The End of the World (as they say)

Days 1 & 2 in Ushuaia. The weather was great when I arrived around 3pm on Monday, to the point that I was a little disappointed that I wouldn’t get to use the full day. I desperately needed to wash clothes, having procrastinated with taking them to the lavanderia in BsAs. I did so, and headed to the maritime museum in town while the clothes dried. This museum was incredibly interesting, because it was set up in this old prison. In the early 1900s, the government of Argentina wanted to create a penal colony in Tierra del Fuego, and this prison was a part of that system. The museum itself highlights the maritime and exploratory history of Tierra del Fuego, the native yámanas that inhabited the area before European colonization (and burnt a certain plant to stay warm, hence the name given to the land by an explorer, “Land of Fire”), the prison history, information about former inmates and suspected inmates (such as Carlos Gardel), history of Antarctic exploration, new oil production, the flora and fauna in the area….you name it, it was in this museum. I thought the guy at the hostel was joking when he said you need 3 hours for the maritime museum, but he wasn’t kidding. I took some photos of some of the parts of the museum that were particularly weird, such as a spacesuit-looking thing with no title next to it.

La Posta Hostel is definitely everything people said it would be. Almost too warm rooms, an AMAZING shower, a cozy, homey atmosphere, and an incredibly helpful staff. Christian was a ton of help; so was Lucas, who wasn’t bad to look at either. The hostel seems to be a family that owns the hostel and lives in the separate wing to the back of the hostel. I believe the youngens or friends work the desk during the day, while the parents/owners work shifts at night. It was farther from town, but I was prepared for extra cab rides to and from town. Really, aside from my roommate in the hostel, it was an awesome experience. My Brazilian roommate Bruno was very nice, but clung to me from the moment we met, to the point that I had to be rude to have some time to myself. Even for a South American male, he had no notions of personal space, and was obviously interested in me, which made me uncomfortable. I was happy to have others there to diffuse the awkwardness, Antonio (from Spain) in the hostel and Endrick (from Germany) on the trails in the park.

The park itself was fabulous, although I was rushed. I had hoped to leave the hostel around 8:30 or 9 to go to the park, but the next van did not run until 10.10. I also was told that the van could bring me back from the park at 2, in time for the navigation, but we discovered that it was impossible when the van arrived. So I had approximately 2.5 hours in the park. Our hike consisted of a circle, to and from the big attraction for me, the end of the Pan-America Highway. Along the way, I got some awesome pictures of the glaciers, lakes, grasslands, and forests in the park. We met Endrick on the way back, and he was interested in the navigation as well, so he and I headed to the port while Bruno stayed in the park.

At the port, we met two Brazilians, Mario and Tobias, at the office for Navegando del Fin del Mundo, where Endrick had to buy his ticket. We had an hour to kill, so Endrick and I headed to this fabulous little seafood restaurant with enormous king crab in the tank in the window, Cocina de Freddy (or something similar). It had been recommended by both the van driver and in the Lonely Planet guide. The crab was a bit expensive (in pesos, about $60US), so we settled for delicious seafood medleys. We then headed for the boat and met our tour group: Mario and Tobias, Antonio (from the hostel) and his friend, Endrick and I, and our guide and captain of Yate Che. And a pony keg of Beagle beer. Yate Che was relatively small, but perfect for touring the islands in the Beagle Canal. We visited Faro Les Eclaireus (the famous lighthouse), Isla de los Pajaros (birds), Isla de los Lobos (sea lions), and Isla Bridges, where we disembarked to hike and view the flora on the island, the Beagle Canal, and the surrounding mountains. The islands with the fauna were a bit stinky…there were comments from many about how you don’t account for that while watching Discovery channel. The ride was bumpy, but we were rewarded on the ride back with the delicious artesenal beer, made right here in Ushuaia.

Because the navigation office gave us all vouchers for free beer at Dublin Irish Pub, Mario, Tobias, Endrick, and I headed to the pub, which was closed. Of course, that was not going to break our spirits, so we headed to the Irish pub that we knew was open for more Beagle and some pub grub. We had a lot of fun, and I slept very well, hoping that I’d run into these boys again during my stay in Ushuaia. It was bound to happen; Ushuaia is tiny, and I’ve seen all the people from my flight several times in two days. And sure enough, they met me on the glacier the next day.