“Sometimes, you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes, in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself.”
Patagonia, from the famous Fitz Roy to the rural and rough Carretera Austral, has been one of the highlights of our tour so far. It was beautiful and remote, with mountains, rivers, camping, and fishing around almost every bend. It was also easy cycling (except for the dreadful headwinds) as Patagonia is all near sea level with very few or no passes.
We started out in Ushuaia, a town considered to be the bottom of the world.
Talk about a beautiful valley!
We then started our South American journey with Mike and Emily, two Oregonian friends who happened to be cycle touring as well! We headed through rural Tierra Del Fuego on some backroads which led us through the dry nothingness of the pampas. Thankfully there were many curious and hilarious guanacos all around to keep us entertained.
Mike, Emily, and Kevin cycling into Tierra Del Fuego.
A French couple (traveling for three years already and will go on for many more) we met along the way.
We really enjoyed the few shepherds we met along the way.
Swimming in a sea of sheep.
The headwinds down here weren’t a joke even if this photo is.
These little guys are super curious which makes them hilarious to interact with because whenever you talk to them they look at you as if they are listening.
Cycling through the sheep.
Crossing the boarder into Chile.
Kevin’s boot wanted to stay in Argentina so it jumped ship!
Mike and Emily, our two Oregonian friends.
This use to be a front rack. Mike and Emily had a fair bit of bike troubles, though thankfully there was always a creative solution to be found.
We then headed up and into Torres Del Paines, which we found a bit too crowded to our taste as we were there in the high season. We ended up doing a short hike before refinding our bikes.
Headed into the peaks!
Emily taking in the view.
One of the bluest lakes I’ve ever seen.
Cycling into the park.
Mike and Emily being cute as always!
Cycling hard against some insane head/side winds which literally knocked us off our bikes constantly.
After cycling through some more pampas (the dry nothingness) against ferocious headwinds, we ended up at the next iconic mountain in Patagonia, Fitz Roy. In Chalten we stayed in a casa de cyclista with over twenty other cyclists!
Need a tent anyone?
We then left Argentina by a rural non-car accessible road where we pushed our bikes up a section before riding onwards. We certainly had some great views throughout our two day crossing!
Yoga in the mountains.
Beautiful mountains equals one happy girl!
The road to the end of Argentina was beautiful as we circled around Fitzroy.
Kevin starting the uphill.
Mike and Emily working together to push one bike, and then the other, up.
Team work!
Fitzroy!
The lakes here in Patagonia are simply stunning.
And then we officially entered onto the Carretera Austral, a 1,200km mostly unpaved road which connects very small rural villages throughout Chilean Patagonia. We loved this section as the roads were deserted, the camping was magnificent, and there was never a shortage of water! Plus, Kevin finally got to put his fishing pole to use.
There was wonderful camping almost every night!
The beautiful forested road.
Our favorite kind of camping!
Kevin being silly.
We met hundreds of other cyclists, including this Italian couple who recognized me from my blog!
Though we had some sun, we also had a whole lot of rain.
Catching a trout.
Cleaning dinner.
I can’t even begin to describe how many beautiful rivers we passes. Dark blues and bright ones alike!
The white capped mountains were also wonderful to follow.
A small paved section which we quite enjoyed, even though we were going up.
There are so many beautiful waterfalls throughout this region as there are glaciers all around.
Definitely one of our best camping spots! Especially since the fishing was great.
The end of the paved road, it was a nice break from the washboard!
Fly fishing in Patagonia, Kevin has already dreamed of this!
Rain, rain, and a bit more rain.
We finished Patagonia with Tim and Jordi, two friends from Idaho who we keep leap frogging every few weeks.
Great camping as always!
Of all the old car parts, broken bungees, and single shoes Kevin has found by the side of the road, this hat was definitely his greatest one!
Kevin’s last Patagonian catch.
Though my pictures certainly don’t so this place justice, we really enjoyed our time through the rural parts of Patagonia which we have always dreamed of visiting. Now, we just can’t wait to keep following the Andes as they grow taller and more impressive as we make our way north.
For a photo of the day and other updates follow me on facebook here, and for some awkwardly cropped photos from our journey, follow us on Instagram @awanderingphoto!
The Wandering Nomads 
Wonderful, thanks! Good luck!
Very inspiring, beautiful photos. What an amazing journey you are having. Happy trails.
Thank you!
Your pics make me want to go to Patagonia. Someday! I just finished reading a book I think you would like, Shirine, called “Tower.” It’s about Cerro Torre. Wonderful book.
I’ve have to look it up! Thanks for the suggestion.
okay you did it.. I am going back in November, your photographs and blog tugged to hard for me to ignore. Question I saw in your photos lots of new pavement. The only section of new I was on was just south of Chaiten for maybe 10k. How much more is now paved?
Yup it’s more and more each day. We had about 150km of pavement (after Cohaique) and they are literally paving now so by November there will be a whole lot more!! So glad you made the decision to go back, visiting Patagonia can never be a bad idea.
Wow, what beautiful photos of gorgeous places! I especially loved the hilarious shots from the Lago del Desierto trail. We rode much of your same route, in the other direction earlier this year and that crossing took us a whole day just from the pass down to the lake! Good fun dragging two bikes, two trailers and two kids down that thing!! Happy trails to you guys!
Wow! Trailers and kids sounds like quite the adventure down that! I’m impressed!!
Just checked your trip (and you out), you guys are awesome! It’s our dream to travel with kids and we love to see others doing it. If you need a place to stay once you make it to Astoria Oregon let us know and we can hook you up! (My partners home town and where we will be moving to next year), enjoy the road, and tell your kids they are super awesome from us!
Inspiring. What a landscape! Your adorable face of joy says it all.
I just loved seeing all these photos. As I was looking through them, I said to my partner, ‘Ok Dave, we HAVE to go to Patagonia on our trip.’ I’ve wanted to go there for so long and this just confirmed my desire. Happy travels!
I just loved seeing all these photos. As I was looking through them, I said to my partner, ‘Ok Dave, we HAVE to go to Patagonia on our trip.’ I’ve wanted to go there for so long and this just confirmed my desire. Happy travels!
Yay! Great, you will love it.
Amazing views. So beautiful.
What incredible photos! Heading to Patagonia tomorrow and your photos are making me even more excited about the adventure (if that is even possible!).
Your adventure is truly inspiring.