Fin del Mundo - Ushuaia

Ushuaia is the most southern city in the world…but this does not take into account the settlements on Antarctica :) So they say that Ushuaia is at the end of the world (“Fin del Mundo”).

As with Punta Arenas I wasn’t sure I wanted to go there when I left S.A, but while “in the area” how can I skip it? Its quite easy to get to from Punta Arenas. Just a 12 hour bus ride across a border, a ferry and some of the worst gravel roads I’ve seen in South America.

 
The Ferry across the straight of Magellan

 

Me in short in the cold (compare with the ferry worker in thick cold weather gear)

BMW F800 at the border, just to make me jealous :|

 

 

I seem to like resting when I get to a place. Not sure if this is because the bus rides are so long, or whether its because I don’t sleep the night before departure :) Anyway, my first day in Ushuaia was a “me-day”. It was great. Sleep late. Catch up on happings back home. Read. Find out what there is to do in Ushuaia. Only once I walked outside the afternoon did I notice the snow on the mountains. I felt like I was in Switzerland.
For the first time since starting my solo trip, I had the urge to cook. Probably influenced by the incredibly high prices at the end of the world. Even the hostel was more expensive than in Buenos Aires. I would say that the people at the hostel were VERY helpful & friendly. Basically gave me the low-down on what to do & see in Ushuaia in about 30min. And even free stuff!
While cooking that night, two English girls rocked up (Laura & Anna). They had just come off a plane and had no food. So I shared what I had. Company would be nice. We got along quite well so joined forces for our time in Ushuaia.

 

The following day started out with the best weather Ushuaia has seen for a while. No wind, a couple of clouds dotted along the sky and a comfortable cold temperature. So the plan was to hike to one of the glaciers (the other one is closed) in the morning and then do a tour of the Beagle channel (the body of water in front of Ushuaia is the Beagle channel). The only snag with the hike was that I had snowed the previous day & night. Ag well, off we went.
The ground had frozen at a couple of places, so the hike was tricky. I had resoled my shoes (tekkies, trainers, sneakers depending on your nationality) and the soles had no tread. So the ice & snow was tricky.
On the way up we asked for directions, but still took the wrong path. The one pointed out was covered in snow and looked like a pregnant avalanche…ready to pop at any time. Time eventually caught up with us as we wanted to do the channel tour in the afternoon, so we headed back without actually reaching the glacier or summit. Eish. At least the hike was nice…and the contrast in colours were amazing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We opted to go on smaller boats for the channel tour. Partly because it was suggested by the hostel staff. Small = intimate & cool. I like!
The tour took us to a sea lion- and cormorant colony, the lighthouse and ended with us being able to walk on Bridges island. There we had a look at how the locals had lived in years gone by. No tacky show with people pretending to do something, rather a site where the people actually lived and a small excavation. More of a static display.
What was very noticeable was the clarity of the water. This would be a diver’s paradise, except for the cold :)  
Our little group (me, Anna, Laura) – A yacht passing by – Kelp (shows you the visibility)

Sea lions (we got really close) – Lighthouse - Cormorants

View of the mountains surrounding Ushuaia to the north – Random yacht – Drinking & driving (the only time I wouldn’t get locked up)

 

One of the free hikes to do was a hike to Laguna Esmeralda. A lake in between mountains. Honestly I think we hit the best weather. We took a taxi to the start and would then have to hitchhike back. I was quite excited about this as it has been 10 years since I last hitchhiked. As we left town it started sleeting (snow & rain). When stopping I was thinking we were mad to do this, taking into account that Martin (a guy I’d met on the bus from Punta Arenas) didn’t have proper cold weather clothing. So I swapped my jacket for his fleece. Turned out fine.

 

You start the trail at a sled dog training ground. I’ve never seen such dogs before. Most were sleeping at the time, but still cool.
The trail went through two marshes, a forest and up a hill to get to the lagoon. Everyone except for Anna was worried as she was the only one with waterproof hiking boots. I’d heard about the “plastic bag” trick in B.A. (foot, sock, plastic bag, sock, shoe). This helped keep the water out and the heat in. Martin had a goal: Finish his 7 month travel with the same pair of shoes. By now they had a gaping hole on the inside of his foot.

The first section of the hike was low enough as not to have collected much snow, making the contrast of colour truly impressive. Red & yellow autumn leaves with some green against a backdrop of snow capped mountains. As the weather would have it, it started to snow during the hike. I’ve never before hiked while it was snowing. So much fun! I was like a little child :)
The lagoon was beautiful. What made it even better…there was a spot to make a fire next to it. The bushman in me came out and promptly started lighting the fire, aided by used tissues. So we dubbed ourselves “Burning Snot” :)
The hike was supposed to take 3hours, both ways. But we strayed off the path a bit, took many photos and of course the fire. So we took a bit longer. By the time we got to the sled dog station, it was supper time. All the dogs were out and drooling. I’m sure if I got too close, a piece of me would become supper.

Laguna Esmeralda – The team of “Burning Snot” – Laura & Anna with our impromptu snowman :)

At the mouth of Laguna Esmeralda

 

Amazing colours and contrast

 

 

 

The dogs getting ready to feed

 

Distances to well known cities

 

 

 

This is the story behind Mate. Its a drink that is drunk throughout South America by almost everyone. This was very interesting.

 
We didn’t sleep before getting the bus. Just one big party!