[Above: A Drive Around the World Land Rover in the famous Torres del Paine National Park of southern Chile.]

Journal by Neil Dana

Today was a dream. We woke up in the Patagonia desert in a dry riverbed alongside a hill and surrounding plains. We were just on the other side of Tres Lagos, a super tiny town in the middle of Argentina. The air was crisp and the temperature was chilly. The sun was shining and we packed up our tents, stopped at the gas station in town and tightened all the exhaust manifold bolts of our Land Rovers. The roads here are all dirt and the constant shaking for the past week or so is rattling our nuts and bolts loose. On each of our cars, we have 6 bolts that hold the two pipes into the engine block, and every single one of our cars has at least one missing. So we have to tighten them up every morning now. In fact, sometimes twice a day, these roads are brutal.

As bumpy as the roads are, the scenery is unreal. Like I said, a dreamscape. The Argentine desert is extremely vast and we drive on it for hours and hours all day and only see a car or two every hour. If we are off the main road, we won't see any other vehicles. We are in the middle of nowhere and I adore it. The relaxation you feel when driving for hours on long roads through arid desert is like meditation. We were also drinking hierba de mate which is a plant grown in Chile and Argentina that is similar to caffeine, but doesn't have the side effects. In fact, it is one molecule away from caffeine. So drinking mate for hours on the road out of our mate drinking gourds is quite a delightful experience. You pour the tea directly into the gourd and add hot water, then stick a long metal straw-like device into the cup. At the tip of the straw is a small oval pod with tiny holes that act as a filter for the loose tea in the cup. Then you suck it up and enjoy the bitter taste that fills your mouth.

So after we tightened our bolts, we got on the road and picked up Nancy about 15 miles down the road. She left a while earlier to go biking until we caught up. We drove for hours and passed some beautiful turquoise rivers and lakes along the way. The sky was scattered with puffy white clouds, nestled against yellowish green meadows and rolling hills with dust being kicked up in the air from vehicles and harsh winds. The winds were blowing anywhere from 20-35 knots and it was a bit sketchy on the road at times. If we had sails on the roof, we would save a lot of gas money.

We were heading towards Torres del Paine, which is one of the, if not THE most famous national park in Chile. And yes, Chile, so we had to cross another border today, again, into Chile. So we left Chile a few days ago into Argentina and now we were headed towards Chile one more time. At least the border crossings here are a piece of cake.

We arrived at the border, which is another very unique small town, or building in the desert. We exited Argentina in a jiffy, and then drove to the entrance of Chile and filled out the paperwork, and we were done within an hour. These South American borders are so mellow compared to Central America, especially the Chile and Argentina borders within the Patagonia region.

While we were at the border, we stopped to get a bite to eat and we ran into another film crew for a local Chilean TV channel, and we told them about what we were doing, and it turns out, they knew a guy in town who was a sheep herder who has Parkinson's. So Todd and our Drive Around the World guest, Sebastian went off to interview him and learn more about Parkinson's in foreign countries. Todd will have to write about that experience for you on another log. He did say the guy was amazing though!

After that, we headed towards Torres del Paine. On the way, we had an array of wildlife show itself to us. We saw some nandus, guanacos and a condor. The guanacos are like a mixture of a deer and a vicuna, but much bigger. They are gorgeous and make a very squeaky cute sound. We ended up filming them for a while, and then at one point I went to chase them to make them run, and they did run a bit, but then they just stopped and let us get really close. It was awesome. They are really beautiful animals. Then there are the nandus, which are similar to ostriches and have a really goofy walk. And while we were putting some of our fuel from our reserve jerry cans into our vehicles, we saw a condor fly by. And yes, reserve fuel cans, we were running low and had to fill up with our reserves. In fact, we just arrived to our campsite outside of the park of Torres del Paine, alongside a lake with a view of the Torres del Paine mountains. The towering mountains and glaciers alongside this lake are phenomenal. They are so vertical and just shoot into the sky! Tomorrow, we are heading further into the park, and then back out of the park, so we are limited to how far in we can go due to our gasoline. We are in the boonies out here, and it is spectacular.

Right now, we just set up camp, made a fire and had dinner. We are listening to music as I write. I figured I might as well write my log right now while the day is fresh on my mind. The moon is getting smaller and the stars are unbelievable right now. Have you ever seen the Southern Cross? Phew, what a sight, especially tonight, in the middle of the desert without a light in view for many many miles. It is also really windy right now and our tents are taking a beating, but this is fantastic, to feel raging winds against your face, you feel alive!! What a day, and what a night. I am going to get back to the fire now and enjoy this beautiful place. The Patagonia is a must see for everyone, truly magical.

Ciao,

Neil
neil@drivearoundtheworld.com

Logbook for February 9th, Day 101
Start: Tres Lagos, Argentina
Time: 7:15 a.m.
S: 49*36.020
W: 71*28.226
Finish: Laguna Armaga, Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, Chile
Time: 9:30 p.m.
S: 50*58.377
W: 72*43.859
Mileage: 256
Notes: We woke up to a beautiful pink sunrise in the dry riverbed. I was up early to get an hour or so head start on my bike. The ride was incredible, bisecting giant wild fields full of guanaco. It was also quite hilly and gravelly, so after 2 hours, I was happy to see the convoy. It was a good 20 miles, not bad for a morning in Patagonia. We had an amazing drive to the outskirts of the famous Parque Nacional Torres del Pine. We made camp on the banks of Lago Almaden, just outside of the park, and we enjoyed dinner and beverages in the intense winds of the lake's shores. (N.O.)

Help support our cause: The LONGITUDE Expedition is the longest journey ever attempted with a focus on Parkinson's Disease. The Drive Around the World team aims to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research by driving four certified pre-owned Land Rover Discoverys around the globe following lines of longitude. Readers are encouraged to pledge small amounts of money per expedition-kilometer via a pledge form that can be found on our Parkinson’s page by clicking here. 100% of donations received go directly to Parkinson's research and all who donate $10 or more will be entered into a raffle to win an expedition-equipped Land Rover Discovery.