Blogs from Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, South America

We arrived in Ushuaia on 8th April 2013 after 3 flights. Puerto Madryn to El Calafate, El Calafate to Rio Gallegos, Rio Gallegos to Ushuaia. When we decided to come to Argentina I always thought that Ushuaia would be a highlight of the journey and it hasn´t disapointed. Sitting on The Beagle Channel and surrounded by mountains you just have to step outside to see some of the most amazing scenery. This is where the Andes meet the sea, the most southerly town in the world, many expeditions to antartica leave from here. Charles Darwin came here aboard The Beagle on his famous journey around the world making his study of the natural world, back then it would have been only inhabited by the native Yamana (almost wiped out by British missionaries shortly after). The Beagle ... read more

We are ready! This morning went for an hour jog alongside the lake, few days without much activity was driving me nuts - needed some exercice. We have got all of our stuff ready today though, food and all the equipment required for the W trek. Lunch was great, we had Chorizo sandwiches outside our hostel and tonight after dinner Willy the owner sang us a few songs. Anyway, we are ready to go, weather forecast does not seem bad (a little rain forecasted), bus will be picking us up early tomorrow. Speak to you in a few days x... read more

Road miles to date: 28,504 The militant border crossing obviously wasn't deemed sufficient as the police had also set up a checkpoint about ten miles down the road. Although we weren't carrying any contraband, we had just left Bolivia where the police saw dinero signs at the sight of a gringo and we weren't yet sure that the Argentines were any different, added to the fact that we had three big Union Jack stickers proudly displayed on our bike as we entered a country that had recently raised the age old Falklands quarrel. Lorries and buses lined up along the side of the road as police officers searched them with sniffer dogs and we nervously rolled up to an officer who had flagged us down. He smiled, asked us to turn on the bike headlights which ... read more

After soaking in the sun up North in Iguazu, we headed down to what was once known as the "end of the world", the city of Ushuaia. Ushuaia is located in Tierra del Fuego, the most southern inhabitable island in the world. Upon landing in Ushuaia we busted out our jackets as the temp was ~40-50 degrees F. Ushuaia is typically used as a launching pad for Antartic cruises so the city itself felt like a nice small ski town with the main focus on tourism. Right outside the city is the Tierra del Fuego national park which stretches along the length of the island. We spent the first full day here hiking around the park (including taking a relaxing rafting trip around the bay) and the second full day taking a cruise around the Beagle ... read more

A une dizaine de kilomètres de Ushuaia commence le parc national de la Terre de Feu, qui se partage entre l’Argentine et le Chili, la partie Argentine étant beaucoup plus petite que la partie chilienne. Un temps incertain en début de journée, mais il ne faut pas s’arrêter à ça quand on est à Ushuaia, sinon on ne fait rien. Nous nous faisons déposer côté ouest du parc pour commencer par les barrages de castors qui sont très mal vus ici, à juste titre, vu qu’ils détruisent complètement le paysage. Mais n’empêche, j’aimerais bien en voir en vrai (je vous le dis tout de suite, sans succès). Des Canadiens de passage étaient quant à eux plutôt blasés car ils en ont jusque dans leur jardin, rien de bien exotique pour eux. Donc pas de castors mais ... read more