25.12.-31.12.10

Ushuaia

I had a brilliant flight from BUENOS AIRES to USHUAIA on Christmas, the 25th of December 2010. Even though that I was very tired as I only had three hours sleep I only managed to sleep for the first couple of hours on the plane. Just before we were descending for a quick stopover in EL CALAFATE the view from the plane was absolutely stunning. Mountains covered in snow in between turquoise lakes.

When we arrived in USHUAIA it rained and it was quite cold in comparison to BA with its 35 degrees. I shared a taxi with a nice couple from Switzerland to our hostels. I had a reservation for the hostel "TORRES AL SUR" which was recommended by my Swiss friend Sylvia. Wow and I couldn't believe it but I got the best room of the whole hostel…..the "tower room"! For the following seven days I was sharing this beautiful room with a fantastic view on the "Beagle Channel" and the mountains with two girls from Argentina and one lady from Uruguay.

USHUAIA is the southernmost city of the word and with its approx. 60.000 inhabitants it is nestled on the shores of the Beagle Channel. It is a quite touristy city and attracts all sorts of travellers, the independent backpacker as well as the wealthy tourists who start their excursions to the Antarctica from here.

The first two days I was very tired and exhausted, so I only went for a few strolls through the town and slept for the rest of the day. Well as it was Christmas all the shops were closed anyhow and there was not much to do then wondering around.

On the third day in USHUAIA I went to the "Penguin Island" with the company "Pira Tours". At 8am we drove to the remote "estancia" (farm) "Haberton" which is located 85km east of Ushuaia. From there we took a small boat to the Penguin Island where we could walk around right in-between the penguins. We were so close to them that I could take some really good photos. Check them out on my website! On the way back we stopped at the "estancia" and could warm ourselves up with some hot chocolate and homemade cookies.

The next day I decided to hike up to the "Glaciar Martial". I took a taxi to the Ski lifts and from there I just followed the trail which took me right to the foot of the Glacier. Some fit Swiss guys who I met on the hike convinced me to go even a bit further right into the snow….and the view from there was just beautiful. Check out the photos of my album "Glaciar Martial" in Ushuaia!

On the 27 of December 2010 I went with Monica from Uruguay to the National Parc " Tierra del Fuego" (Feuerland National Park). We took the Shuttle bus at 10am in the morning and hiked along the lake for four hours. The views along the lake, bays, rivers and through the forests were wonderfully scenic and we enjoyed a nice picnic in the sun.

As there were no buses to Patagonia in Chile before New Year's Eve, Monica and I decided to stay in Ushuaia for New Year and take the next bus on New Year's day. Even though that we had to get up at 6am in the morning we had a great and funny New Year's Eve in the hostel "Torre al Sur" with 20 other nice "backpackers".