TIERRA DEL FUEGO!

The Straits of Magellan

Getting on the ferry!

When we first arrived in Buenos Aires to begin our mission, we took out our South American map and began to plan our travels to the different assistant auditors.  The South America South Area is divided by Missions or also called Coordinating Councils.  Each assistant auditor has one council or mission which is the designation of the stakes and districts that he will cover.  When we met Hermano Tossen last year at our conference,  he expressed to us that we should come and see him in Ushuaia and attend some trainings with him.  Trying to find the right period of time to go is a little tricky as in the winter, June, July, August, and part of September, the roads are bad and there is a lot of snow and ice in the southern part of Patagonia.   During this past winter after we completed our task as executive secretaries,  we told Hermano Tossen that we would like to come and see him in November, (end of spring and just the beginning of summer).  He was very welcoming to the idea and planned this amazing journey which the three of us took together!

We had always wanted to drive to Ushuaia as a challenge, but Elder Zeballos told  us that it would be too difficult to get a church car across the border into Chile, as one has to pass through a portion of Chile to get to Ushuaia.  So when Hermano Tossen told us of his plan for the three of us to drive from Rio Gallegos to Ushauia together we were thrilled and looked forward to this adventure with great anticipation!  Hermano Tossen is an amazing person!  He is the director of a very large school in Ushuaia, but also is very involved in the church in the Comodoro Rivadavia Mission.  He is a counselor in the mission presidency, a Public Affairs Director for the area, and an assistant auditor.  He is a very busy guy!  Yet he planned this "training journey" for the three of us and it was truly a great experience.  We discussed many things on the road: the church, family, audit work…. and he shared some of his hopes and dreams …..

We left Rio Grande around 6:00 on Saturday evening. We headed south towards Chile (if you look at a map of Southern Patagonia, you will see that the country of Chile comes quite far east and takes a chunk of Patagonia for the Chileans…… If an Argentine is traveling to Ushuaia by car he must past through this section of Chile.)  A couple of hours down the road we hit the entrance to Chile.  This was the infamous border crossing we had heard about.  There were a lot of parked cars!!!  We had to park our car as well and get out and stand in line with our documents to enter Chile!  The wait was 1 1/2 hours ….. partly in the cold, partly in the building.  I can't begin to explain the entire process but it was long and not simple!  I have to say however, that most people were quite cheerful during the wait!  After that task was completed, we continued south.  (during the day we would have to pass through, and yes, get out of our car , two more immigration points.)

The next step of our journey involved getting on a Chilean ferry and crossing the Straits of Magellan and onto the island of Tierra del Fuego, the southern most province of Argentina.

This is the Chilean ferry….

After about a half hour ride on the ferry, we continued south on the Chilean gravel road  which went for miles and miles.  On this road we saw some great old farmhouses, Patagonian Sheep and beautiful Guanacos, and a flock of pink Flamingos!

 

Patagonian sheep.  The wool used from these sheep is called "Fuegan Wool", as the sheep are from the province of Tierra del Fuego.

Guanacos!

At dusk we began to enter the outskirts of Ushuaia….. It was very beautiful!!

It was an amazing journey with Hermano Tossen and one we will never forget….. He was so very gracious and kind and made sure we saw anything on the way that was unique or special…… We were yet to experience wonderful visits with members in Ushauaia….. and we were looking forward to meeting Hermano Tossens' family….