Rio Grande – San Sebastian (and by car to Punta Arenas) – 38 km
The following morning, the wind looked deceivably less fierce than the previous day.
However, after hurriedly loading up and biking out of town, I found the wind no less
violent than the day before. Battered by wind kilometre upon kilometre, each turn
of the pedal became an achievement. The wind blew in random gusts and every so
often blew me off the road and into the barren no-mans-land. I stopped counting
the times I picked myself up to try again. Worse was that it blew me into the road.
Even though drivers were extremely courteous, cycling remained nerve-racking. If
the wind wasn’t enough, the weather was freezing and, at one point, it started
hailing. Wondering if things could get any worse, the wind gathered strength,
making it near impossible to ride. All one could do was hold on to the bike, hoping
not to get blown over. God knows I must’ve made a pathetic sight as a kind truck
driver stopped and offered me a ride to San Sebastian, almost 40 kilometres away.
The truck’s safety gave false security, (or pure stupidity) and once in San
Sabastian, I got back on the bike.
The border crossing between Argentina and Chile was barely 10 kilometres away
and a low-key operation. Nevertheless, the immigration office made a sad and
lonely sight: a small, unimpressive building in a vast windswept wilderness. There
was nothing around but barren land as far as the eye could see. The immigration
office further marked the end of the paved road, adding to the region’s desolate
appearance. From there on, a dirt track ran 140 kilometres to Porvenir, from where
ferries departed to Punta Arenas. Still, it took a while before all was checked and
cleared.
From the immigration office, the route headed straight into the wind. Walking the
bike in the high wind along that desolate and windswept stretch of road, I felt
awfully lonely and sorry for myself.