Much mention is made of the wind in these parts.  We are told that we are lucky (well-judged, we thought) to be heading mostly south and more east than west at this time of year.  Cyclists heading the other way and those who have recorded their journeys for us talk of impossible, route-changing head-winds.

While we’re in El Calafate we try to hatch a masterplan – and fail.  We feel a bit better for trying, but will have to leave hints for others to succeed.  El Calafate is only a little bit north of another destination – the Torres del Paine national park.  There are some tracks that head straight through between the two.  Obvious?  Yes, but unfortunately there’s an international border in between with no official crossing points…  Others have speculated and mostly succeeded by doing the crossing illegally.  Thomas, Marta, Sarah and I decided to take the legal approach and visited Gendarmeria in El Calafate.  The answer – possible.  But only if you jump through lots of hoops and give dates – the whole process taking a quite a while.  So there’s hope if you’re stunningly well planned or if you catch the right people at the right time…

We sigh, and set out to cycle to much longer way round to the Cerro Castillo border crossing and Torres del Paine – our final destination before heading for Punta Arenas and a flight back to Australia.