The Blaus - South America and Europe

Enero 30th - Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego

So, we arrived in Ushuaia, which is the southern most city in the world (or at least the Americas, we are not sure which, but have heard both). It is in the province of Tierra del Fuego, which means land of fire, and it is generally called el fin de mundo (the end of the world). It is a spectacular place located on the Beagle Channel (named after Darwin`s ship when he visited here), completely surrounded by jagged, snow capped mountains. The town itself feels a bit like a ski resort in the Alps, with a lot ouf tourist shops and resturaunts, but the surroundings are amazing.

Our first day here it was sunny and warm, and we decided to go out on a the channel in a sailboat. Everyone was telling us how unpredictable the weather is here, so with nice weather in the morning we decided to go out on the boat while we could. Our itenerary was to sail out to three different islands to see sea lions and cormorants, and then to stop on an island to get off for a quick walk and learn about the indigenous people that lived there, and finally head back to the port. The sail out to the islands was great, we were soaking up the sun in t-shirts and taking in the amazing views of all the surrounding mountains. Once we got to the islands, the clouds rolled in and it got quite chilly and windy. We were able to see thousands of cormorants (birds that look like penguins, but can fly), and many sea lions. As we started heading towards the final island, the winds picked up even more, and the waves started breaking over the bow of the boat (it was a 35 foot sailboat). At that point everyone besides Jen and myself and the skipper decided to go into the cabin. We reduced the sail to about a quarter of its full size, and the waves kept getting bigger. They were crashing over the bow and the water was flowing over onto us. The wind was howling and the boat was crashing up and down over each wave like a roller coaster. We put on our many layers of clothes (fleeces, wind and waterproof jackets), hung on tight and watched the skipper battle the waves over to the next island where we were protected from the wind. We were both thrilled to be having an experience like that, at the end of the world sailing where the great explorers once ventured in the same conditions. It was really exciting. After we got through the rough weather and the clouds began to lift, just as we were nearing the shore again, the biggest and most amazing rainbow we have ever seen stretched from one side of the channel to the other. It was a complete half circle with brilliant colors. It was a perfect ending to a trying, but very exciting day. We got off the boat wind burnt, wet and cold, but it was well worth it. On the boat we met a guy from Minneapolis who had just arrived in Usuhaia that morning from a motorcycle journey that began in Minnesota. It took him four months, and one crash, but he made it. Luckily he had the same camera we do, so when our battery ran out just as the rainbow appeared, he gave us his battery so we could capture it.

The next day we hiked out of town and up the mountain directly behind the city to a chairlift, that took us to a glacier up at the top of the mountain. It is a 7K hike up to the chairlift on a road, and another 2K after the lift to the glacier. The walk up the mountain was nice, we set out in a light rain, which turned into light hail, and by the time we we reached the top it was a blizzard. We were about half way from the lift to the tip of the glacier (which is on the side of the mountain near the peak), when the blizzard came through the pass. Luckily we had all our warm clothes, and it only lasted about 30 minutes, but it was fun to have the snow coming down on us, and made for some great pictures of the moutain tops after they were dusted with snow. We eventually made it to the glacier, which was nothing spectacular (it actually made us wonder what the definition of a glacier is, is it just snow that never melts?), but the hike itself was spectacular. From the top we had an amazing view of the city below and the channel and surrounding mountains. We had four Israeli girls trailing us, and we asked them to take some pictures of both of us with the channel behind us. Then once we returned to the chair lift we had a glass of hot spiced red wine and went back to our guesthouse.

Today we went to Tierra del Fuego National Park, and did a hike along the coast for 7K to a beautiful lake (Lago Roca). It was a beautiful hike along the coast through stunning, windswept beechwood trees. The trees would creak as the wind blew, like an old rocking chair, and they sounded a bit spooky. There were more great views all along the way, and we saw many streams, inlets and birds. Another great day.

This evening we are having dinner with a Norwegian girl we met on the boat named Gro. She has been living in South America for 3 years, and in Argentina running tours for 2 years. She is going to give us tips about where to go and what to see on our way, and has been a great source of knowledge so far, as well as very nice and interesting. We want to get king crab before we leave Ushuaia, but are waiting for the right time. In two days we get back on the bus and head to Puerto Natales, Chile where we are going to hike in the Torres del Paine National Park for 5 days. We will be out of touch until we return to civilization again, so we will report on our trekking experience in Torres in a week or so.

posted by The Blaus @ 4:23 PM