Ushuaia: The end of the world as we know it

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Day 158: From Swansea to Hull to Ushuaia

I had heard that the farmer's strikes and subsequent food shortages had resulted in some airlines not serving any food on flights, a restriction that seems to have been extended to include buses now, since the only food or drink received by anyone on the bus until it's arrival in Rio Gallegos was a cup of coffee and an alfajor (containing beef fat). Although not vegetarian, by three o'clock I was too bored, tired and hungry to care too much and started nibbling at the biscuit. Although the vast flat Patagonian landscape is impressive for a while, and it's nice to see the wildlife (largely guanacos and rheas), it gets a bit monotonous after the first few hundred kilometres. We finally arrived in Rio Gallegos at four in the afternoon, and I made a quick dash for the bus station cafe where I soon finished a couple of cheese tostadas and coke.

The Lonely Planet describes Rio Gallegos as 'Not the World Cup of tourist destinations', well although I only saw around the outskirts of town and the bus station, they didn't seem far wrong. An industrial port and possibly Argentina's equivalent of Hull, it didn't sound like there was too much to do in town and so having looked around the bus station, realised there was nothing much to see, I got a cab to the airport.

Rio Gallegos' airport turned out to be even less exciting than the bus station. Running only two flights per day, on arrival, there wasn't another soul in sight, and I had a short wait before other passengers and aerport workers started drifting in. By the time I had checked in my bag, the cafe was open, and determined not to fall asleep, I headed straight there for a couple of strong coffees (and some croissants...).

The plane was slightly delayed, but left eventually for the short flight to Ushuaia. I didn't used to have a problem with flying, but these days I seem to get increasingly anxious during the take off and landing process. On this occasion, it was probably with good reason, since descending through the heavy rain and thick cloud into Ushuaia, the small plane was tilting from side to side and being thrown about all over the place. It really was quite terrifying, and as others clung onto their armrests for dear life, I don't think that I was the only one that thought so. It was a great relief when the plane landed safely and we could all get back to terra firma.

Having located my bag, I got a taxi to my hostel where the party was in full swing. My dorm, being next to the communal area, certainly wasn't the quietest. I met my fellow dorm mates and after a long hot shower, crawled into bed, trying to ignore the noise outside which continued until the early hours.


Day 159: The History of the End of the World

I was woken up this morning by the sound of people gathering for breakfast outside in the dining/bar area. Despite hiding under a blanket for another hour, I couldn't get back to sleep and so went to join them. Looking out of the window was enough to put me off going outside since it was tipping down with rain. Since the hostel had it's own laundry, I thought I'd try and save a few pesos and revert back to doing my own washing. All in all, this turned out to be a bit of a false economy, since the washing machine only worked on ´cold´, and the drier didn't actually dry my clothes. Still, it killed an hour-and-a-half. After a bit of faffing and having learnt a bit of spanish (I definitely need to), I felt ready to brave the outside world to get some food, and go for a walk.

After a bite to eat, I head out walking along the waterfront, and after a few blocks came to the Museum of the End of the World, a small but interesting museum, with displays relating the history of Tierra del Fuego, from the original indigenous people, whose proportions were adapted to maritime living with overdeveloped upper bodies for paddling canoes and comparatively short legs, to the islands discovery by Europeans (who pretty much wiped out the locals through disease and hunting their main food source). There was also an interesting room full of stuffed birds and other wildlife native to the area. Although the weather had brightened up somewhat, I was aware of another highly-rated museum further along the waterfront by the naval base. Combining both maritime history and the history of Ushuaia's penal colony and prison, the city´s largest museum was laid out within the old city prison, with many exhibits and artworks covering the inside of old inmates cells!

I´m not sure I´ve ever been in a prison before, but visiting this one was certainly an interesting experience. If anything, there was just too much information, beginning with an outline of the maritime history of the area, the museum then led into displays relating the history of the penal colony established on the island, including some of it's more famous criminal and political prisoners. There were also exhibits relating to the wildlife, oil industry, the Falklands (never a good subject to broach with the locals), the old train service, and an art gallery. The prison had four wings, which prisoners would have been allocated to according to the crime that they had committed. One of the wings had been left aux naturel to give a more accurate impression of what the place used to be like. Although it had been a really interesting afternoon and evening (museums here close at eight), I was feeling quite museumed out by the time I did finally leave the prison, and was all ready to go and get some food and try and get an early night (external noise dependent).


Day 160: Giant icecubes

I got up early to pack and change hostel this morning. Although ultra modern and very clean, my hostel in downtown Ushuaia has proven to be rather noisy, so I've decided that they can keep they're underfloor heating and power showers, whilst I go to the local Hostelling International hostel a little way out of town. So my new hostel is completely different. Possibly not redecorated since the seventies, it's a ramshackle place with flaky paint, mismatched crockery, loose doorhandles, smelly outdoor bathrooms, and scribblings all over the dining room walls and ceiling. None of this bothers me in the slightest, so long it's quiet at night and not too cold!

Having ditched my backpack, I set off walking out of town, heading for the Marcial Glaciar, seven kilometres away. I had expected to stick to the roads and so was just wearing my trainers, but having seen signs and a map for a trail up through the forest, I decided that this would be a much nicer option, and started following the well marked path alongside the river and through the dense forest. As is always the way, the day had started clear and bright, but by the time I had reached the forest, it was pouring with rain. Luckily, the path wasn't too steep, and after an hour or two of uphill tramping, I finally reached the chairlift station, which I hoped would transport me closer to the glaciar, giving my legs a break. Unfortunately I wasn't in luck, and with the chairlift out of order, I had to walk the whole route up to the glaciar. Rather than taking the direct 'ski slope' (which didn't actually have any snow on it, it being autumn here) route up, I returned to the forest, for a more interesting walk. Although the weather had brightened up again, I had forgotten the important fact that big glaciars tend to have a substantial run off, and as I made my way up through the forest, I encountered several bogs, where small streams had soaked into the muddy forest floor. Initially I tried to get through the forest without getting too muddy, but after a few slips, soon gave up and resorted to wading through the mud, ankle deep at times. My poor trainers!

The top of the pathway also marked the top of the chairlift that I would have taken, and from there, it was another hour-long steep climb above the bushline to get up to the stunning giant glaciar. It was worth it when I got the top, with stunning views down across the autumnal forest, city and mountains beyond. The glaciar was quite spectacular too. The only downside was that it was absolutely freezing at the top, and not able to stand the temperatures for too long, I was soon slipping back down the scree towards town again. The journey down was certainly much quicker than the ascent had been, and within an hour and a half, I had reached the road at the top of town, and was heading down towards the centre. In need of a hot meal, I stopped at a cafe for a pizza and big cup of coffee, before heading back up to the hostel to settle in properly.


Day 161: Tierra del Fuego National Park

After a really good night's sleep, I didn't want to get up this morning. When I did finally did brave the outside world to get to the bathrooms, it was absolutely freezing outside. Having had breakfast and packed lots of warm clothes in my day rucksack, I walked down into town to pick up some food and water and a map from the local tourist office all ready for a trip to the National Park.

I finally caught the bus at midday, and twenty minutes later, having paid my entrance fee, was dropped off at the start of a nice coastal walk around the edge of the National Park. Mostly following the shoreline, the views of snowcapped mountains across the bay were fantastic. When the path did lead into the forest, there were enough interesting birds and animals to make the walk interesting, including birds of prey, woodpeckers, geese, horses, and more fluffy bunnies than Watership Down. Halfway round, I bumped into Mara, my dorm-mate from the first hostel, and walked with her and her Argentinian/Mexican friends for a while, before continuing on at a slightly faster pace, hoping to complete another small walk before catching the bus back into town. After a few more kilometres, the path left the coastline and started to head inland, eventually ending up back on the main road. I walked down the road a little way, and crossed over a bridge into another part of the park. I didn't have too long, but did manage to complete a short circuit of one of the small islands in the park, before plodding back up the road a couple of kilometres, to a bus stop back to Ushuaia.

With the next bus not until two hours later, I was glad I that I had made it to the bus stop in time, and was soon being driven back to the city again for another night at the cosy HI hostel. I got back to the dorm and was quite excited when I found I had the room to myself! Now alone, I was slightly concerned that the door didn't lock, so I put a chair up against it in the unlikely event of someone trying to get in, and settled down to get a good night's sleep with an early start scheduled for the morning.


Day 162: Glastonbury positive and Wintery wanderings

I woke up at four-thirty this morning shortly before my alarm was due to go off, and putting on as many clothes as I could, but unfortunately forgetting my shoes and slipping on flipflops, I braved the dark and sleet outside and headed to the computer room above the hostel reception. With only one of the three computers functioning (I use the term loosely), I logged on and emailed Kayt in England, ready to start the mission that would be obtaining Glastonbury tickets. The heating wasn't on, and with single glazing and thin walls, I ended up putting my feet in my hat (not on my head at that moment in time) to stop them from turning to ice, and kidnapping the hostel cat and plonking it on my lap to keep warm! All in all, we (me and Kayt) were respectively on our computers for about four hours, much of which was spent pressing the refresh button (or 'actualizar' in my case), but after a few hiccups, Kayt finally got through and bought us tickets. Hurrah!

I hear England got some snow last night, well you weren't the only ones. Glastonbury ticket positive, I had cooked myself eggs on toast for breakfast, before heading out to find that snow had fallen in the night over the mountains, which now provided a beautiful backdrop to the city. It must be really beautiful here in the ski season. It had been quite nippy when I arrived here on Wednesday, but today it was absolutely freezing, necessitating as many items of clothing as I could wear without looking ridiculous. I was in two minds as to whether or not I should go for a boat trip, but having made it down to the pier and faced the many people in for the hard sell trying to get me on their boats, I decided against the idea. It was cold enough, without having to contend with Antarctic breezes, and having seen plenty of penguins, seals and sealions the week before, I didn't feel like I was missing out on too much. Instead, I thought I'd make the most of the clear skies and bright wintery sunshine, and so went for a walk around Ushuaia bay, enabling a full appreciation of the wonderful snowy scenery around the city. Although it is very lovely, I do feel a bit ripped off by the whole Winter thing here. It's left me feeling quite Christmassy. I want to bake fruit cakes and put up decorations, and having effectively missed out on the traditionally cold European Christmas by being in New Zealand, the festivities feel long overdue.

Back from my walk, I stopped in town for a coffee and to buy a box of Ushuaia chocolates (much needed sustenance), before walking back up to the hostel where I was soon fast asleep, catching up on the sleep I'd missed out on this morning.

By the time I woke up, I had three new dorm mates, two British and one Argentinian. Apart from chatting to them and eating one too many hot apple puff pastry creations from the local bakery, I didn't do too much in the evening, but made the most of the warm hostel and prepared my things for the flight, ready to move on to pastures new the following day.

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