I´m currently in Ushuaia, Argentina - the first stop of my month-long trip through Patagonia. It´s the southernmost city in the world, and only 745 miles from Antarctica. See it at the very bottom of the map above? Yep, that´s where I am. I´ve been here for 4 days, and am having an absolute blast. The trip here was a bit of a struggle. Well, not so much for me... but for poor Christian (my travel buddy). He had his camera and 3,000 pesos stolen out of his bag on the plane! In total, about $1,000 (US) worth of stuff. No bueno, to say the least. Thank goodness he´s so resilient, though, because he refused to let this ruin the trip. We also tried to book buses on the first day for Puerto Natales, Chile - our next stop- and were informed that we´d have to stay an extra few days before we could get on the next available bus. This, however, turned out to be a blessing, because we´ve thoroughly enjoyed the extra days and have met some of the most interesting people. To give a quick summary of our adventures so far:
Day 1- Hiked up the Martial Glaciar, which afforded spectacular panoramic views of Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel. Ate at a delicious Chilean seafood joint, where I devoured an assortment of shellfish.
Day 2- Took a boat around the Beagle Channel, seeing sea lions, cormorants (look a bit like penguins), and many birds. Also stopped on an island, where we had a 360 degree view of the channel and mountains. Cooked a yummy pasta meal at the hostel.
Day 3- Took a van to el Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego with some friends from the hostel, and hiked the ¨Sendera Costera", a 6 mile coastal trail around a mountain. Enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the water and ate at a "tenedor libre", AKA all-you-can-eat joint. Mmmm.
Day 4 (today)- Crappy weather in the morning, so drooled over the photos of a British friend we met who just returned from Antarctica. 2 of our other new friends promptly ran to the local tourist office and booked tickets for the same cruise. Sun came out, so walked along the water in Ushuaia, climbing up a big hill and picnicking for a bit. Did some laundry at the hostel and ate the leftover pasta from the other night.
You just can´t believe how cool this little town is. It reminds me of an old hippie ski town in Colorado, only with Spanish-speakers and way more diversity. I knew it would be touristy before coming, but we´ve met some of the coolest, most interesting people. There´s a 25 year-old American dude named Alex, who bought a round-the-world plane ticket a year ago, and has been traveling ever since. He´s one of the guys who bought an Antarctica ticket today on the fly. The other guy was a 31 year-old Dutchman, Viktor, who´s also been traveling extensively for many months. Ushuaia, being the southernmost city in the world, is the main hub for cruiseships going to and from Antarctica, and so I´ve therefore met many people going to or having just returned from there. The guy whose photos we drooled over today said the trip was simply wonderful, and well worth the $4,000 pricetag. Yes, $4,000. This is the absolute cheapest cruise you can go on, which is an 11 day, 10 night trip - 3 of which are spent sailing to and from the continent. It seems most people buy their tickets down here at the last minute, as it´s the cheapest way. After looking at Paul´s photos, we were all speechless. Massive icebergs and glaciers, humpback whales, killer whales, seals, penguins of all types, birds of all shapes and sizes, beautiful water, and breathtaking sunsets and scenery overall. It really seemed like a National Geographic slideshow. And so, upon reaching the last awe-inspiring photo, Alex and Viktor bounced up and marched to the tourist office across the street, planning on "only looking at the dates and options". 10 minutes later, they ran back in and announced "We´re fucking going to Antarctica!" That´s right, they booked their tickets right then and there for the "Antarctic Dream", a cruiseship leaving in exactly 8 days. The same trip that British Paul took. I have to say that if I had the means to do so (translation: $4,000 to drop for a 10-day trip), I´d have done the same. That being said, I am ecstatic to move on to our next leg of the trip: Torres del Paine National Park. It´s supposed to be the best trekking destination in South America, and one of the best in the world. We´ll be doing a 5-day trekking/camping trip through the park, along a route called ¨The W¨. We catch a bus at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning, which will take us to Puerto Natales, Chile (which you can also see on the map above). Here, we will attend an information session and stock up on all necessary groceries and equipment. The next day we´ll head to the park, and begin the adventure. I´m very, very excited... but a bit nervous, too. I´m not exactly a professional hiker, and understand that this is a pretty extreme trip. But, I´m ready and up for the challenge! It should be an incredibly rewarding experience.
Oh, and one thing I absolutely love about Ushuaia (and Patagonia in general): The sun rises at 6am, and sets at 11pm! No joke. It´s pretty strange looking outside at 10pm and seeing a completely bright sky, but I love it.
Okay- last night here, so we´re heading out for a bit with some of our new friends. Will try to keep the posts coming as often as possible along the way. Oh, and GO CATS! I hear my alma mater is currently ranked #1 in the country in basketball. Keep it up, boys!
Chile, here I come...
No comments:
Post a Comment