El Fin Del Mundo

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On Thursday I was lucky to catch my flight to Ushuaia, as my alarms didn´t go off. Hurried to the airport to learn that the flight was delayed an hour. Sometimes I forget that Argentina is still in South America. We arrived in Ushuaia to a 8C beautiful day, with great views of the mountains surrounding the city. Quite a relief after spending so long in a tropical climate. After finding my hostel I headed towards Glacier Martial. Despite a couple of detours (unintentional, but still with great views and beautiful nature) I found the glacier. Although it is described as almost inadequate in many guide books, it is actually quite beautiful. A 2 hour trek towards the top provided great views of the Beagle Channel and the city of Ushuaia. However, right before the summit the snow became powdery, and I exercized self control for one of the first times in my life and turned back. On the way back to town I found a trail that was a major improvement over the road leading to the glacier trailhead.

On Sat. I found some people to go to Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego with me. I really had no idea what to expect, except for cold weather. We took a moderate trail along the Beagle Channel, leading through forested areas and beaches which were quite amazing and unique. When they stopped for lunch I attempted to continue hiking, but the major trails were closed for weather. When we got back to Ushuaia I had a bitch of a time trying to figure out the current stance on the Chilean-US reciprocity fees; after paying over $150 in Visas I didn´t want to get charged $130 to spend a few days in Chile. I found out all was good and took the early bus on Sunday morning to Punta Arenas, a touristy town just north of Tierra del Fuego. I was going to visit the Reserva Forestral Magellanes or do a Penguin colony tour (the latter being much too expensive). Instead I decided to go directly to Puerto Natales to try to catch up with some people going to Torres del Paine. As a consolation, the trip to Puerto Natales did include a ferry across the Magellan Strait, where we had a school of Magellan Dolphins playfully following in our wake. Tomorrow I go to Torres del Paine for a 5-day trek of the famous/touristy "W" trail. I´m sure I´ll have a lot to write about it when I return.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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