B & B de las Artes Ushuaia

... Argentine Navy in 1920 (I did remember something the guide said!). After turning round to head back the water got a bit rough and it started snowing again, which meant it was a bit of a rough ride to the last part of our boat trip, a walk on the Bridge Islands. Apparently, the native Yamana people (who were killed off by the Spaniards) used to live on these islands eating fish, and as it is ...

Alrighty then so once again it was time to head out and although we were sad to leave the Linda Vista it was time to move on to the next leg of our trip. After walking through the city a little and having some lunch we headed once again onto our minibus and ventured off to the airport. FYI: when leaving Calafate there is an airport tax. It is 18 pesos so not bad but just a little tip.

On our way back to Buenos Aires we made a pit stop ...

... and a success of making something out of nothing. Spending time further south in Cafayete saw the odd bottle of "torrentes" (grape variety) swallowed under a shaddy trees of the occasional vineyard only interrupted a ice cream stop or asado (bbq ). A hitch back to Salta and pick up without wait but, not without pay as it is common for the driver to request a token amount. So together with the other 3 hitchhikers in ...

... like to call it. (A personal favourite of mine on weekend breaks to some European City - leave it all to the last 3 hours before the flight back!). The first tour of the day was out on the Beagle Channel to see the wildlife and the lighthouse. Although it looked fairly calm and pleasant on the mainland, as soon as you leave the protection of the mountains and the bay, the wind picks up, it becomes bitterly cold ...

... Wohoo! I knew I wasn`t bad at pegging! So we all piled onto the small ferry with a coffee in hand for breakfast...only to find a pod of beautiful white and black dolphins following us all the way!! It was amazing and sure spread smiles all over our faces!! Even the cold wind and rain couldn`t dampen our morning! Once we`d crossed the Magellan straits we were into the island of Tierra del Fuego...holding the most southerly city in the whole world...Ushuaia. We had many ...

... and I thought that I would have a look through the window to see if my hotel pick up was there I could not see anyone holding a sign with my name on it. I then went over to a security guy and asked if this was Ushuaia and he said in broken English that it was not. Great I thought as I looked out to see them refueling the plane, this was a good sign. I found someone that knew what was happening and apparently I was not supposed to exit the plane. No ...

... another boat where they will get off and 2 scientists who have been down here awhile studying Orca whales will hitch a ride back to Ushuaia with us, This has been an incrediable trip and the staff are very good, have been very informative and have done a very good trip for us, Heck I feel safer here than I do in Phoenix at night, We have no TV, radio or newspapers , so dont know whats happening in the rest of the world, which isnt bad at all!!!!!

... the fields. I have images of them flying away - little cotton wool balls blown from the face of the earth like tumbleweed. Maybe the grass acts like velcro and holds them down. We have a tea break in the middle of nowhere, and our host, a Chilean escapee from the Pinochet years, tells us that today the wind is blowing at 130km/hour, but somedays it can get up to 170! I don't know what it is - heat, rain, snow...bring it on, I relish the seasons. But there is something about ...

... with useful river crossings! Diversions around dams, ponds and flooded areas were necessary and heavy-going, over fallen logs and deep water-filled hidden holes in the ground - luckily no damage to ankles! All in all, one of favourite treks, apart from the last 6 hours, when the rain got too much for us and thankfully we managed to hitch a lift in a local minibus going back into town. Christmas greetings from Andy & Esther xxx

... we sailed up the Beagle Channel - we didn't actually round the horn - it is still deemed too dangerous to do unnecessarily.



After lunch it was time for another Zodiac excursion. We were walking up to a view point above Wulaia Bay (Charles Darwin landed here). However it had been snowing and the walked turned into a mudbath and we were only able to go halfway as it was too slippy to go up to the top ...