Bottom of the World

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We arrived at the bottom of the world on Christmas Day. The airport was a small strip of land off the Beagle Channel and offered an amazing view as we flew in for our landing. The snow capped Andes engulf this small town. The climate here is very unpredictable. It's known to be able to have 4 seasons of weather in one day. It is their summer here now. Temperatures range from 50 to 60 F during the day.

Dec. 26
We headed out on a small bus tour thorugh the Fuegian Andes where there were plenty of glacier valleys and peat bogs. There are numerous sports centres here and we are told many competitive ski teams come here for training. Our Canadian Beaver lives here too! 24 pairs of them, were taken down in the 1940's to start a fur trade. Unfortunately it back fired. Their pelts were not as good as ours, and the climate not as cold. They eventually let them out into the wild. Now they are considered a huge pest.

We stopped at a husky ranch and old log restaurant. They served up a great meal of Patagonian lamb. Dani left lunch early to go spend some time with the Husky's. She was in heaven. There were 111 in all and our guide reported back to us that she was going around to pet every one of them. These were Alaskan and Siberian Husky's all hand raised for sled racing. She fell in love with two of the blue eyed puppies.

Dec. 27
We departed rom the city port through the Beagle Channel to see the sea lions and penguins. The species of penguins are called Magellaneas. Most of the other types live in the Antarctic, which is another trip all together and a very expensive one. It was a nice ride. The boat pulled right up to the island. The penguins don't seem to mind visitors. In the afternoon we picked up another bus tour to the Tierra del Fuego National Park. We did a hike through the forest and took in some more breath taking views of the lake and mountains. Rabbits were everywhere nibbling on grass and paying no attention to the tourists. The road that led us into the park was the end (or the beginning) of the Pan American Highway. We dined that evening in a beautiful restaurant over the looking the channel called Kaupe Restaurant. King crab and local fish was their specialty. The meal was excellent.

Tomorrow we fly to Buenos Aires. Looking forward to warmer weather.

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Photos

Ushuaia
Coming in for a landing. The furthest most southern airport in the world.

Ushuaia
At the end of the world

Look out below
A week before we got here a truck went over the railing and down the mountain

Old route 3
The Pan American Highway

On the lakes
Some times you really feel that this is the bottom of the world.

Dog Sled
Dog races are among one of the favourite winter sports down here.

Dr. Dani Doolittle
Dani fell in love with over 100 husky's and had to pet every one of them.

Lamb Anyone
Our lunch was cooked ever so slowly

Lunch at the Husky ranch
It was cold outside but the lunch was sizzling

Ushuaia
A shot from the docks to prove we were there

Penguins
Dani's little friends

The lone Penguin
Hey were did everyone go ?

So may Penguins
Dani couldn't choose which one to shoot

Dar and the street dogs
Can you believe she got this close to the street dogs. Usually she would be up in the tree by now!

The real end
The offical end of the Pan American Highway

Tierra del Fuego National Park
Another glacial lake

Line up for a treat
What's a holiday without ice cream

Mmmm Good
Who couldn't go here without trying the local King Crab?

A night out
On top of the city for some seafood

Too many late nights
Resting up for the next flight