Nearly there...

Letters from a Small Bear
Chapter 6

We arrived in San Carlos de Bariloche after Christmas, the biggest city in the Rio Negro province and the most important tourist centre in Patagonia. We spent a few days exploring the city, looking for shops that sell the locally made exquisite chocolate and sweets, putting off the time when we would leave and begin the last stretch of the journey and the end of our adventure together.

At last we set off knowing we had four days riding to get to the next town, the scenery was beautiful and the going good but as always nothing was quite as we expected. We were caught up in that most classical Patagonia nemesis – The Wind. Now most of us have been in some strong wind, but here it was something else. The locals call it , “La Escola del Dios” – The Broom of God. The wind does not just blow, but instead attempts to rip anything not bolted down, from the face of the earth. We were unlucky enough to have the wind blowing at us from the side, what a trial for poor James that was. At one point a single gust blew up from the right hand side of the road, changed direction and blew back again to the opposite side, this left us feeling as if we were in a spin dryer. James could no longer ride but had to struggle on pushing the bicycle and wishing for the end of the journey. It was with a great sense of relief that we reached Chile.

On the western side of the continent you have two choices to get to the South. You can take either the wind-swept, desolate road on the Argentine side, or the mountainous but beautiful forested road through Chile. For once James chose the nice route and this road, The Carraterra Austral, took us through the loveliest scenery. The town of Futuluefu is nestled Swiss-style in the mountains near the border, and the Rio Futuluefu runs alongside it. The river is famous throughout the world for white water rafting, beneath the torrent of white foam; the water is a translucent blue. I just hoped that James would not decide to try rafting; it all looked a bit dangerous to me.

One of the local tribal people

The scenery changes subtly from rainforest through to a drier climate, then back. The rain-forested area has blue glaciers hanging from almost every high peak and waterfalls everywhere you look. As you travel to the drier areas it is suddenly the colours of the lakes that catch you eye, as we approached a huge lake, ‘The General Carrerra’, we could hardly believe our eyes, the water was a stunning aquamarine and the colour changes constantly until you leave it, where it starts the Rio Baker. This river was the most dramatically coloured water we have seen, it was like the blue ice-lollies that children love. If James had dropped me in the water I think that I would have been blue forever.

We met lots of people along this stretch of the journey, from poor tribal people to the very wealthy socialites, but all that we met were overwhelmingly friendly. In most of the guesthouses they treated James like one of the family, which always meant it was difficult for him to tear himself away. I made friends with a little 6 year old girl called Francesca, and James let me play with her for a few hours. He had a hard job trying, in his broken Spanish to convince everyone that I needed to leave with him; we were both sad leaving Francesca in tears.

After a very bumpy 700 miles we finally made it back into Argentina, we had to wait 4 days for a boat across a lake, hike through a forest for 10 miles and then catch another boat to make the crossing from Chile to Argentina. It was worth it – a real adventure and we all know that James loves an adventure! It was an incredible moment, when trekking over a hill we lifted our eyes to see the most famous mountain in Argentina was suddenly rearing up in front of us. The Cerro Fitzroy, a huge granite spire 11,073ft high that towers above all the mountains around. At its base is a town called El Chalten and that is where we spent a few days to recuperate after our long ride.

I wonder if the condor can give me a lift up the mountain?

James decided that the regular tourist hikes to various lakes a Fitzroy’s base were a bit tame, so he came up with an alternative plan. From the town one can see a smaller mountain in front of Fitzroy’s peak, although none of the guides mentioned it, James thought he would go up there. In his usual blindly-optimistic state he set off that morning, what he discovered was that these things are always further than you think. After climbing for hours, through forest covered mountains between the town and the one he wanted to climb, he finally got to the base. It was an easy climb until nearly at the top, where it got a bit difficult, but when he arrived at the peak the view was almost indescribable. There he was on a perfect day, sitting on a mountain peak looking straight across at Fitzroy, complete with its glacier and the lakes at the bottom. He could even see all the trekkers at those lakes 2,000ft below. All alone he listened to music while watching the condors circle above on the air currents, reflecting on all of the wonderful sights that we have seen together on this trip, this, James thought was one of the best.

From El Chalten we pressed on to El Calafate, and the Moreno Glacier, which collapses into a huge lake at its base. There was a lookout platform right in front of it where you can see the ice as it falls into the lake. As it is so easy to get to, it is a popular tourist attraction and the majesty of the moment was somewhat lost in the buzz of mobile phones and Japanese tourists with camcorders.

Close to the finish line.... Ushuaia - Tierra del Fuego - Patagonia - Argentina

We were now getting very far south and the next leg was the last. It involved crossing the rest of Patagonia and across the Straights of Magellen. From that point you are on the wasteland island of Tierra del Fuego, and at the end of the world. We were cheered by the line of waiting cars as we left the ferry and rode onto the island. It took us five days for James to force his way through the wind and mountains to Ushuaia, the most southerly city in the world which lies on the Beagle Channel at the south of Tierra del Fuego. We crossed a small mountain range and then after a sweeping downhill we were suddenly there, though to say we had made it would have been premature. The road you see does not end in the middle of Ushuaia, but rather continues a further 15 miles to the end of Tierra del Fuego national park. We had a day of rest and chocolate appreciation the town before doing the last ride. It was a tough road, but that was not an issue any more, the last few miles were very emotional as James realised there was nothing that could stop us reaching our final goal. He remembered a promise he had made to a friend in England who had asked whether he was going to do one of those BMX skids at the finish line. Well, he thought, why not, and so it happened that in front of a bus load of surprised tourists he did a perfect 50ft skid to end in a shower of gravel a foot from the barrier. We have almost reached the end of our journey together; it has been both eventful and rewarding. The support of all of our reader has sustained us and mostly the thought that we will be raising money to help The Animals Asia Foundation free bears from a life of captivity will have made it all worth while. I think that James should have the last word.

Homeward bound - the end of an adventure - the start of a new one......?

I am writing this on our last day in Argentina, we are leaving Buenos Aries tomorrow for England. I have been asked hundreds of questions by many people, “Am I happy to be finished?” Absolutely, almost two years and 20,677 miles cycling is I think, enough for anyone. “Why did I do this trip”? I am sure the answer to that will come to me in time! “Was it worth it” This is hard to answer, it is an achievement, but to tell the truth it is hard for me to realise this yet, I suppose I am still too close to it. I have seen things that have amazed me, met strangers that have treated me like a son, gone through pain and suffering, and wondered why am I doing this. And yet, on that final struggle through the mountains to Ushuaia, the moment I first saw the Beagle channel will be forever burned into my memory. I felt a surge of happiness that is hard to explain. It was like taking all of the hopes, dreams, pain, suffering, joy and elation of 2 years and compressing them into an instant, the emotions of a lifetime in a moment. Through it all I have had Tolly, he may only be a small bear, but he has been my faithful friend and got me through some sticky situations, I will miss him and hope that whoever adopts him will realise that he is someone very special.

Until the next trip

James and his golden, travel worn, (and very tired) loyal companion, Tolly