It’s hard for many people from the “Old World” to envision the vast people-less places of the Americas, especially the closer one travels to the poles. It’s equally empty in northern North America (Alaska, the Yukon and Northwest Territories) as it is in southern South America (Patagonia).
There are stretches of road in these remote areas regions where you might not encounter a petro station for hundreds of kilometers (don’t worry, signs will warn you in advance so you’d need to be a fool to run out of gas). No towns, often not even a rancher, to be found as far as the eye can see.
When visiting Patagonia, we made a rather long drive from Argentinian Patagonia to Chilean Patagonia. A trip of about 500 kms in a region that stretches thousands of kilometers. It was one of the most remote places I’ve ever traveled. Besides the paved roads (most of surprisingly good quality), a few fuel stations and a border crossing (Argentina to Chile — lots of paperwork!), we encountered only 2 small towns along the entire journey. Mostly our companion was the empty steppe. And the wind — it was darned windy. Oh, and a few guanacos and rheas.
Here are some of the sights from that drive, which I hope you enjoy!
Leaving El Chalten in the rear view mirror…..
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