Certain mishaps with the van (gas, repairs and quite a few of them) have put us WAY behind schedule. Recognizing that we had a bit of a timeline to make a ship in Buenos Aires (still over 5000kms away) with just short of two weeks to go, we headed straight for Tierra Del Fuego. To get there, we had to take a ferry, as it is the southernmost island of Argentina. The night before taking the ferry we had an opportunity to see an awesome eclipse by chance.
A quick ferry in the morning...
...And we were on The Land Of Fire
However it was quite cold and the police were stopping EVERY car to see that they either had studded tires or chains. The roads looked fine but nonetheless we weren't allowed to pass without putting on the chains that Andrew had the foresight to insist on buying.
The drive into the southern part of the island was fantastic.
Actually, pretty epic.
Into The Great Wide Open... Thanks Mr. D...
One of Shona's favourite mountains of all time.
It turned out that there was quite a bit of snow on the roads after all.
The approach...
For those of you who aren't completely fluent in spanish like we are, it says "Ushuaia, end of the world".
Even the graffiti punks are proud of their town.
If you do the math from the next two photos, it only took us 44,653kms to get here. No big deal.
We made it. 305 days later we made it. 15 countries, 44 653 kilometers and thousands of memories later we made it from the most northern accessible road in Canada to the most southern city in the world, Ushuaia.
There were no fireworks, fan fare or people cheering as we rolled into town, but there was a little celebration going on in my mind.
We weren't exactly sure how to act. There was a definite sense of joy and accomplishment that we had finally made it after all the difficulties and obstacles that had been thrown in our path. But for some reason there was also a small, tiny inkling of sadness. Although we have a long 2 months ahead of us until we arrive back in Canmore, there is no longer a solid objective. We achieved what I set out to accomplish 5 years ago on a training camp to Ushuaia. People laughed and scoffed at my idea of one day driving to the so called "end of the world" but for some reason I always knew it would happen one way or another.
Looking back now it was much harder than I had ever imagined. Dealing with car problem after car problem definitely brought on a few early on-set grey hairs, but I know that as time moves on I will remember only the great parts and the lessons learned. The friends made and the laughs shared. The waves caught and the walks enjoyed. I have met incredible people and caught up with friends from whom I had slowly drifted apart.
So all in all, Ushuaia wasn't mind blowing. For me it was great to relive some of the memories of ski racing with some of the greatest friends a girl could ask for, but more than that it was simply a dart in the bullseye of the statement; "Life's a journey, not a destination".
We are not changed people simply because we went to Ushuaia, but I do believe we are changed people because of the friends we have made, the countries and cultures we have experienced and the time we have spent exploring a small corner of the unbelievable world we live in.
And now as we head north we think of the 36 000 kilometers we have to travel before we get home. In the meantime, we'll just enjoy crawling out of large cans...
There were no fireworks, fan fare or people cheering as we rolled into town, but there was a little celebration going on in my mind.
We weren't exactly sure how to act. There was a definite sense of joy and accomplishment that we had finally made it after all the difficulties and obstacles that had been thrown in our path. But for some reason there was also a small, tiny inkling of sadness. Although we have a long 2 months ahead of us until we arrive back in Canmore, there is no longer a solid objective. We achieved what I set out to accomplish 5 years ago on a training camp to Ushuaia. People laughed and scoffed at my idea of one day driving to the so called "end of the world" but for some reason I always knew it would happen one way or another.
Looking back now it was much harder than I had ever imagined. Dealing with car problem after car problem definitely brought on a few early on-set grey hairs, but I know that as time moves on I will remember only the great parts and the lessons learned. The friends made and the laughs shared. The waves caught and the walks enjoyed. I have met incredible people and caught up with friends from whom I had slowly drifted apart.
So all in all, Ushuaia wasn't mind blowing. For me it was great to relive some of the memories of ski racing with some of the greatest friends a girl could ask for, but more than that it was simply a dart in the bullseye of the statement; "Life's a journey, not a destination".
We are not changed people simply because we went to Ushuaia, but I do believe we are changed people because of the friends we have made, the countries and cultures we have experienced and the time we have spent exploring a small corner of the unbelievable world we live in.
And now as we head north we think of the 36 000 kilometers we have to travel before we get home. In the meantime, we'll just enjoy crawling out of large cans...
Congrats Andrew and Shona. It was a great trip down there and I could tell even sitting in my chair at my desk in home (I'm super jealous) that it was the journey of a lifetime. Seriously you two deserve great adulation and a good pat on the back!
ReplyDeleteShona and Andrew, we have followed every moment. What a great accomplishment. Your trip gives us so many ideas for travel. Thanks for the adventure. Russell and Sarah.
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