, black volcanic sand on most of the beaches.

Always keep the engine running.

The weather, whilst not particularly cold, was often damp along the Chilean coast.

Landslides are a common occurrence throughout this part of Chile.

Explored Tolhuaca National Parque with massive mountains and delightful little rushing steams.

Heavy snow on the road stopped us from using this route to cross the Andes back to Argentina for some fine weather.

High road into the Andes never disappoint. Always spectacular vistas.

Bloody hell Claude, my feet are freezing! Vicunas always gives us a buzz when we see these hardy beautiful guys.

A wonderful lunch spot beside one of the many salty lagunas.

These strange ice formations are called 'penitente'. They form at high altitude and point roughly toward the sun. There you go!

It was so cold Gael put on just about every bit of clothing she had.

Llaima Volcano. The ranger told us it had been rumbling lately so don't get any closer.

Parked amongst ancient Araucaria trees that grow at high altitudes. They look a bit like Bunya Pines.

Camped by a rushing alpine stream with Antarctic Beech trees all around. A magic spot.

We just loved these unusual trees.

Great spot for lunch off the road sheltered from the biting wind.

Lucky to get though this road it had just been cleared of snow. Thank goodness.

Had to stop to take in this great view on the way to the town Villa Cerro Castillo.

Cerro Castillo an impressive jagged mountain range.

Carretera Austral an amazing dramatic scenic highway in Southern Patagonian Chile.

Valleys with huge cliffs and beech tree forests.

 Damp weather but the country was magic.

Rob had his beanie and "Tasmanian tuxedo" on in this chilly part of Chile.

Some of the farmers are doing it tough down here.

Beautiful lakes.

Fantastic fjords.

Wild camping by a quiet fjord and not a sole around.

Always on the lookout for a Panaderia for some fresh rolls.

Old church amongst huge beech trees.

Glacier at the end of this valley in Pumalin National Park. 

One of the few remaining stands of the ancient Alerces trees a type of cypress. These were preserved for posterity by the founder of the clothing company North Face and Esprit, Douglas Tompkins. He eventually conserved over two million acres in southern Chile to create Pumalin Park. It was donated to the Chilean people after his tragic death whilst kayaking in 2015. With additions from the Chilean government is now a National Park covering eleven million acres. It contains glaciers, volcano's and vast forests stretching from the Pacific to the Andes. What a legacy!

A steaming volcano in Pumalin N.P. It last erupted in 2008.

             
Our lovely camp site in the park with that smoldering volcano in the background.

Parked in front of a bus cafe so we could use their wifi while enjoying great coffee and cake in Chaiten. A fresh dusting of snow on nearby mountains.

Uh Oh! Looks like a road block up ahead and we are in the middle of a snow storm.

We were stuck here for 4 hours together with 2 fellow Overlander vehicles from Switzerland.
They kindly invited us into one of the campers for some wine and laughs which helped the time pass.

With snow piled up on our spare tyre on the bonnet we inched our way down the mountain to Villa Santa Lucia where we turn east towards the mountains (and Argentina again). There was a deadly mudslide later in December that killed 20 people and cut the hwy for weeks at this town.)

Lunch by a nice lake in Futaleufu the last town before crossing over the Andes to Argentina. Our last border crossing for a while.

Chilean border post as we leave Chile for the last time.