Subtitled “A Journey into the South Atlantic”, Tierra de Patagones is another feature-length Gauchos del Mar adventure film. This time, the surfing brothers are making their way across southern Patagonia, then sailing into the South Atlantic to explore an uninhabited island.
After years of exploring and surfing the Americas, the brothers Joaquin and Julian Azulay realized that the only region they’d neglected was their own country. In fact, they lacked much experience with the southern tip of the continent. They set off from Buenos Aires with the ultimate goal of reaching the uninhabited Isla de los Estados and becoming the first people to surf its coastal waters.
Surfing on the coast of Patagonia. Photo: Screenshot
To the isolated isle
The brothers plan to sail out of the world’s southernmost city, Ushuaia. It’s a long road trip just to reach it, and along the way, they meet some of the people who call this isolated region home. We’re also treated to a wildlife montage, my favorite part of any travel documentary.
Their captain, Mono, who very much looks the part of a grizzled sailor, has agreed to take the brothers on his small sailboat, the Mago del Sur. But mariners haven’t dubbed these latitudes the Furious Fifties for nothing, and bad weather keeps them in the harbor. They make themselves useful on a nearby farm, harvesting potatoes.
While they wait to enter the Beagle Channel, a local takes them out to a small, penguin-filled island. Photo: Screenshot
Captain Mono finally gives the go-ahead, and they proceed out of the Beagle Channel and into the open sea. Halfway to the island, they are forced to shelter in Bahía Aguirre, a small bay. Once populated, it now has only a small shelter kept stocked for passing travelers. While the ship lies at anchor, they explore the surrounding region, meeting several real gauchos, who work the isolated ranches at the southernmost tip of the continent.
Isla de los Estados
Eventually, the weather shifts, and they’re able to approach the island by sailboat. The treacherous, rocky coast is too dangerous to land on, the engine of their motorboat fails, and they have to swim out on their boards to fix it.
Isla de los Estados. Photo: Screenshot
But finally, after half a year of travel, they’ve reached the island. But though the landscape is striking, the waves are nowhere to be seen. Undaunted, they break trails into the mountains and visit an old lighthouse, an abandoned 19th-century prison, and a crumbling cemetery.
On the final day, they give surfing one final try, and the island grants them waves. Not terribly impressive waves, but still, as the film ends and they prepare to sail back to Ushuaia, the Gauchos del Mar brothers feel they have achieved their goal.
