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)…

Disembarking from the port at 9:30 AM, our small (40 ft) boat set out across the Beagle Channel (named after the HMS Beagle that first navigated the waterway in the early 1800′s).  Amidst sea spray and snowflakes, we pulled out to the lighthouse, then alongside a few islands to view Sea Lions and lots of waterfowl.  It was actually nice being in a “small” boat since we could pull right up to the shore, where the larger boats need to stay about 10 meters back.

It was really nice when we came back into the cabin and they had hot coffee and tea waiting.  Today is probably the first time I’ve been colder than anyone back home in 3 months..

We also stopped on one of the larger islands to see the foliage and hiked to one of the highest points in the channel.

Now I’m going to try to find a “cheap” boat to Antarctica ($2500-ish).

I made it to Ushuia last night.  If you look on a map of South America, go all the way to the bottom – it’s the last real city on the Beagle channel before Antarctica.

Two buses for a total of 36 glorious hours as a passenger.  I booked a bus from Puerto Madryn to Rio Gallegos (about 1/2 way), but could not get a ticket all the way to Ushuia.  The bus from Puerto Madryn was comfy, but someone kept using some nasty hairspray that just hung around and gave me a headache. The bus provided blankets – which I used to filter the air.  When we stopped at Comodoro Rivadavia, I was lucky enough to find one ticket agent with one ticket left from Rio Gallegos to Ushuia.  Whew!  Because they say getting tickets in and out of Ushuia can be difficult, and the only thing to do in Rio Gallegos is to sit and watch the fishing boats unload their catch.

Taking pictures out bus windows produces some really bad images, but I did manage to catch a great picture of the sunrise the other day…

In Rio Gallegos I boarded a different bus and met a few German friends who had stayed in the same hostel in Puerto Madryn.  Down here, you cross paths with a lot of other travellers.  We crossed into Chile with the usual delays at the border, the bus took a ferry across the Straits of Magellan, then we crossed back into Argentina.  A quick stop in Rio Grande, then on to Ushuia.

For anyone thinking about Ushuia, you should try to fly to Rio Grande and take the bus to Ushuia – the scenery is stunning, and would be lost if you fly the whole way.