3005 Moto Cafe

In October 2023, my friend Joan and I decided to plan a trip to the southernmost (habitable) area of Argentina. We would go for seven days and tour various places, one of which was the 3005 Moto Cafe. It was a spur-of-the-moment type of trip that we organized three weeks before leaving. One of the great things about flying within Argentina is that airfare is ridiculously affordable, being a little more than $50 US dollars, including return.

Shortly after our Aerolíneas flight took off, Joan asked me if I was previously familiar with the city we would arrive in called Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego. I was happy with this question, as I knew about this city. I excitedly responded that the reason I knew of Ushuaia was because of my dream motorcycle journey of going from Alaska to Argentina (or in reverse, perhaps?). It wasn’t until this trip that I learned how the name was pronounced. I also learned Tierra del Fuego is the province, and Ushuaia is the city.

One day, we headed out for a specific destination, of which I can’t remember. After driving on the highway for some time, we were forced to turn around because of icy weather conditions on the highway through the mountains. We were hungry, so we started scouting for food. During one visit to a restaurant, we found ourselves next to an interesting place called 3005 Moto Cafe.

These are the photos from that cafe. Here, you can get your Alaska to Argentina journey passport stamped by an old man with a grey beard called Alfredo. We’re confident he doesn’t speak any English. That being said, at some point in his life, he completed this motorcycle trip. This passport stamp is only half, however. The other half is located in Alaska to help prove your journey and (mostly) just for the memory. This cafe is not the final or starting destination of this wonderful and grueling voyage. For that, you must begin or end in the province’s national park called “Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego.” And be sure to get your picture taken with the sign located there.

One of my life goals is to complete this nearly 50,000 kilometer adventure and return to this cafe, but next time on a motorcycle. Today, we have so many luxuries with cars, planes and trains. Motorcycles leave you exposed to the harsh elements, much like riding a horse in this context. I could go on and write about how much a unique adventure like this does for a person, but I’ll reserve that until it’s something realized.