Here we get a chance to step outside our neighbourhood of San Telmo.

With our truck enjoying its four to six week Atlantic cruise, it was time for us to settle in for several weeks and wait until our beloved arrived at the Jacksonville, Florida port.  It made more sense for us to rent an apartment in Buenos Aires and stick around in Argentina than it did to fly… well, basically anywhere.  Lucky for us, Buenos Aires had quite a bit to keep us busy for those weeks.

Our road trip Groundhog Day looked a lot like this: wake up at the empty campground (it was off season) or behind the YPF gas station (beside the truck drivers), fill up on fuel and coffee, and settle in for a long drive.  We had some audio books, so we started listening to the longest one we had, Shantaram, and drove north for hours and hours.  When the sun went down we found another campground or gas station and prepared to do the exact same thing the following day.

Upon leaving Puerto Natales we realized that literally within several days we would arrive at the end of the road: Ushuaia, Argentina. Despite this fact, we still had close to 1,000 kilometers to go. A quick boat ride from Punta Delgada across the narrowest section of the Strait of Magellen placed us onto the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego, translated into English as “Land of Fire.”

Our next destination was the northern sector of Parque Nacional Los Glaciares— home of the Fitz Roy Range. You may recognize this mountain range from the clothing brand Patagonia as its logo features the same spires.

Nahuel Huapi is the oldest of Argentina’s national parks.  The name is usually translated from the Mapuche (group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and south western Argentina) as ‘island of the tiger,’ referring to the spotted South American jaguar whose habitat once included northeastern Patagonia.  There are no entry fees and camping is free in the park.  For those who aren’t interested in carrying a tent and are willing to shell out some cash, there are four refugios (huts) along the trail.

My Grandfather became ill in October (we were in Peru at that time) and was hospitalized for four months.  He was released from the hospital in February.  While housesitting at Lorraine’s place we made the decision to travel home to Vancouver for two weeks to visit my Grandpa.  I didn’t want to have any regrets and my family had told me that he was quite frail.  So we hopped on an airplane and arrived in Vancouver 15 hours later.

After arriving in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile it was time for a legitimate American/Canadian Thanksgiving dinner with Jenine, George, Mallary and Chris, complete with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, veggies, and wine.  We all raised a glass and enjoyed each others’ company, as this would be the last time the six of us would all be together in one place in South America.