Two Beers and a Pretzel

Today I took a bus to Tierra Del Fuego National Park and hiked along the shore for about 4 hours.  My pictures cannot do justice to the scenery…

The hike started as a relatively easy trail.

After passing a group of older tourists who obviously came from a cruise ship, the trail narrowed quite a bit and climbed up rocks and tree roots.  Then it opened up into a very stunning view of the mountains across the Channel.

The trail evened out in a few places, but mostly remained narrow and rocky – which was fine with me.  I only saw a few more people the rest of the day.

It’s kind of hard to make out, bet there’s a massive mountain on the right side of the next image.

I don’t know why, but when I take Pano pics on the G9, they’re coming out darker than they should.

I could not find a fare to Antarctica for less than $4500, and that’s nearly 2 months budget, so I decided to pass.  You can still find deals that are 1/2 off regular fares, but Lonely Planet guidebooks and some websites mentioned last minute fares around $2500.  All 5 of the the travel agencies I visited said that those last minute fares were available 2 years ago, but the cruise companies caught on to the demand and almost always charge more these days.

My only real regret here is not seeing Cape Horn, But cruises out of Ushuia are not allowed in Chilean waters, so it takes 4 days instead of 1, and it costs around $500.  Still, my dad will be happy to know that his version of Gordon Lightfoot’s “Ghosts of Cape Horn” is a huge hit here in the hostel.

So now I’m pretty much done with Ushuia.  I could have seen the glacier or gone fly fishing, but both are better at my next stop – El Calafate.  About 1/3 of the way back up Argentina – on the border with Chile.  I did finally fine a spare battery for my Canon G9 camera (oddly, here at the End of the Earth – but I could not find it in Rio, Puerto Alegre, or Buenos Aires).

Tomorrow morning I’m catching a 5 AM bus back to Rio Gallegos, and then a connection to El Calafate – arriving at 1 am on the 16th..

Also, as proof that civilization really exists here, I present you the Southernmost Irish Pub in the world:

And finally, in a country obsessed with Che Guevara, I found a t-shirt that tops the Chuck Norris one from BA (although no one tried to mug me this time)…