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There is not a soul on earth who could deny the beauty of far southern Argentina. It is terribly obvious, plain to see and exposed like a high school public speaker with a boner. The true beauty of Patagonia is that it doesn't really need to do anything special to get those mouths gaping with amazement. Its pristine landscape, untouched parks and purest of mountain air remains imprinted in all who are lucky enough to visit.
Not even the delayed flight to Ushuaia could dampen my spirits, as the hundreds of fishermen lining the esplanade opposite the airport provided great entertainment. Fellas, when you are basically fishing on top of each other of course there are going to be tangles. A few dummy spits later by the salt dogs and I was smoothly through the formalities and on my way to the "Fin del Mundo", a title that Ushuaia has infamously claimed as the southern most city in the world. My view of magnificent mountain covered peaks, midnight blue lakes and rocky headlands upon landing were slightly disrupted by an excessive amount of camera lense belonging to a German tourist. The thing was so large that it extended a whole seat length, occupying my personal space for a good 20 mins, all for "that shot". Meanwhile I was fighting numerous urges to snap the thing off.
The view of the city from the airport entrance instantly calmed me down. How's the serenity? A small-ish town of around 60000 people at the foot of a cluster of snow capped mountains is enough to put anyone in high spirits and I spent a while taking some special selfies before heading into the city by taxi. The outstanding views of the city are definitely matched by its cold. The place reaches a max of around 10 degrees. And it took some time and many layers before I was able to venture out into town.
I met an American guy John the next day whom I ended up spending the next few days in Ushuaia with. A real cool bloke, studying in BA and down for a holiday. Being as equally ill-equipped for mountaineering as me, we decided to spend the day in Tierra del Fuego NP. This park is seriously stunning. It is home to a variety of coloured lakes (brown, blue, black, green) which have all formed due to peat formation over millions of years. Not to mention the beech forests, lake beaches and mountain views we observed. It was like being put into a blender and watching all these colours, shapes and landscapes whizz past you. Truly unforgettable! Turn it up Mother Nature! We spent 8 hours of non stop walking through trails of varying difficulty. It was on the last trail that I put forward an idea. "I'm kinda tempted to do a naked photo ay" half expecting him to turn it down. He basically had his clothes off already, and both of us, members flying in all directions bounded down the beach for the always sought after nude photo. We were having the time of our lives until I noticed a foreign looking head coming around the corner towards the beach. "Yo someone's coming!!" I've never seen someone go from naked to not naked as fast as John did that day, and my rig was in no condition to be seen by anyone. But in about 10 seconds he was fully clothed leaving me to play our situation off as a "cold swim" (the German girls didn't buy it).
I spent much of my time in Ushuaia walking around the city. The awesome thing is that it doesn't get dark until 1030pm. Allowing you to really get the most out of the day. The lookouts around the city are a great way to get the best views. I enjoyed the views so much I spent ages looking down from the top of a few hills. I also visited one of the only pubs in town for one last party with some mates I had made during my time In Ushuaia. Whether it was the cold or my inability to handle the piss I was almost down for the count after 1 round. A perfect way to prepare myself for the 5am bus ride north to El Calafate the next day. There is something so special about literally being at the end of the world. I'm so grateful to have been able to reach such an isolated yet amazing destination.
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