At the other side of the strait we continued via the Ruta 3 towards Ushuaia. The wind realized our intentions and started to blow very strong on the side of our car. It seemed like it was asking us to stop and desist from our madness. For me this was a sign that we were getting close.

By night we crossed the southernmost mountain pass of the Andes, and we let the rain accompany us as we entered Ushuaia. Destiny wanted that the very first person we met there was called Doctor Sombra, or “Doctor Shadow” as we liked to call him afterwards. “Another sign” I thought as I was shaking hands with him. His eyes hinted that he knew what we were doing down there, his grim, left no doubts about it. Rain kept falling over Ushuaia. Without much talking, we went to bed. We knew we had to be well rested for our next day, to be ready to get to The End of the World.

By morning we got into the car and started to undo our way, going towards the Andes. Many tourists make the mistake of following Ruta 3 till the very end, until Bahía Lapataia, but they are wrong. There you can only find a national park, and a small train, but not The End of the World. If we go back via Ruta 3 down to the very start of the Andes, we can find a small road identified with the letter J. It’s a gravel road without much fuss or pride. It passes by Lake Harberton and posses a simple yet effective trap. If you are not focused you will be lured at stopping by the Estancia that sits next to the lake. We knew we had to go past that, way beyond the lake.

A few miles forward we had to cross a hill topped by a lone tree which we decided to visit. The wind gusts were very strong, but the tree was holding up without complaining. It knew where we were heading to, but it decided to keep it as a secret. A nice touch from that tree towards us, some unknown foreigners visiting his land. The road ahead took us through a small forest where some dogs cut our way and barked to us. Our little Don Quixote Odyssey was nearing its end.