The End of the World

After the breathtaking sights of Patagonia we ventured as far south as possible over land. I arrived in Ushuaia, the most southernly city in the world. This is the place to come if you want to go to Antartica. Alas I didn´t have $3000.00 to spare so I couldn´t go. Tierrra del Fuego (where Ushuaia stands) is actually an island off the bottom of Argentina and Chille - not part of the mainland. A ferry needs to be caught from Chille to get there at all. Tierra Del Fuego is cold - in the height of summer the average temperature for Ushuaia is 12 degrees. With wind chill factor this becomes alot more colder. Apart from having too many american tourists for my liking Ushuaia wasn´t too bad. I went out for a catamorran ride in the Beagle Channel. The waters around Antartica are the roughest in the world and coming back down the Bagle Chanel by sea can be likened to being on a continuous very high roller coaster. The waves were huge - totally encapsulating the boat. I totally loved it and my stomach wasn´t bothered by the waves - but I was in a tiny minority - I have never seen so many people vomiting in the same place before. This is the lighthouse in the middle of the Channel on a much calmer day - I was unable to take a photo as it was literally impossible to stand up and hold a camera at the time we were passing. After eating what is possible the nicest food of the journey at a very posh seafood restaurant (giant mussels for me) - it was time to start going north again. There is not much between Ushuaia and Buenos Aires except scrub land - so we drove for 5 days solid. Look at a map - the distances are immense. To break up the journey we stopped at the Valdez Penisular - a giant national park. I saw hundreds of penguins not to mention elephant seals, sea lions, armidillos, guancos and grey foxes. We were not lucky enough to see an Orca but to tell you the truth I was over the moon with the Armidilos. What bizarre little creatures these are but my goodness - they are fast. Looking forward now to being back in a city and being able to shower again!