Today was a travel day again. We stayed at the Hotel Navegantes which was very plush and convenient for the bus departure point on Colon.
In all the bus journey was uneventful. Kevin made the mistake of accepting the free coffee that they handed out - thick, black and Diabetic coma-inducingly sweet. The biscuits they gave us were called Bimbo and came in bear shapes!
At Punta Delgado where the ferry crosses from the mainland to the Isla Grande of Tierra del Fuego, our trip across the Magellan Straits was accompanied by dolphins.
One of the most exciting things about driving in Patagonia is the "ripio" roads and when we first visited Argentina and Chile we were surprised that so many of the major roads were made up of dust and stones. However, even in the short time that we have been coming here, those roads are disappearing. As we drove across to the Argentinian border, our route ran alongside a carriageway being newly constructed out of concrete. When we drove the infamous Ruta 40 a few years back, random sections of that were being improved too. One of the "pleasurable" challenges is driving along these deserted, rubble roads for miles and miles, with no mobile signal and the next petrol station 500 km away! Finding a spare tyre can be fun too! Now the roads are being "improved" it makes driving so much easier, but sterile. The thrill of driving through the Patagonian wilderness is somewhat tamed. So what we're saying is, don't wait too long to go.
For example, the bus we travelled on today had a stone guard over its windscreen and even so the screen had several cracks across it. Hire cars come with stone dimples and chipped screens as standard.
At Rio Grande, we were dropped off at the bus station. Argentina is visibly less prosperous than Chile. From here we were decanted into a large mini-bus and headed down to Ushuaia. Rio Grande is the place where Clarkson et al abandoned their cars and headed to Chile, allegedly threatened by "thousands" of Argentinians. Certainly when you arrive in this town there is a huge monument to the Falklands Conflict, freshly painted in patriotic colours, but there is everywhere here.
Heading the 200 kms down to Ushuaia, the most disturbing thing was the bus driver who was doing his paperwork whilst closely following another minibus. The most disturbing moment was when he got his reading glasses out and carefully read a document for a few minutes.
We stopped at Tolhuin, a small town to drop off and pick up passengers, and the Public Library there was called "Malvinas Argentinas."
As we approached Ushuaia there was a hairy moment when we had to cross a narrow bridge. Despite there being three huge lorries coming the opposite way, the driver hurled himself at an improbably small gap and somehow we got through.
The Hotel we stayed at was extremely comfortable, with large rooms and a private terrace area overlooking a tidy garden. For the first time on this holiday the weather is poor and it is raining. Given that rain is what Ushuaia is famed for we have been quite lucky.
Heading down into town we ate at a busy pizza restaurant which was obviously popular because of the long queues for tables.