Ushuaia

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We flew from Buenos Aires where the weather was a lovely 20+ south to the province of Tierra del Fuego and the town of Ushuaia. The Argentineans refer to Ushuaia as '' a fin du mundo'' or the end of the world. Claimed by Argentina as the southern most city in the world (don't mention to them about Chile's Port Williams town around their Naval base across the water) this tiny fishing port sits on the banks of the Beagle Canal at Lat. 54.8° S. The weather here rarely cracks 10°C in the summer when the strong winds are at their worst. The popularity of the city is based on the fact that this is the jumping off point for trips to Antarctic tours. Several guidebooks suggest that last minute tickets for ten day tours to Antarctica could be purchased for around two thousand dollars each. We could purchase ticket prior to arriving in Ushuaia for $4500-5000 each but decided that we wanted to see the town and Tierra del Fuego and would try to purchase last minute. The boom in tourism came thanks to the collapse of the Russian economy when researchers took tourist onboard to help supplement their funding. We found a hostel for the night and in the next morning went in search of the 'mystical' last minute deal. Unfortunately we are here during the high season and every request for cabins came back full. We could book rooms on a ship leaving in over a week for $3660 each, pay $4600 each for a cabin on a cruise leaving in a week or get on a waiting list for a chance at one or two of the possibly available cabins that might appear in two week for only $3000 each. These prices are unfortunately out of our budget. We agreed that the trip would be a dream come true but these prices equate to a month or more of traveling. We set a cap of $6000 total if it could fit into our plans. After trying several different tour agents we went in search of dinner. Ushuaia is also known for King Crab. Loving Alaskan king crab we were eager to try its southern brother. We found a crab house and after taking pictures of dinner in the tank ordered their main dish. The king crab here are spinier bigger, but unfortunately tougher and with less flavor. The next morning we again tried to find a last minute deal, take some pictures and determine our course of action. After not finding a deal we headed for the airport and caught a flight to El Calafate.

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Photos

Southern King Crab - lunch
Tougher and not as tasty as Alaska King Crab. It also has many more spikes.