GLACIER ALLEY, CHILE AND USHUAIA, ARGENTINA--Sunday, December 8, 2013


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South America » Argentina » Tierra del Fuego » Ushuaia
December 8th 2013
Published: January 24th 2014
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December 8th, Sunday Glacier Alley and Ushuaia, Argentinaon the island of Terra del Fuego. Surprisingly clear blue skies and the water so calm it looks like glass.

From Puerto Arenas the ship sailed via the Strait of Magellan around and to the huge island of Tierra del Fuego—part belonging to Chile and the other half to Argentina. Along the way, we passed what has been named Glacier Alley--this area is covered by ice sheets and glaciers. We spent the morning sitting in the Crow’s Nest watching one glacier after another pass by the window. The treeless, snow-covered mountain chains, one peak after another, have a glacier sitting in each valley between the mountain ridges.

About 11:30 we docked at the city of Ushuaia, Argentina. This is the largest community close to Antarctica and is the jumping off port for excursions there. Winter temperatures here are an average of 0 C or 32 degrees Fahrenheit and they are not above 10 C or about 50 degrees in the summer. Thankful for this very pretty unusually warm day, we walked off the ship and to the port gate to meet this private tour we had booked with a group of 16 other people.

We all boarded the van and the driver drove through the town on a paved road and then headed very quickly past the business district and out of town on a dirt road. Since it was Sunday, and such a pretty day, the whole town was out taking part in all sorts of activities. We saw people at a large motorcycle race track, golfing in a lovely course along the river, playing various sports, and on the city playgrounds. They were also ahead of us in line at the fee booth to enter the Terra Del Fuego National Park.

This park, of 63,000 hectares, protects the southern tip of the Andes and is about 7.5 miles from town. We drove through a forest of beech trees, deciduous trees called linga, plus many species unknown to us. Some of the trees have a kind of mistletoe and also some have a fungus known as “Indian Bread” growing in and on them.

Our first stop in the park was at Zaratiegul Bay on the Beagle Channel. There, out on a short pier, was the End of the World Post Office where we purchased and mailed some postcards. They had a really neat decorative stamp and would stamp our passports with it, but, unfortunately, our passports had been left, as they required, with the ship.

Back on the van, we drove a bit to a restaurant/coffee shop and museum on what we thought looked like the edge of a lake. According to the park map, it is actually part of the river flowing down from Lake Roca. After looking at the displays about the park and native people the Yamanas (down to 100 by 1910), we walked in front of the building and watched an upland goose chomp his way through a field of dandelions severing the seed heads. We then drove a little ways further down the road and through a very full-of-people campground to get out and walk along Lake Roca. Several boats were out on the lake and lots of people were sunning themselves on the beach. A couple of foxes were in and around the campground.

We continued our drive crossing various bodies of water, peat bogs, and through several stands of forests and spotted more foxes here and there. Of the 6-7 foxes we saw that day, they all seemed to be around where people were either camping or picnicking. Not dumb animals to know where easy food is!

The van stopped again for everyone to hike a trail to look at a beaver dam. The beaver are not native to the island and were introduced (along with rabbits, musk rats, and the grey fox) at a time when fur trapping was a way of life for some. All have flourished, but the beaver have caused all sorts of damage to the park by cutting down young trees and diverting streams. They are the only species that can be hunted and killed here. Valerie got some really nice pictures of an Ashy-headed goose with a pretty ruddy chest sitting on part of the dam. She also looked at various plants and shrubs on her walk.

Continuing our drive along route 3, we came to the end of the Pan-American Highway and all got out to take photos and walk along a boardwalk overlooking a lake. Lots of geese were in the water. It was a pretty view but with lots of people off the tour buses and vans.

We drove back into town on the same road we came into the park and then drove up the side of the hill behind the city and ½ way up to the ski resort, to take a picture of the bay and city below. From here you could also see the mission settlement of brown buildings that we passed on our way to the park.

We got back to the port entrance at about 7:00 pm and walked the very long way back to the ship. Valerie was able to get 6 cans of diet coke for $7.00 in a shop on the pier. We sent out an e-mail while we were in this port using the ship’s internet as it was too late to walk back to the small terminal area for free wifi.

Valerie went upstairs to get us some Bar-B-Q dinner and brought it down to eat in our room. I collapsed after dinner, as my back was really hurting due to having ridden in the very back seat of the van and the driver going over the many speed bumps hard in town plus the rough and bumpy dirt roads of the park. Valerie was also bothered by the rough ride so we were both in bed by 9.


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24th January 2014

End of the world
Good to see your travels continue. This is an amazingly beautiful part of the world. We hope to get there one day. Thanks for sharing.

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