Monday, February 28, 2005

The End of the World - Ushuaia, Argentina

It's been ten great days since my plane burst out from cloud above the Beagle Channel and I caught my first glimpse of Tierra del Fuego. The initial view was impressive - tree cloaked hills rose from the clear blue sea up to majestic jagged peaks, the tops of which were covered in snow and glaciers. The landscape was reminiscent of the west coast of Scotland - not the barren and windswept land I had imagined.


The view from Cerro Guanaco, Tierra del Fuego NP, looking over Ushuaia and The Beagle Channel

Ushuaia sits on the edge of the Beagle Channel, trapped between mountains to the north and the sea to the south. It is a young city, first populated in the 1800s, with a diverse mix of early settler cabins juxtaposed with modern concrete housing and industry. The climate also has a Scottish feel - cool, a lot of rain, sunny spells but thankfully no midges. It has the pride of being the southernmost city in the world, and hence is the jumping off point for a good proportion of trips to the Antarctic. It is also the capital of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, which includes the claims on Islas Malvinas (The Falklands) and South Georgia. As such, whilst being very welcoming to tourists, there is a reserved attitude to the British - the 1982/3 war was fought from here and memories don't fade that quickly.


The view from the seafront back over town

Tierra del Fuego lies at the southerly end of South America, divided between Chile and Argentina and separated from the mainland by the Straits of Magellan. Here the Andes rotate from their normal north-south axis to reach their end running west-east, losing height from icecapped mountains in the west to smaller hills in the east.


Looking back to the Andes from above Ushuaia

I feel I should mention the hostel I am staying in, as I have been here 11 nights and have yet to go out for an evening. The hostel is new, friendly and very well run; there's a 24 hour bar, good music and great people. It has yet to make it into the guide books but is full every night after only 9 months of opening - that speaks for itself. Perhaps the only downside is the high Israeli content of the hostel.
A lot of Israelis tend to go travelling around the world after their 2 or 3 years in the army, aged 21 or 22. The majority have a tendency to travel in groups that are often rather insular and very loud. I have yet to meet an Israeli who I do not like on an individual basis, but the reputation of the travelling groups does a lot of damage to their reputation amongst other backpackers.


The view along the seafront

10 days is a long time to spend in Ushuaia for most people. There are excursions to the Tierra del Fuego National Park to climb the Cerro Guanaco, the local viewpoint mountain, plus amble along the lovely coastline. There are plenty of guided treks to do to different glaciers, ice caves and old homesteads. The first couple of days I spent in the National Park / the views from Cerro Guanaco are above.



Views across The Beagle Channel to Chile

I also paid (probably too much money) to visit a huge ice cave underneath a glacier. We climbed for a couple of hours in atrocious weather to what was very much an anticlimax - the brochure photos were, of course, much better.


Below the ice cave



In the ice cave

Probably the best trip so far has been to the lovely Laguna Esmerelda, a glacial lake sitting in a beautiful alpine valley. One of the most striking things on the visit was seeing the destruction that beavers in the area are wreaking; there are numerous beaver dams and incredible numbers of felled trees, some of them surprisingly large.


Laguna Esmerelda


Angie (friendly American girl!)on a beaver dam above the Laguna

The question people may be wondering is why have I spent so long in Ushuaia. The reason is simple - I am waiting for a boat to leave for Antarctica. I have booked myself on board for a 10 day cruise starting the 1st of March. After 2 days of crossing the notorious Drake Passage we will reach the white continent, where hopefully we will be able to land several times and explore a little.

I can't wait.... I'll let you know how it was.

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