Ushuaia and environs

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Hello everyone,

Ryan here. We´re still here in Ushuaia, Argentina. It´s a beautiful town on the Beagle Channel with large mountains rising steeply behind the it. We´ve been having a wonderful time. Friday, Ana and I went on to see Magellanic Penguins. There is a colony on an island in the channel where they congregate each summer to lay their eggs and molt. We signed up for a tour to the island with two other Americans, Mark and Troy, who we met at our hotel. We took a 1.5 hour minibus ride to the famous Estancia Harberton, where we had afternoon tea (Oh, South America is so ROUGH) as we waited for our boat ride. Most of the penguins had already left the island, (they stay at sea during the winter and migrate north), but there were still a few hundred left. The boat nosed itself onto the shore so we could take pictures and observe them, but we weren´t allowed to go on shore. Each adult pair lays two eggs in one nest. The survival rate for each nest is quite high (1.8 vs. 0.12 for other colonies). This colony has been on the island for about 40 years. We also saw about a half dozen Gentu or Papua penguins. There are about nine pairs of this penguin that have been visiting the island for about 10 years. It was very cool. We got to watch the penguins moving around on land and into and out of the water for about half an hour.

Yesterday, we decided to hike up to Glacier Martial which is the predominate glacier on the mountains behind Ushuaia. To get to the base, we took another minibus. There is no public transportation outside the city here. Everything is done by private companies. To do short trips out of town, you go to an area where the minibuses (aka large vans) are and ask around to see who is going where. The drivers try to get a group of people together so they can take them all at once and keep the prices lower than a taxi. It´s an interesting way of doing things and slightly confusing, but it works because you can almost always find somebody going in the direction you want to go.

We went to the base where there was a chairlift that took us halfway to the glacier. From there we had to hike about an hour and fifteen minutes to the edge of the glacier. It started off flatter and with firmer soil. The trail was very steep and rocky at the end, but we made it to the glacier and took our photos. We were quite tired, but both really enjoyed the hike and the views.

Last night we went out to dinner at the Ushuaia reasonable hour of 9:45pm. Ana and I are still trying to get used to the hours in which people eat here. The restaurants don´t open till 8:00 and have lines until about 10:30. But we ate at a tenedor libre (all-you-can-eat buffet) with a parilla (grill). It´s a popular buffet with appetizers, salad, sides, and lots and lots of meat. Ana claims the lamb last night was the best she has ever had (very mild). Not bad for a meal that cost $18 USD, including wine and dessert.

Today has been a lazy day for us. It´s also Sunday and most stores are shut down. We went to a museum, walked around town and did laundry and that sort of stuff. It´s raining right now, but for the most part we have had wonderful weather. Mostly partly cloudy with an occasional sprinkle. Tomorrow, we move on to Rio Gallegos, Argentina. It´s a 12 hour bus ride at 5:30 am that will take us off across the Strait of Magellan and off of Tierra del Fuego.

Well, thanks for reading. I´m not quite sure how these emails are going to go. This is my journal of sorts because I´m not keeping another one, though Ana is. So it may get a little lengthy, detailed and tedious because I´m writing this as much for myself as all of you. But my plan is to keep writing as often as I can, until no one wants to hear another word about my trip. So you have been warned.

Take care,
Ryan & Ana

(This message has been inspected and approved by Ana.)

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Photos

Beagle Channel
Taken on the way to see the penguins.

Pinguinera
By the time we got here there were just a few hundred penguins left. Earlier in the season, our guide says there are up to 15,000. That would be one crowded beach.

Prison Museum
This cutout was at the Museo Maritimo de Ushuaia. The museum is inside a former prison.

Chairlift to Glaciar Martial
We opted to use the chairlift so we didn´t have to hike so long.

Ana at Glaciar Martial
This picture was taken shortly before we got to the glaciar. It´s overlooking Ushuaia.

Ryan at Glaciar Martial
This glaciar is quite small compared with the ones we will see later.

Ushuaia
This picture was taken across the street from our hotel.