Ushuaia

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Well, 3020 kms of bus later, we are now in Ushuaia. This city reckons that although it is at the end of the world, it is where everything begins. Its a pretty cool town.

Getting here was an arduous process. I seriously thought Ben was going to gnaw off his arm during the bus trip. We have done bigger bus trips than the 12 hour jobbie from Rio Gallegos to here, but because we were awake the whole time it seemed to take forever.

We also had to cross into Chile and then back into Argentina, since neither country is willing to give up their patch of the island that is Tierra del Fuego. This sounds relatively straigtforward, but the reality was about 4 hours of standing around, first at the exit from Argentina, then a wee drive to the Chilean border post, only to do it all over again a few hours of gravel road later. Ah well, a few more stamps in the passport.

Crossing the Magellan strait was fun - a pod of dolphins came over and played with the ferry diving around in the wake and leaping out of the water.

Oddly enough, the further south we got, the more trees and mountains there were. This was a great releif to Ben who had been getting a little freaked out by the vastness of the flat Patagonian steppes. He got the idea into his head that the whole world was actually flat, and we would never see another hill until we were back in Wellington.

We took an instant liking to Ushuaia. Probably because of the hills, forests and harbour (sounding familiar). There are also fewer people around. The houses are all quite quirky, and it seems each property is responsible for its own street frontage. This means the footpaths dont match up. They are at different heights, made of different materials and are in varying states of disrepair. We find it easier to walk on the road - this is not so scary as most of the streets are one way. You have a fair idea where the cars are coming from.

More alarming are the dogs. Everyone seems to own one. Preferably big with a loud bark. I dont think there are any rules about dogs being on the street, since they happily roam in packs and scare the living daylights out of travellers.

Ben has discovered the wonders of Patagonian steak - a mere $2.50 NZ for about 700g. Insane. Paired with the odd litre of wine for $1.25, we have been having ridiculous feasts.

Weve been stretching our legs in the hills behind the town. Being only about 1000km from Antarctica, the climate is a bit cool. In fact, on our second day here, it snowed down to about 300m. The tree line sits at around 650 metres, so in a 2 hour walk from our hostel, we can be up on the tops, in the snow with a grand view of the islands to the south towards Cape Horn. Pretty cool. Im glad we brought a few woollies. Since its heading into Autumn, the hillsides are all turning yellow and red. Walking in the forest is like walking in a shower of confetti.

We might stay here a few more days and check out the National Park.

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Photos

Ushuaia
(and Kat)

and more walking...
just to stay warm

Check out the beaver dam!
These little punks are destroying the river valleys of Tierra del Fuego

Comments

[Simon]

PHOTOS
You guys have to load some photos of this place, it sounds fantastic! with such a low snow line, it should be a wicked place to ride a plank(s) of wood down a slope eh!

[Simon]

PHOTOS
You guys have to load some photos of this place, it sounds fantastic! with such a low snow line, it should be a wicked place to ride a plank(s) of wood down a slope eh!

[Kat and Ben]

Photos
Well, all in good time. Soon I promise!