Our 4,000km journey to the end of the world from Montevideo started off with a bit of drama in Buenos Aires bus station. While purchasing our bus tickets for Patagonia a group of thieves surrounded Lydia and stole one of our bags. Most of the stolen items were easily replaceable but the loss of my diary which I had kept diligently for everyday of the last 6 months definitely hurt. Fortunately every cloud has a silver lining and we were now able to travel far lighter without my Spanish Verb Drills book and Sudoku puzzles. Even better I was able to replace my snowboarding jacket with a wicked set of army waterproofs from the local industrial supply store in Ushuaia.
When we got off the bus at the 'end of the world' we discovered a quaint, colourful seaside town. Most of the buildings were like Whistler cabins or corrugated Nissan huts. It had an endearing wintery feel (despite being Autumn) and we soon found ourselves hiking up to the nearby ski hill and glacier. We got creative when we reached our first sub-Antartic glacier and built a snowman and Inukshuk. The views over the Beagle Channel were stupendous and we felt relieved to be back in the mountains after 2 months of flat coastal terrain.
Ushuaia is only 1,000km from Antartica and 90% of boats that go there leave from this port city. Unfortunately, the season finished in mid-March but we saw that last minute deals were going from US$2,900 (we will have to come back for that one!).
The alternative to Antarctica, was a boat cruise along the Beagle Channel. Although the weather reminded us of a Scottish summer, we were treated to a wonderful display of wildlife and island scenery. We got up close to a large King Commorant colony and some playful sea lions. Lydia´s appetite for archaeology was also satisfied with a hike on a midden ridden island (complete with house pits) and a fine view of one of the most southerly lighthouses in the world. Amazingly, the local indigenous peoples (the Yámana) used to survive in this incredibly harsh climate with little more than sea lion grease and boat fires to keep them warm. Unfortunately, European diseases have wiped out this fascinating culture and there remains only one pure blooded Yámana, an 81 year old lady who now lives across the Beagle Channel in Chile.
The edible highlight of our stay in Ushuaia was undoubtebly the incredibly creative lamb served at the Bodegón Fueguino restaurant. We loved the orange and honey lamb so much that we had to return the next day for round two. We never thought that you would be able to find such wonderful food at the end of the world, but this is Argentina after all! I hope that if we ever go on an Antarctic expedition we will be fuelling up here first. Ushuaia is also renowned for the King crab and the site of huge tanks filled with these massive critters certainly got us thinking about having a 'cracking' crab bake.
The epic journey South was well worth the effort and we felt totally at home in the colder climate and surrounding mountains after the sweltering heat of the Atlantic coast. Next up we were are heading to Chile for a spot of trekking (approximately 8 days!) in the Torres del Paine National Park....
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