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Published: April 25th 2007
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Tierra del Fugio
Welcome to Tierra del Fugio So after a coupla of good days hanging out in El Calafate it was time to head south to Ushuaia, the most southern city in the world. Another long bus ride took us to the border of Chile, you have to go into Chile for about 4 hours and return to Argentina, during that time we also had to take a ferry onto the island of Tierra del Fuego where Ushuaia is situated. Again I was lucky with the weather and managed to only get a few showers of rain on the way which allowed me to see some of the country side. By now I had come to realise that the weather in part of the world is more changeable than Melbourne´s and a hell of lot more extreme. There is no point looking at the weather forcast as I don´t think one day was correct. Anyway the country side travelling south was again big wide open spaces but this time there were a few hills around and it was very beautiful as everything seemed to be yellow. Managed to see some pink flamingos in all that yellow, which was very unexpected. We arrived in Ushuaia at night time
Ushuaia
The town of Ushuaia and the back drop! so I didn´t get a look at the city and its surroundings then, all I knew was that it was raining and was thinking that this was going to be it for the next few days. Ended up in a hostel where no one spoke english so it was another good lesson in having to practice my spanish or sit there and speak with no one. Woke in the morning not really sure what to find outside, the weather report had said rain for the next 4 days, but as I came down for breakfast I was pleasantly suprised to see sun and blue sky. Yee Ha.....couldn´t believe my luck...so I ate my breakfast facing out to the town and the mountains in the back ground. My theory was there is no time like the present so got sorted and headed for the national park. Spent the day out there hiking and hanging out. Did a three hour hike along a path that was recognisable by the fact that that was where all the puddles and piles of mud were. It was great to be back at the ocean again but it was weird to see it surrounded by mountains
National Park
Hanging on the beach of national park with snow capped mountains...very odd! with snow on it as opposed to the usual white sandy beaches I am used to. It was the perfect time to be there as the trees were in all their autumn glory and just made the area so beautiful. Spent the day out there walking around 15km and enjoying the sunshine, lakes, mountains and trying to avoid the masses of tourists on their air conditioned buses. Couldn´t believe my luck with the weather as there was only 30mins of the whole day where it was looking like getting grey and possibly raining. Arrived back in town expecting it to be pretty quiet but it was quite the opposite. It was a saturday night and the town was packed with people, even cars cruising the main street with windows down and music blarring. Was a mild night down there so there were people in the street dancing to music from their cars and loads of young people ready for a big night out...did make me feel some what old! I imagined that Ushuaia would be a bit of a dive of a town surrounded by beautiful scenery, the second part is right but the first is definately wrong. I think
National Park
My walking track in National Park...basically a boggy muddy trail people actually live there because they want to and it is a very pretty town and not the arse end of the world like I thought it would be. Next day I woke again to think that for surely it was raining as I couldn´t possibly be that lucky. Come down for breakfast and again the sun is shining even brighter than the day before. Decided that I wanted to go for a walk and decided to head up the mountains and try to see the glacier. I arrive to find snow all the way down the path and as I start to walk I am in danger of falling straight on my arse. So I am contemplating whether I really need to be doing this in my cheap shoes and as I am contemplating this loads of others are overtaking me. So off I go and manage to have some form of co-ordination and start the walk up the hill. The views over the town and the surrounding area is what I have really come for and they do not dissappoint. So after about 1 hour trekking up through the snow I arrive at the ski lift and from
here it gets a little more difficult. Some people come back from around the corner and say the snow is up to their hips so no go that way and then they head off on another path. I´m thinking its a good time to turn around but curiousity overtakes and I take off after the other group. Quite a nice walk for 20 mins and then I see the others half way up the next hill up to their knees in snow looking like they are having no fun. Seeing that and the fact that it is now snowing makes me decide that there will be no glacier viewing for me today....no one else made it either!! So I return to town and decide that I am going to spend the afternoon out on the ocean on a boat, its been a good 5 months since setting foot on a boat so this is exciting in itself. We are cruising out on the Beagle Canal and get a wicked view of Ushuaia and the mountains in the background. Off to see the famous chanel marker and loads of smelly sea lions who chase after our boat as the skipper is
National Park
Being a tourist with marking the end of Highway 3 and the last of the road cutting donuts in the water. We finish off the day by stopping on one of the islands and hanging out there for a while and just taking it all in. Back to the boat and champagne is cooling in the water, must be all of about 5 degrees I reckon, and except for the ignorant German/Polish people of the boat the afternoon was great. I spend the return trip up on the bow, to take in the ocean and the sunset and also to get away from the German/Polish tourists, even though my face is completely frozen and red by the time we get back. This place has to one of the most beautiful towns I have ever been to, even better than what I had expected and I am so glad that I made the effort to get there.
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