We left Puerto Natales well rested and fully stocked. There are few grocery stores in the hinterland of South America and we bought plenty of dried soups and pasta to keep us fueled.

Our big concern was water as the streams along the way seemed quite cloudy and we were unsure if they were safe. We do have a filter and is it an emergency we could boil and filter.

Cerra Castillo

The border town, Chile/Argentina is cerra Castillo. In this place they celebrate the horse and its importance to their culture and their livelihood.

We glided down into the down town bus station where there was free wifi!

They have a "taming of the horse" celebration in February. It looks kinda rough and tumble but interestingly the posters they had for it we in English!

The border was no problem but after there was a major incline that seemed for kilometers.

When crossing the border you check out of Chile then 5 km or more later you check into Argentina. The is this no Man's Land where you are neither in Argentina or Chile.

Which for us, in this case, was a steady incline.

When people think Patagonia they think wonderful Vista, snow capped mountains, and villages. What they don't tell you is there are miles of tundra and sage and Pampas. The tundra is dry and flat in between plateaus with guanaco, Rhea and foxes.

The abandoned hotel

we use an app called iOverlander that shows the free/wild camping spots. Along this route the is an abandoned hotel and we decided to check it out.

It must have been a lovely hotel at one time but now sits in a field of sheep!

Inside the were hard wood floors and a few rooms that were useable. The wind had blown a lot of leaves and debris in but we made a comfortable night out of the frost.