Tierra del Fuego is the archipelago south of Patagonia which is shared by Argentina and Chile. We reached Isla Grande - the largest island - by a 20 minute ferry ride from Punta Delgado. The landscape starts to change as you near Ushuaia in Argentina, the last town in the world, el fin del mondo, which is a small tourist resort on the south coast backed by the jagged mountains of the Cordillera Darwin. I can't say that we were greatly impressed with Ushuaia itself. The town was founded in 1869 as an Anglican mission, and then became known as a refuge for shipwrecks. In 1896 the State of Argentina founded a penal colony and built a prison which was in operation until 1947 when it was closed by Peron. So its not an old town and some of the historic sites are simple attempts at establishing tourist attractions. I did a lot of walking around town while Ray went off on his own - he will do a post on his adventures - and visited the prison, which is now a museum, the 1920s provincial legislature building, a typical old family house, the port, and restaurants. We also spent an evening in the local brewery pub which was quite an experience. It was built out of wood and stone at the edge of the ocean, with the sea facing wall made out of glass. Tiered seating, heated and padded with cushions allowed a view into the gentle waves lapping on the beach pebbles immediately on the other side of the window. The setting was spectacular and it had a vibrant, comfortable ambiance allowing us to have the odd dance, along with our local pints.
Although we did not think the town itself too interesting, its location around a bay in the stormy, icy, Beagle Channel with steep streets rising from the sea shore up into the foot hills and a backdrop of jagged mountains, is utterly spectacular. To us, Ushuaia is about the sea and the mountains. We took a 6 hour boat trip on a large catamarran in the Beagle Channel to see the penguins and other marine life on the various islands, for example we saw cormorants, seal lions, penguins and tons of birds whose names I can't remember. It is from the Channel that you truly see Ushuaia's beauty.
The next day, we caught a local bus into the Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego, and based on my discussions with Sam, a Belgian chap I met in the hostel, we hiked the Cerro Guanaco Trail which took us 970 metres up to the top of the mountain ridge on the north side of Lago Roca. The 11 km trail took us 3 hours up and 2 hours 30 minutes back down; 3 kilometres were on the flat, and 5 kilometres were straight up the mountain. Slowly we wound our way up first through treacherously rooted forested slopes then through a peat bog in the valley, and finally over the granite shale and rock to the peak. It wasn't for the faint of heart. A slight slip of the foot would have sent us tumbling down the treeless mountain side with no means of stopping ourselves. Once at the top the view over the islands and rivers of the Archipelago Cormoranes and the islands in the Beagle Channel was absolutely spectacular. The "high" we felt when we reached the top can only be equated to the high runners feel at the end of a marathon. We were almost delirious; and our shouts and whoops of joy belted out at the top of our lungs were carried silently into the ferocious wind that raged. Due to this wind, and the fact that it was freezing cold, we only spent about 10 minutes at the peak before we started on our way down to arrive back at the bus stop with zero minutes left to catch the bus back to town. It was only a small mountain, and although not too treacherous a climb was certainly a strenuous climb - just enough I think to give us a taste for higher, more energetic climbs in the future!
Although we did not think the town itself too interesting, its location around a bay in the stormy, icy, Beagle Channel with steep streets rising from the sea shore up into the foot hills and a backdrop of jagged mountains, is utterly spectacular. To us, Ushuaia is about the sea and the mountains. We took a 6 hour boat trip on a large catamarran in the Beagle Channel to see the penguins and other marine life on the various islands, for example we saw cormorants, seal lions, penguins and tons of birds whose names I can't remember. It is from the Channel that you truly see Ushuaia's beauty.
The next day, we caught a local bus into the Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego, and based on my discussions with Sam, a Belgian chap I met in the hostel, we hiked the Cerro Guanaco Trail which took us 970 metres up to the top of the mountain ridge on the north side of Lago Roca. The 11 km trail took us 3 hours up and 2 hours 30 minutes back down; 3 kilometres were on the flat, and 5 kilometres were straight up the mountain. Slowly we wound our way up first through treacherously rooted forested slopes then through a peat bog in the valley, and finally over the granite shale and rock to the peak. It wasn't for the faint of heart. A slight slip of the foot would have sent us tumbling down the treeless mountain side with no means of stopping ourselves. Once at the top the view over the islands and rivers of the Archipelago Cormoranes and the islands in the Beagle Channel was absolutely spectacular. The "high" we felt when we reached the top can only be equated to the high runners feel at the end of a marathon. We were almost delirious; and our shouts and whoops of joy belted out at the top of our lungs were carried silently into the ferocious wind that raged. Due to this wind, and the fact that it was freezing cold, we only spent about 10 minutes at the peak before we started on our way down to arrive back at the bus stop with zero minutes left to catch the bus back to town. It was only a small mountain, and although not too treacherous a climb was certainly a strenuous climb - just enough I think to give us a taste for higher, more energetic climbs in the future!
Note:
Pictures added Apr 9
At the top of Cerro Guanaco
Liz with Captain on catamaran tour in the Beagle Channel
The Beagle Channel towards sunset
Oil wells
Ferry Crossing
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