If you ever want to see the most beautiful airport view in the world, I invite you to visit Ushuaia, Argentina. As soon as you disembark, you are greeted by bright blue skies over blue ocean surrounded by white capped mountains. We were expecting freezing temperatures in Ushuaia but our first day was a glorious 55 degrees. We easily found our Airbnb which was on one of the two main streets and had an amazing mountain view. Ushuaia had a feel similar to one of the old west towns in the States. It had what you needed with no frills. The next day, we awakened to bright sunshine and clear skies. We joined a tour and made our way to the train station for yet another did-not-know-it-was-a-thing-but-now-it-was-added-to-the-bucket-list item….The Train at the End of the World. The train was built in the late 1800s to transport prisoners out to the forest so they could cut firewood. Ushuaia was essentially formed as a penal colony and it was a harsh life for those who made poor choices. The average temperature in the winter hovered around freezing and we were enjoying the highest temperatures of the year in Ushuaia which were in the fifties. As we boarded the train, we were greeted by “prisoners” taking funny pictures with the tourists and they were definitely embracing the darker side of their history. Across from the train station was a small golf course. We have now seen the world’s highest golf course in La Paz and the southern most golf course in Ushuaia. I can’t say much for the golf course which was basically in a pasture but they did have their claim to fame. Our train was much more comfortable than the original prisoner train and we enjoyed our beautiful ride along the 7 km long route into Tierra del Fuego National Park. The train made one stop along the way to see the “waterfall” which looked like a water hose dripping off a small hill. After Iguazu, it gave me a chuckle. Then, the train passed through the tree cemetery which was all the remaining tree stumps from where the prisoners had chopped wood. It was interesting because the stumps were all different heights which indicated how deep the snow was at the time of cutting. The deeper the snow was, the taller the tree stump. As we passed into Tierra del Fuego, we were greeted by stunning vistas that soared over large inlets. We were really looking forward to mailing postcards from the southern most post office in the world but the one in the park was closed for repairs. Our tour guide told us we could mail them in town which still counted as the southern most post office since the one in the park was closed. We also stood at the dead end of the Pan-American Highway which starts in North Slope, Alaska and runs contiguously for 19000 miles (except for a 60 mile gap between Panama and Colombia which is all swamp). That would be quite the drive! When we arrived back in town, we got our passport stamped with an “End of the World” stamp and then headed to the post office to mail our postcards. We mailed our postcards on March 26 and as of this writing, no one has received them yet!
On our second day in Ushuaia, we followed in Darwin’s and Magellan’s footsteps by taking a boat ride on the Beagle Channel. As airplanes were taking off over us, I had to wonder what Magellan would have thought of the wonder of an airplane. On the ride, we saw hundreds of sea lions surrounded by thousands of cormorants. If we had not been told otherwise, we would have mistaken the cormorants for penguins. Unfortunately, the penguins had already migrated for the year so we missed seeing them. The wind roaring down the Beagle Channel took our breath away as it cut through us but luckily, the boat had an enclosure which kept us warm most of the time. After the tour, we had been given a coupon for a free hot chocolate at a local bakery so we stopped in for some yummy hot chocolate and bought a few delicious treats as well. Finding dinner was a bit more challenging as so many of the restaurants in town did not open until after 7pm but we managed to find a pizza joint that was open so the day was a success. Our final day in Ushuaia was spent at the Maritime Museum which was housed in the old prison. As we wandered about the cell block, the weather outside began to turn and we were greeted with freezing rain for our walk back to the apartment. As the temperature dropped, we were blessed with lovely snow that sheeted sideways, blocking all the views and Ushuaia finally lived up to its’ reputation. Luckily, we woke the next morning to snow capped mountains and clear skies for our flight to Calafate. Calafate was the thorn in my side from the beginning of planning the Chile/Argentina trip. No easy/reasonable way in and no easy/reasonable way out. To get to Calafate, we bit the bullet and paid far too much for a one hour flight from Ushuaia. When we landed in Calafate, we were surprised at the terrain which was so different from Ushuaia. Calafate sat on a beautiful lake with water the color of cyan. Calafate’s claim to fame was Glacier National Park so the waters around Calafate were glacial water and it was extraordinary. The town of Calafate reminded us of Pigeon Forge, TN because it had so many little boutiques and shops. Our hotel was nice but it was the smallest room we have had in a long time but we had twin beds so at least we could walk between them. We ventured out for dinner at a restaurant Bill had found that was a small brewery. We ordered and an delicious pile of meat arrived at the table. We had pork, chicken, lamb, beef and many parts of those animals that I was not going to eat. Even Bill passed on a few of them. With only one day in Calafate, we were picked up early in the morning to make our way to Glacier National Park. When we arrived, most of our group hopped onto a boat to go out and watch the glacier from the water. We voted not to take the boat because we had read that the walkways were just as close and we did not want to be stuck staring at the same wall of ice for two hours. In true Argentine fashion, the walkways surrounding the glacier were top notch and we enjoyed our hours of wandering the paths. The glacier was beautiful and I do not think I missed a single angle in pictures. The last path we took led us down the river to another visitor center. Exhausted and not wanting to climb the number of stairs needed to get back to the other center (I swear it was enough to get to Heaven), we cheated and took the park shuttle bus back to our meeting point. One thing that did shock us was the number of people who thought Glacier National Park would be a fabulous place to bring children. Let’s face it….how exciting is a huge piece of ice to a four year old? By the end of the day, the toddlers were crying, the tweens were rolling their eyes and the teenagers had all but abandoned the family fun day. In the end, we were glad we made the effort to get to Calafate. It was a great day! Now came the challenge in the trip planning. How do we get out of Calafate and return to Cartagena? If we flew from Calafate, it was super expensive and the shortest flight was at least an 18 hour event with two stops. After much mapping, Bill figured out we could fly out of Puerto Natales, Chile to Santiago. Spend the night in Santiago. Then, fly from Santiago to Lima and then to Cartagena. Financially it made more sense and at least we could spread out the flight torture over two days. But first, how to get from Calafate to Puerto Natales? We could take an eight hour flight from the end of the world back up to Buenos Aires and then back to the end of the world in Chile….or we could take a 5 hour bus ride across the southern border. We voted for the bus. The bus ride was quite pleasant and the scenery was very unique in the Patagonia region so we enjoyed the ride. The two border crossings (one out of Argentina and the next into Chile) were a bit laborious and the trip ended up taking about 6 hours but it was better than the airport option and the tickets were only $25.00. Puerto Natales was a small town that had seen better days. It had a revitalized downtown square area with restaurants but Puerto Natales was the kind of town that rolled up the sidewalks at 7pm and went to bed. Most people came to Puerto Natales to begin their trek through the Patagonia region so backpackers were everywhere. I can not imagine what it looks like in high season! The next morning, we were picked up by our tour to explore Torres del Paine National Park. Torres del Paine was one of those places that you have seen in pictures everywhere but you just don’t know what it is or where it is. It is filled with glacial lagoons and rocketing cliffs and landscapes that seem to go on forever. As we turned into the park, we saw an unbelievable sight. Dozens of condors were soaring above us and even the guide got excited and grabbed his camera. He said, “We are usually lucky to see one or two condors! I’ve never seen this many together!” It was incredible! As the day went on, we stopped at beautiful overlooks and learned about the park’s plants and animals. Everyone was on the lookout for a puma but our luck seemed to have been all used on the condors. At the end of the day, the guide said everyone could go on a “glacier hike” which sounded cool. The more we investigated information at the head of the trail, the more Bill figured out that there was no possible way to get to the actual glacier from where we stood. We did not want to do a walk in the woods to see a small glacier from a distance given the current weather. Our warm weather luck had run out and the winds howling through Torres del Paine were bitter and tore right through my new coat. We decided to grab a drink in the visitor center and as we sat talking with other travelers a torrential rainstorm began. Some people who went on the hike came back drenched and not too happy about their walk through the woods so we were very glad we had stayed warm and dry. The next afternoon, we caught our flight to Santiago where we spent an uneventful night. Up early the next morning, we flew to Lima and then onto Cartagena. The trip was one of the most amazing trips we have done but it was also the hardest trip we have done. We were exhausted and it took us several days of being bums to recover. One bit of humor….as I threw my backpack on the bed, I noticed something tucked under the sheet on the bed….my coat! Bill had a good “I told you so” moment since he figured I had left it on the boat in the first place. So, now a woman who lives on a boat in constant 90 degree weather has two winter coats. I am not sure what coat the hotel in Antofagasta found but if you are in the area….you can drop by and pick it up! Coat mystery solved! ****More pics on Pictures tab
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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