The beginning - Tierra del Fuego, more like Tierra del Fria

Something's different, and I can't quite put my finger on it. It takes another couple of kilometers before I realize that we're riding through a forest. It's been about 1000km since I saw anything that resembled a tree. We've just turned inland about 70km past Rio Grande. And then come the snow capped mountains, and lakes. It's so refreshing I almost feel like I've just eaten a Smint (Actually, I had just eaten a Smint but the scenery is still stunning).

'The wrong sign'

Eventually we reach Ushuaia. We stop to take some photographs at the ¡Bienvenido to Ushuaia! sign, despite the policemen at the control point looking on amuzed. We've made it to the beginning. Mike notices that the sign is a bit different to the one we've seen in everyone elses photographs and that it no longer says how many kilometres it is to Alaska but hey ho, here we are.
For once it's not too cold. That is until we wake up the next morning and it's snowing. Fun packing up a tent in the snow. We hear that it will be -3 degrees that night so we decide to make a run for it back to the warmer climate of Rio Grande. It was a short and sweet visit to Fin del Mundo.

'Let it snow, let it snow, let snow'

I was looking forward to the ride back across the mountain pass. Paseo Garibaldi. About 80kms of winding roads and no traffic. It was very enjoyable, if a bit cold, until I see the snow settling on the verges. I'm starting to think this may not be such a good idea, twisty roads in the snow. Hmmm.....
It turns out not to be such a good idea when we get to within about 3 km of the pass. It's first gear and both feet on the ground. Fortunately there is no traffic so we literally ride the bikes up at walking pace. We make it to the pass and Mike stops to take a picture. I think I'd mentioend that it would make a good photo opportunity when we had passed over the day before, when the sun was shining!
Photos taken, still no traffic, then over Mike slips - with the bike. All of a sudden there is a semi-trailer and two 4x4s behind us and another two cars coming from the other direction. I love the way they all turn up, just as one of us drops our bikes. I'm also thinking 'How the hell do we get down from here?'. It's fine going up hill but the bikes weigh a tonne and there is ice all over the road. I stand no chance of keeping the KLR in control. Maybe one of the 4x4s could put my bike on the tray back and take it down for me. No point in trying to be tough and independant at a time like this.
I just start to warm up the eyelashes for a bit of fluttering and appealing to the macho truck drivers, after I've helped Mike pick his bike up of course, before asking the guy approaching us in my 'un poco Castillano', 'For how much further is the road covered in snow?' I think he says 'not much' and with my eyelashes back to normal speed, I decide to be brave and independant and see if I can't ride the bike down myself.
Turns out I can understand a bit of Latin American Spanish after all as about 20 meters further on from where Mike dropped the BMW, the snow finishes. (Take a look on mIke's website for some more photos of the snow incident, I was too busy just trying to stay upright to take photos)

So we're toasty warm back in Rio Grande and camping in the grounds of Hotel Argentino, a very cool hostel. We meet some fellow Brits, slightly 'loco', who are cycling up to Colombia for charity. We get to comparing photographs on our digital cameras when Mike sees it. The sign that all Trans American travellers have their photos taken at. The sign that tells you how far it is to Alaska in kilometers.
Doh!