Ushuaia …..El fin del Mundo ….or Bergs and Beavers
From Galapagos in the north, we flew down to Ushuaia …the most southerly town in the world. The total flight time was 17,5hrs! …leaving from Quito, and changing at Lima, Santiago, and Punta Arenes before finally arriving at Ushuaia. We weren’t quite sure what to expect, having read in some of the guide books that Ushuaia was « over-rated ». So it was a wonderful surprise to find the town nestling in scenery that looks just like a little Switzerland; snow-capped mountains, huge lakes, forests, and the famous Beagle channel to the south (named after Darwin’s ship). The weather is equally spectacular; changing every few minutes. You can have brilliant hot sunshine one second, then a torrential downpour the next. With temperatures ranging from 25degrees C with no wind ….to several degrees below zero when the wind blows! …and when the wind blows ….it BLOWS!!!
The port is full of small yachts, Antarctic cruise ships, cargo vessels, ice-breakers, and two magnificent old three-masted sailing ships. Actually there is one cruise ship less now ….while we were there the « Explorer » sank after hitting an iceberg …with 151 people on board! Fortunately everyone was rescued.
We rented a small car to drive around from a local company called « Localiza ». We’ve never had such amazing service; incredibly enthusiastic, gave us addresses of local campsites, restaurants, and places to visit. Even lent us some music CD’s for our travels (Paul Anka and Rod Stewart?!!) Plus the rental rates were way below all the other companies …..Hertz look out!!! Talking about restaurants, if you’re basically a carnivore like me, Ushuaia is a paradise; there are several restaurants with huge barbecues and « All You Can Eat » menus for just 10euros!!! ….and the meat is just the best you ever tasted!
After visiting and camping in the Tierra del Fuego national park (lots of rabbits, beavers, rabbits, hawks, wild horses …and more rabbits …oh, and a glacier that you can’t actually see because its buried under 10metres of snow), we set off for the Glacier national park further north. To get there we had to cross the Straits of Magellan on a little ferry. We almost got stuck in the car while we were waiting for the ferry to arrive ….the wind was so strong we couldn’t open the car doors!!!
The object of our visit was the Perito Moreno glacier …. Now that is one impressive glacier!! …an enormous 14km long, 2,5km wide wall of glistening blue/white ice. This glacier is actually getting bigger! It advances several metres per year!! So much for global warming! You can hear the cracks and groans as it pushes forwards against the rocky shoreline; it has already cut Argentina’s biggest lake in two!
We took advantage of our last days in Argentina to eat steak, barbecued by chef Willett at the campsite. 1kg of prime beef steak at a time (for just 5euros!) …..mmmmmm
On our way back to Ushuaia we stopped at a penguin reserve. Actually we slept overnight in the car in front of the gates ….we got a few strange looks from the wardens when they opened up in the morning …but we’re getting used to that by now! The Magellan penguins live in burrows just like rabbits, about 100metres from the beach. They look so comical waddling along their little paths to and from the sea (each penguin always uses the same paths), just like a little village of very small people dressed in dinner jackets, stopping to chat to each other, and poking their beaks into each other’s burrows … »Hey Fred, I’m just popping down to the beach for a quick sardine, are you coming? »
In 1940 the Argentines introduced beavers into Ushuaia, to provide extra employment (hunting) for the local people. However, as the beavers had no natural predators, things got a bit out of hand. From an original 50 beavers, there are now 120 000!! …and to make things worse, nobody wears beaver skin clothes any more ….ooops! They are very shy creatures, but we managed to find a fairly isolated beaver « house » and dam, and got some movie film of them.
We are writing this back in Quito, It was sad to leave Ushuaia; an incredibly beautiful place, wild and lonely, with days that last from 5:30am to 10:30pm …and even during the night it doesn’t really get very dark.
We soon say goodbye to South America; in a couple of weeks we’ll be writing our next update from Panama.
Hasta luego!!
From Galapagos in the north, we flew down to Ushuaia …the most southerly town in the world. The total flight time was 17,5hrs! …leaving from Quito, and changing at Lima, Santiago, and Punta Arenes before finally arriving at Ushuaia. We weren’t quite sure what to expect, having read in some of the guide books that Ushuaia was « over-rated ». So it was a wonderful surprise to find the town nestling in scenery that looks just like a little Switzerland; snow-capped mountains, huge lakes, forests, and the famous Beagle channel to the south (named after Darwin’s ship). The weather is equally spectacular; changing every few minutes. You can have brilliant hot sunshine one second, then a torrential downpour the next. With temperatures ranging from 25degrees C with no wind ….to several degrees below zero when the wind blows! …and when the wind blows ….it BLOWS!!!
The port is full of small yachts, Antarctic cruise ships, cargo vessels, ice-breakers, and two magnificent old three-masted sailing ships. Actually there is one cruise ship less now ….while we were there the « Explorer » sank after hitting an iceberg …with 151 people on board! Fortunately everyone was rescued.
We rented a small car to drive around from a local company called « Localiza ». We’ve never had such amazing service; incredibly enthusiastic, gave us addresses of local campsites, restaurants, and places to visit. Even lent us some music CD’s for our travels (Paul Anka and Rod Stewart?!!) Plus the rental rates were way below all the other companies …..Hertz look out!!! Talking about restaurants, if you’re basically a carnivore like me, Ushuaia is a paradise; there are several restaurants with huge barbecues and « All You Can Eat » menus for just 10euros!!! ….and the meat is just the best you ever tasted!
After visiting and camping in the Tierra del Fuego national park (lots of rabbits, beavers, rabbits, hawks, wild horses …and more rabbits …oh, and a glacier that you can’t actually see because its buried under 10metres of snow), we set off for the Glacier national park further north. To get there we had to cross the Straits of Magellan on a little ferry. We almost got stuck in the car while we were waiting for the ferry to arrive ….the wind was so strong we couldn’t open the car doors!!!
The object of our visit was the Perito Moreno glacier …. Now that is one impressive glacier!! …an enormous 14km long, 2,5km wide wall of glistening blue/white ice. This glacier is actually getting bigger! It advances several metres per year!! So much for global warming! You can hear the cracks and groans as it pushes forwards against the rocky shoreline; it has already cut Argentina’s biggest lake in two!
We took advantage of our last days in Argentina to eat steak, barbecued by chef Willett at the campsite. 1kg of prime beef steak at a time (for just 5euros!) …..mmmmmm
On our way back to Ushuaia we stopped at a penguin reserve. Actually we slept overnight in the car in front of the gates ….we got a few strange looks from the wardens when they opened up in the morning …but we’re getting used to that by now! The Magellan penguins live in burrows just like rabbits, about 100metres from the beach. They look so comical waddling along their little paths to and from the sea (each penguin always uses the same paths), just like a little village of very small people dressed in dinner jackets, stopping to chat to each other, and poking their beaks into each other’s burrows … »Hey Fred, I’m just popping down to the beach for a quick sardine, are you coming? »
In 1940 the Argentines introduced beavers into Ushuaia, to provide extra employment (hunting) for the local people. However, as the beavers had no natural predators, things got a bit out of hand. From an original 50 beavers, there are now 120 000!! …and to make things worse, nobody wears beaver skin clothes any more ….ooops! They are very shy creatures, but we managed to find a fairly isolated beaver « house » and dam, and got some movie film of them.
We are writing this back in Quito, It was sad to leave Ushuaia; an incredibly beautiful place, wild and lonely, with days that last from 5:30am to 10:30pm …and even during the night it doesn’t really get very dark.
We soon say goodbye to South America; in a couple of weeks we’ll be writing our next update from Panama.
Hasta luego!!
4 commentaires:
Dear Ann and John,
Unbelievable nice your account of a journey and your story about Ushuaia, wish you nice travel adventure, hope to read the next story about Panama.
Have a nice Christmas and our love and best wishes for 2008!! HaJa.
John, Ann we have sent our Xmas letter (pdf) to your "Wanderingwillets" address. Hope it is still current. Sending you our Best Wishes for Xmas and continue those great stories
Love from us both M&M
Cher anne et john, nous vous souhaitons un joyeux noel, nous n'arrivons pas à tout comprendre, vous nous raconterez tout en détail dans le gard
on vous garde un micocoulier
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