From Ushuaia´s port we took a taxi up to our next lodgings, just outside of town. We had only found out a couple of days previously that we would be arriving two nights earlier than expected, and we discovered that availability was limited. There was an upside, albeit not for our budget: the accommodation we eventually found was significantly more comfortable than our usual lodgings. We were staying in a cabin overlooking the Beagle Channel, with a bedroom separate from the main living area and -- most importantly -- our own kitchenette. We arrived at around 7pm, and our first task was to stroll down to the supermarket 100 metres away. Clem cooked up a tasty treat while I worked on the blog, and we spent the evening enjoying a bottle of vino tinto and some space to ourselves.
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| Late evening view over the channel from our cozy cabin |
Our first morning in Ushuaia was a lazy one, inspired by our comfortable surroundings (and by being a fortnight behind on the blog). We emerged from the cabin only to pick up food for lunch. It wasn´t until 3pm that we wandered down the hill to catch the bus into town. Our first impressions of Ushuaia were ambivalent: it had none of the charm of Puerto Williams, its "southernmost" rival, but we must confess that the impressive tourism infrastructure was a welcome change from Isla Navarino.
Not that everything was going smoothly. We´d received an email from LAN saying, rather cryptically, that our flight up to Buenos Aires in a week´s time had been "delayed". Since LAN themselves could not be reached, we asked around at various travel agencies. We were told that there were no lingering problems from the ash cloud, and although there had been a strike recently that had mostly been resolved now. We were warned, however, that delays were far from uncommon. In short, we'd just have to cross our fingers.
We spent most of the afternoon evaluating our options for treks and day excursions. We did manage to squeeze in one worthwhile activity, a visit to the Yamana museum, before returning to the cabin for dinner. This small but well-presented museum uses models to explain the life of the natives, who arrived in Tierra del Fuego 6000 years before the land was settled by Europeans and were then more or less wiped out 50 years later. There was also an interesting overview of global migration patterns explaining why this area was apparently the last to be reached by mankind.
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After two days in our cozy cabin it was time to move to our next hostel, Hotel La Posta. This was also very comfortable, and again we had use of the kitchen (thankfully, since Ushuaia prices are a bit of a budget-killer). We walked halfway back into town to the new hostel, dropped off our bags, and set off for our first real activity, a walk up to Glacier Martial. Clem was eager to walk all the way from town, but the friendly guy at the hostel persuaded us that it was a much better idea to get a taxi (can't say I took much persuading).
The taxi dropped us at the entrance to the trail. This was also the start of a chair lift that seemed to go half way up (this is a ski area in the winter, apparently). By now the weather was playing with us. Just as we emerged from the taxi it started to pour with rain. We slung on our waterproofs. Ten minutes later and it had stopped raining; we were getting hot so took off the waterproofs. This pattern repeated itself.
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| Either putting on or taking off waterproofs, again |
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| View of the glacier from half way along the trail |
After around 45 minutes' walk from the start of the chair lift we arrived at the start of the moraine. Here the path was lost in the snow and we had to struggle up the steep slope of loose rocks, small and large. By now the wind had picked up and the light drizzle was in our faces. We reached the crest of the moraine and looked out over the glacier, but didn't linger too long as the weather was not particularly pleasant. By now the rain was picking up and the moraine was starting to get rather muddy, which didn't help the descent. Soon it was even snowing, although this turned to rain once we were a little further down. At least now the wind was at our backs, and we pitied those who walked past us grimacing into the blizzard.
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| The glacier from the end of the moraine |
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| View back across the moraine, with Ushuaia off in the distance |
We found some shelter near the top of the chair lift to eat our packed lunch, but by now we were cold and wet (after being slow to put on our waterproofs) and the target was the very attractive tea-house we had spotted at the start of the trail. We motored down the slope, almost tripping over ourselves with urgency to enter the warm foyer to take off our waterproofs. There we enjoyed an excellent lemon pie and two steaming hot coffees, and waited until the sunshine on the patio outside indicated that it was safe to emerge.
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| Attack of the giant cakes! |
We decided to walk back down the hill to Ushuaia (as Clem countered my lazy inclination towards taking a cab), which ended up not being as far as the guy in the hostel had suggested. We had a wander around town, then walked back to the hostel for a well-earned dinner and sleep.
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| The sun shines down on the glacier as we walk back down to Ushuaia |
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| Mount Olivia, the tallest around Ushuaia |
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