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The New Year started well - it was really misty and foggy with rain! We ventured out later that afternoon as I'd been told there was a bakery open today in the town centre. We didn't believe it would be open but we still walked the 3km up to it and found that it was packed!! Obviously everyone else knew about it too.
The queues were very long but we managed to get some cakes and then got a lift back with Sylvia - another camper we'd met along the route south who'd just arrived here. They'd been in Ushuaia for the New Year and were already heading back north!
On the 2nd of January we left and drove along the final stretch south to Ushuaia - the end of the world! We couldn't have picked a worse time - heavy rain and pot holes in the tarmac made for a stressful drive. We stopped at a campground about 5km before the outskirts of Ushuaia to check it out. It was extremely muddy and very cold next to a river. The road was completely submerged half way along and we couldn't get to the camping area which seemed to be full of tents and party people so we just had a late lunch and drove into Ushuaia.
Ushuaia - 360° Panorama
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We got permission to stay at the petrol station in the centre of town and went to the tourist office. There was no internet at the petrol station and the connection at the tourist office was really bad but we did manage to find out that a lot of people were trying to get last minute deals for trips to the Antarctic and the boats were getting filled up very quickly but at high prices. The prices were so high they were ridiculous - $1000 US dollars per night if you were lucky!! Who spends that kind of money for a floating hotel room???
We spent the first week looking into the last minute deals on offer and realised we'd have a long wait until February when we might be able to get a deal. So we were in for a long haul here in Ushuaia. There was no point going anywhere else as it would mean going back the way we came along the 110km of gravel road and through two border crossings to get into Chile and maybe up to Torres del Paine National Park. But we needed to stay here to see if we could get a deal and finally get to the only continent we haven't been to yet.
Fantastic clouds over Ushuaia - 360° Panorama
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We met up with Peter and Irmi again. They told us a storm was on its way with 90 kmh winds so they would delay their departure back north until it had blown over. We ended up talking until after 3am that night and either the storm didn't hit or they'd got the weather forecast completely wrong, because the next day was really sunny. So Peter and Irmi headed out and we drove up to the Martial Glacier above the town.
We spent 3 hours walking up a very steep path, 520m of ascent, up to the glacier with great views over the Beagle Channel and Ushuaia. It was a perfect day for a walk. We bought some lemon meringue pie from a restaurant where we were parked and shortly afterwards it got really cold and then it started to snow!!
View from Martial Glacier onto Ushuaia - 360° Panorama
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We'd hoped to be able to go for another walk but it snowed all day and there was no way we were going to drive back down the steep, switchback road into Ushuaia so we stayed where we were and put the heater on all day.
It was still snowing the next day with hefty gusts of wind but the sun came back out later in the afternoon and we decided it was safe enough to drive back down into town where it might be a bit warmer.
Over the next few days we continued on our quest for a trip to the Antarctic and were getting more and more disconcerted. We eventually contacted one of the ships owners directly (they're based in Holland) and got a decent offer for a trip leaving on the 13th February. We decided to accept because we were worried we wouldn't get anything at all and the itinerary for the trip was exactly what we wanted. It had taken us just over two weeks but we'd finally managed to get a trip. Now all we had to do was to hang out for another 4 weeks!
We managed to do quite a bit of walking and hiking. Our first stop was Valle de Lobos, 7km north of Ushuaia where we did a 14km walk to Laguna Esmeralda and then steeply up to a glacier.
Above Laguna Esmeralda - 360° Panorama
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On the way back through the forest we startled a huge beaver who was dragging a large branch behind him that he'd obviously just gnawed off a tree. Kirsten was ahead and hadn't seen the beaver so I shouted "Beaver on your left". At that point everything stopped! The beaver was so startled he just stood there and Kirsten didn't move either. Then everything happened so fast it was just a blur!! The beaver raced straight for his hole whilst Kirsten fumbled with her camera trying to switch it on and get a shot - too late the beaver had already dived into his den and disappeared and I just laughed! It's a real shame we didn't get a photo of the shock on the beavers face - it would have been a great photo!
We walked back the next day but there was still no sign of the beaver. I hope he managed to get over the shock of seeing us!!
We also parked out at a lighthouse on a gravel road 4km from Ushuaia. We walked along a path that paralleled the Beagle Channel. We went the same way the next day and walked further to a beach but that was the end of the path. We enjoyed watching the ships going past us but it did get quite windy. The trees showed us just how windy it gets by the way they were growing - all bent in the same direction by the wind.
Camp spot at the lighthouse with views onto the Beagle Channel - 360° Panorama
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From the lighthouse we drove to the municipal campground for a night. There's no charge here but you don't want to go anywhere near the toilet block - worse than disgusting! Nearby is the "End of the World" train that was built by prisoners to transfer wood from what is now the National Park to the prison. Now the train is used for the tourists. It is an expensive gimmick that takes tourists to the park entrance - it costs $40 per person not including the National Park fee which is another $13 per person.
The next day we went into Tierra del Fuego National Park and spent 4 days there. We did all the walking trails which was about 63km in total. The first took us up to the border with Chile along Lago Roca. The next were smaller trails in the Lapataia bay area. It was a beautiful sunny day so we moved to a different camping spot and walked to what was supposed to be a waterfall but was really only rapids and then backtracked to get to another trail that went steeply uphill to a lookout point over the Beagle Channel.
Woodpeckers at Tierra del Fuego National Park.
The following day we walked along a coastal trail that we had done in 2002 the last time we were here but we couldn't remember it at all! We walked to the end and then all the way back along the same route to where we were parked.
On our final day we went to the southern-most post office and then did a very steep trail with a stretch through a bog, up 973m to Cerro Guanaco. Great views from the top. We even had a fox coming to visit us when we got our chicken empanadas out for lunch!
Great view onto the end of the world from the top of Cerro Guanaco - 360° Panorama
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Very steep hike to the top of Cerro Guanaco.
Somehow we managed to time our visit to the park perfectly and got 3 sunny days and one cloudy day there. That must be unheard of down here. Even though it's summer, if the sun comes out you need to take advantage of it even if it's only for a few hours. Most of the time it's cloudy and windy and there's a lot of rain.
We returned to the glacier just above Ushuaia for two nights and did another walk to a lookout. We also asked at various places to see if we could find a storage spot for the motor home whilst we're on our trip to the Antarctic. Then we went back to the lighthouse but the wind and rain were so heavy we got battered and rocked around a lot. We gave up and left at 11pm to come back into town and find a more sheltered spot for the night.
Sunset at the lighthouse - 360° Panorama
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Now we only have 2 days to get our laundry done and pack our bags. We have to clean everything we are taking with us as there are strict rules for the Antarctic - no stray seeds or plant material is to be transferred which means that all shoes and boots have to be clean and we even have to check pockets and velcro straps to make sure we don't take anything with us. The whole of the Antarctic is a protected area and we wholeheartedly agree with the precautions for this pristine environment.
We are really looking forward to the trip but it will be a few weeks before we manage to do another report. So bear with us and please be patient - we'll get it done as soon as we can!
