Ushuaia

17 October 2025

Feeling the effects of Patagonia beer, we had a hasty breakfast and decided to get on the road. Today our destination is Ushuaia. This is somewhat of a motorcyclists dream destination. One of those places that is almost mythical along with others like Prudhoe Bay, Cape Town and North Cape.

It also holds special significance for me because of my time with the expedition cruise industry and having spent so much of my life there during the late 90s and early 2000s I have been back many times since and have watched it grow from a wild west like town to the city it is today.

I have never arrived by motorcycle before and for this reason alone I was very excited. The first 120 km or so were on Ripeo. with according to Tim, many parts looking like the Isle of Man. It was a nice morning ride, not too cold and we eventually reached the surfaced road and headed for the border back into Argentina. This border was so much easier than yesterday no traffic and very friendly border guards. We were through in 10 minutes and continued the 80 or so kilometres to Rio Grande..

We stopped here for petrol and empanadas and then continued again slowly heading towards the ever growing Andes. The weather was great and we were enjoying the riding as we climbed into the mountains proper. Forested slopes with snow capped peaks and amazing fjord like lakes greeted us around every corner and both of us became more excited to reach our destination.

We stopped on many occasions just to take in the views and photograph the stunningness of our location. And as we crossed the last pass and came down the other side, we found a motorcycle museum hidden in the trees, and so of course had to stop and have a shot of gin with the owner. We then decided it was sensible to have a beer and a cake was well. We left in a good mood. Although Tim did say he was feeling a bit funny.

We eventually rounded a corner and saw the twin pillars of the entrace gates to Ushuaia and we crossed the final line alongside each other and giving ourselves a fist bump with a lot of cheers and self-congratulation on on the 4037 km that we have covered since Buenos Aires.

We now have three days off to look at the town, eat some decent food and hopefully visit the Patagonia beer bar. However, tonight we are going to "Kaupe" a restaurant famous for its snow crab and fish and one that I visited more than 20 years ago. So I hope it’s still good.