My Passion and Love For Hitchhiking & Hitchiking in Patagonia

Hitchhiking and I started our relationship quite early. But since I am on world traveling I can not live without surfing and hitchhiking anymore.
So this time I decided to hitchhike in Patagonia.

My Partner in Crime & Hitchhiking Partner, Mauricio Valencia

Therefore, my plan to hitchhike through the rugged landscape of Patagonia was one of the priorities I had to do in South America.

Originally I was planning to do it alone from Bariloche to Ushuaia.

But then I met Mauricio in Hostel 41 Below, where I did volunteering work for 2 weeks and swiftly my plans changed from one day to the other day. That’s how a long-term friendship starts? You are bound your whole lives due to the adventures you have gone through together, in bad and good times.

Since then we are traveling, hitchhiking, sharing laughters, sorrows and stories together.

During my long world traveling I never had for a long lapse of time a travel partner. The last time, as far as I remember, in the Philippines for more than a week.

And sometimes you explore a city with other travelers. But that’s it.

But in total I never traveled with someone for more than a week and this is the first time I am traveling with a partner in crime for more than 2 weeks.

Solo Travels, Inspiration & Encouragement

Sharing & Daring

Bariloche until ?

First Ride

Second Ride

Third Ride

Fourth and Last Ride

Rodrigo Our Hero

Changing Plans

In the following they shared stories about life, politics, families and much much more.

And Chilean Spanish is really difficult to understand somehow. I can not claim that the Argentine Spanish is better. But most of the Spanish words I have learned are whether from Mauri or in Bariloche from some Argentines.

Our “Patagonia Angel”

The total distance: 1470 km / 919 miles.

We waited 20 minutes.

Rio Gallegos -El Calafate

Arriving in the afternoon in Rio Gallegos we didn’t have the energy for hitchhiking further. We went to a gas station. There we asked a man if he could bring us to the city center of Rio Gallegos. He was so friendly and took us to Hospedaje El Timon where we stayed one night and paid 200 Argentine Pesos (11$) per person. The lady from the hospedaje is so lovely and friendly.

To be honest, I can’t imagine a traveler would stop freely in Rio Gallegos except for a overnight to get to Ushuaia. Just a layover.

There is nothing to do in this city except watching some beautiful!! street dogs chasing each other around.

Therefore we used the time to relax and plan more our travels, since we changed obviously completely our itinerary.

The Ride Of The Day

The next day we woke up with the earliest bird song. And getting ready to go back to the roads. In reality there were no birds, if I would be a bird I would freeze like hell. And probably would have died on my first day in Rio Gallegos. But we started to hitchhike very early, because as every virtuous kiddies know: Only the early bird catches the worm, right?

El Calafate – El Chalten

I mean it is just around 230 km (144 miles) far away, right?

Think again, Mau and Hong! Think again, chicos! It’s frigging Patagonia and not Taiwan or Australia.

We started at 12 pm to walk out of town and tried to catch a ride back to Ruta 40. After waiting 10 minutes we realized, behind us was a couple trying to hitchhike to Ruta Cuarenta, too.

I mean no problem. Hitchhikers are friends. We are from the same community, right? But as soon as they saw us, they moved directly in front of us. And tried to catch the first car approaching our direction.

This is really not a nice move from them.

After waiting 1 more hour and neither them nor us could caught a ride.
Therefore we started to write on our cardboard “1 Kilometre would be fine!” or “Airport”.
We decided to walk further, so both of our groups could have higher chances to get a ride. If not, people might be afraid to take all four of us.

After walking down the road. Trying to stop some cars while walking a the same time, one car passed us by. And the couple sat inside and laughed at us. I still think it was with no ill intent, but at this point I was feeling so desperate about our situation and couldn’t be happy for them.

Small Ride

10 minutes more of walking and finally a car stopped for us, too.

Unfortunately not going to El Chalten. But they dropped us off at a junction to Rio Gallegos and El Chalten.

Getting out of the car we couldn’t believe what we got to see: The couple also waited at the same junction for the next ride.

It was clear we have to move to another place to increase our chances for both parties again. So we moved.

One Hour Waiting

One hour later in the coldness: Both parties with less hope and energy were still standing on the road.

On top of it, the couple started to dance and sing.
I guess they were bored, just like us.

We decided for the photography option. Therefore, we took out our cameras and phones in order to capture the lonely roads of Patagonia. Nothing within sights. Patagonia, that’s it.

Except for some animals on a hill looking like cousins from the alpaca family. Unfortunately, I can’t remember their name in Spanish anymore. It’s hard if you have a short-term memory for languages.

#Millennials

Yeah, so the photoshoot was great fun until we missed a ride.
Just because I wanted to take one more photo.

While we were taking photos, a car wanted to stop for us. But waited in front of the junction where the other party chilled. As the car waited for us, the couple ran for it. Meanwhile we tried to pack away our camera (other stuff, too) and also ran for the car. But the driver left before, probably he thought we won’t take the ride anymore.

Just because I wanted one more photo. #millennials

The couple was French and cursed at us and the situation. My French isn’t that miserable, so unfortunately I was able to understand what they shouted and cursed. Oops! I guess at this point we’ll never make it on their Facebook friend lists in our lifetimes anymore.

2 & 3 Hours Waiting

The next 2 hours was a pain in my legs and body. Getting hungry, no food, feeling grounded, nothing to read and just some bad singing from the French girl to entertain us in the coldness of rugged Patagonia.

Finally a car stopped after more than 3 hours of painful waiting.
You should have seen our faces while running towards the car.

But sometimes life doesn’t care if you have waited 3 hours in the coldness or not: Another guy got out of the car and declared he also wants to hitchhike to El Chalten.

Super great, 5 people on the road waiting for a ride…

When you start to think it can’t be worse, it always get worse.

5 people. All freezing, all of us are hungry and all of us waiting for a miracle.

After 5 hours I looked at Mauri and his own-built stonehedge on the ground of the pavement with the stones of the surroundings. I was weary of waiting in the fridge of Patagonia. Therefore I told him we should hitchhiked back to the town and taking a bus to El Chalten.

“So much later that the old narrator got tired of waiting and they had to hire a new one”

Finally, we waited 2 minutes and caught a ride back to the bus terminal of El Calafate. Actually, we could have stayed one more night in Calafate. And getting a ride with Toni’s sister, Lorena on the next morning to Chalten.

But they already did so many things for us and we didn’t want to be a burden for them.

600 Argentine Pesos (33$) for a 3 hours bus ride to El Chalten.
At the end the money doesn’t matter for us.

The issue is that, we were incredibly sad, that we couldn’t fulfill our mission to travel only by hitchhiking.

One hour on the bus and suddenly the bus stopped. Our 3 hitchhiking amigos boarded the bus half frozen.

2 days later I saw the couple on a hike in El Chalten again. I wouldn’t be surprise to see them somewhere in Patagonia again to be honest.

 

Long story, short meaning: Sometimes you just need to surrender and learn from it. Better things in life are just about to come. Even if we don’t realize it in the moments of our miseries.

Distance in total: 0 km *cries*

We waited 5 hours in the painful coldness of rugged Patagonia.

El Chalten – Puerto Natales, Torres del Paine

First Ride to El Calafate

After we said goodbye to Wilhelmina and Frida in El Chalten,
Wilhelmina almost didn’t believe we would get out of town.

But she was wrong, 30 minutes later we got our ride with Jorge.

This man is totally in love with traveling, especially to Uruguay.

Additionally, the ride with Jorge was the fastest one.

I mean 180 km in 1 hour and 15 minutes?
Come on, we could join Fast and Furious.
B movie in Patagonia. Why not?

His family passed us by and didn’t want to take us. Maybe we looked like gangsters on that day. We waited at the beginning quite long. But then I suggested to Mauri he should hide behind some bushed.
Sometimes (sadly) there are higher chances of a ride when a girl is putting up her thumb alone.

I did it the same in Serbia, when I was hitchhiking with Nono.
After a long time I told him the same I said to Mauri.

Life is unfair sometimes, but also life goes on.

I waited 2 minutes alone and Jorge stopped for me.
At least he was not surprised once Mauri jumped out of the bushes and ta-da! We are actually two. Oops!! Sorry.

Distance in total: 180 km/ 112 miles.

We waited 30 minutes.

Second Ride To Esperanza

One of the most silent rides so far. The old man’s name was Julio.
BUT, before I am narrating more, I have to insert a small narration in between. Sorry, guys.

So as soon as we got out of the car in El Calafate. The first car stopped for us. I couldn’t believe our luck!! And where did the couple wanted to go?
I’ll give you three guesses. Right! They wanted to go to El Chalten!
Unbelievable, right?! We have waited the other day 5 hours and nobody wanted to take us. And now we are standing frigging 1 minute on the road and the first car wanted to take us to El Chalten.
It gets better, so of course we had to say no to this lovely couple.
The next and second car also stopped for us.
And guess what? This guy also wanted to El Chalten!
Was life trying to make fun out of us? I guess somehow yes.
I didn’t think it was funny. Even though I couldn’t believe my ears.
Sometimes I feel like it must be “Candid Camera”.

Nevertheless, we waited under 10 minutes and Julio was our next driver.
He seems to be rich, at least he could afford it to buy all his children their own houses. But a humble, friendly man at heart.
Like I said we didn’t talk much. Silence is golden.

Distance in total: 180 km/ 112 miles.

We waited 7 minutes.

Third Ride To Rio Turbio

After meeting Rodrigo on our first day, we always hoped to find a Rodrigo 2.0 again. Somehow we found him in a truck driver with the name Alfredo.
He thought my idea going to Ushuaia is amazing.
Thank you, I think so too. At least it was my genius plan right?
Just kidding, he was so humble and shared with us lots of coffee.

We talked with him about everything and anything.
He totally supported me in my plans of world traveling and believes I can do everything I want to. You can not believe, how much it means to me.
Such a great person. And don’t ever judge a book by its cover!
We have better experiences with truck drivers who took us, rather than business people. I think they might be too afraid to take some tramps.
That’s it.

From Rio Turbio we walked to the border of Chile. Twenty minutes up and down with a backpack of 12 kg can feel like 1 hour. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the weather on this day incredibly.

Distance in total: 170 km/ 105 miles.
We waited 25 minutes.

Fourth & Last Ride To Puerto Natales

We walked to the the border and emigrated out of Argentina.
Right next to the offices, there are loads of cars waiting.
Therefore, we just asked a couple if they could take us to Puerto Natales.
Daniel and his girlfriend nodded without any hesitations.

Driving all together to the immigration of Chile and getting in 25 minutes to Puerto Natales, we were super exhausted.
It’s funny that both only came to Chile for shopping some groceries.
I guess this is the same for Swiss people who are crossing the border to Germany just for grocery shopping.

At this day we tried to save our energy for Torres del Paine.
Unfortunately, both of us didn’t sleep at the night for more than 4 hours.
And if you want, you can read in my post about Torres del Paine how our trip became a nightmare.
But it is definitely one of the most beautiful National Parks I have ever been to, I promise! And maybe the best one in Patagonia?

Distance in total: 30 km/ 19 miles.
We waited 0 minutes.

Puerto Natales – Rio Grande

Ride From Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas

After just waiting 20 minutes a guy with the name Patricio picked us up from the road. I was too tired from my experiences in Puerto Natales and fell asleep immediately. Unfortunately, I can’t tell much about this ride. But he talked most of the time on the phone with his business partners, I guess.

Distance in total: 250 km/ 155 miles.
We waited 20 minutes.

A Ride With A German Couple

After arriving in Punta Arenas and standing in the middle of the rugged landscape of Patagonia, I had doubts we would find a ride. And getting whipped by the wind and freezing in the middle of nowhere is not a nice experience. But the first car came within 10 minutes and I jumped for joy.

Right when the couple started to talk to us, I could recognize their German accent and replied back in German. Both of them totally surprised, we started a conversation in which directions we would go.

They arrived in Chile just one day before we met them and did some grocery shopping. Therefore the backbench was overloaded with food and camping gears. They were so kind and immediately put their stuff in the trunk.

Sitting in the car they shared with us their life stories and travel experiences. I am still impressed by all their travels to all continents.
Amazing couple with a huge career in world traveling. I hope to collect as many travel experiences as they did in the near future. But who knows?

They wanted to explore the remote areas of Patagonia with camping.
I really admire them for their way of traveling. And both of them are close to 50 years old.

Here I want to say a big thank you to Rainer and Connie who took us and shared great conversations with us.

They dropped us off at an intersection of Ruta 255 and Ruta 257. On Ruta 257 we stopped a truck driver named Jorge in less than a minute. Then he drove us to the port to catch a ferry from Faro Punta Delgada to Cruce Bahia Azul.
Rainer has his own blog about caves and beautiful pictures on this topic. Please have a look on it, I highly recommend it : http://rainerstraub.de/

Distance in total: 170 km/ 106 miles.
We waited 10 minutes for the first ride and 0 minutes for the second ride.

A Ride To ?

I don’t even know anymore how many drivers we have met with the name Jorge. So it wasn’t a big surprise, once our next driver told us his name is Jorge. In Jorge’s truck I looked outside and while dreaming about desserts and chocolate I fell asleep.

Jorge was so nice to take us to a remote tiny town in the middle of nowhere. The city’s infamous name is Cullen. I will never forget this place in my life. Nothing. Nada. Patagonia in its pure beauty. Just strong wind and there wasn’t a soul in sight.
Right out in the sticks of Patagonia we prayed for a miracle.
And when you lost all hope, there is still a ray of hope.

Distance in total: 111 km/ 68 miles.
We waited 0 minutes.

Miracle & Final Ride to Rio Grande

The miracle appeared after 25 minutes, which actually felt like 3 hours in the cold. And this miracle took the shape of two men: Pedro and Javier.

After waiting nearly half an hour in the cold, a car and truck passed us by. We lost completely our hope of getting a ride and out of Cullen.
But suddenly the car returned and stopped for us.
Two angels stepped outside and took us to Rio Grande. In the following we crossed the border between Chile and Argentina.
Both of them shared with us a great sunset, mate and food.
I will never forget them in my life – just like Cullen.
Cullen could be the surname of a guy called Edward, the vampire of Twilight, right?
Oh, it is even the surname of this weird sparkling vampire!
That’s why I disliked this mini town called Cullen.
Now everything makes sense!

Nevertheless, we arrived after 9 pm in Rio Grande and checked in at Viento del Sur. ( 22 Dollars for a private double room per night)
I highly recommend this hospedaje. The owners Jose and Viviana are taking great care of their guests and B&B.
Just be careful not to get lost in this interleave green house like I did.

Distance in total: 138 km/ 86 miles.
We waited 25 minutes.

Rio Grande – End Of The World !!!

Fernanda & Javier

Oh how much do I love this couple who took us until Tolhuin!
Both of them, especially Fernanda was so interested in our stories and lives. She is such an adorable person and without any hesitations they stopped for us. And Javier is such a humble and friendly guy from next door. Moreover, they invited us for a picnic with them at the lake in Tolhuin with delicious empanadas.

We shared an amazing, even though short time together.
So hopefully I will meet this beautiful spouse in the near future again.

Distance in total: 109 km/ 68 miles.
We waited 10 minutes.

Final Ride To Ushuaia

While Mauri took some pictures of me next to the sign to Ushuaia, a car stopped for us. To be more precise, the two sisters Mariana and Jessica were kind enough to give us a ride.

Again some mate and narrating dozens of times our adventures of the past 2 weeks, we couldn’t believe we were finally on our way to Ushuaia.
Fin del mundo, Ushuaia. I repeated it internally again and again.
Just to make sure I was not dreaming I pinched myself a hundred times.
When we passed the entrance gate of Ushuaia I was closed to weep for joy.

Distance in total: 102 km/ 63 miles.
We waited 0 minutes.

We finally made it! After 15 days of adventures, ups and downs, joy and sufferings we finally made it to Ushuaia!
At this moment I could have burst with joy!!
Tears of emotions. Smiles of accomplishment. Scents of freedom.

Thank You Very Much

Here I want to say a big thank you to all of our wonderful drivers we met in Patagonia.
A big thank you to my family and especially my friends, who always stand behind my back. My wonderful mother, who will never read this, but give me the freedom since I was young to chase all of my dreams.
The wonderful friends I have made in South America who stayed continuously in touch with me and motivated me once I was feeling down.
My friends all over the world who are supporting and pushing me to keep going. And all the great people we have met in between of our 15 days of hitchhiking through Patagonia. Also a big thank you to all the people who are an inspiration to me and always believed in me.

But most of all, I want to say a huge thank you to my partner in crime and nowadays friend – Mauricio. 
He was always there for me, we went through thick and thin in Patagonia.
He organized many things and shared with me laughter, sadness and the joy of life.

I can highly recommend everyone to hitchhike through Patagonia. But bring heaps of energy with you. If you have any questions you can always contact me. Or do you want to share your stories with me about hitchhiking?
Write me! Don’t worry, I won’t bite.
Good travels everyone and cheers!

PS: If I count it right, we hitchhiked in total 3350 kilometres.
2081 miles in 15 days.