Hosteria Les Eclaireurs Ushuaia

... skipped the option of taking the "Train to the end of the World" because it seemed a bit expensive on top of the park entry fee, and carried on in the bus to the start of the trails.<br><br>We had a great day walking around, and didn't bump into many people outside of the main viewing points which was nice, and the landscape was amazing. We saw quite a few birds and lots of hares, and a red fox even wandered across our path and stared us down at one point. One of the ...

... fox (a fluffier version of the ones the eat your rubbish in the UK). The beavers are unfortunately in hibernation (wise creatures) for the winter, I was hoping to see one even though they are considered vermon!<br><br> For a bit of culture we took the ''prisoners train'' the next day. Ushuaia was founded as a penal colony in the early 1900´s. The prisoners housed down here were put to work building a railway amongst other things...the prison didnt last long as ...

... Man had prevailed in creating a town perfectly in contrast to its surroundings - ugly. Even the penguins had abandoned their colony here for the season. I saw no reason to stay longer than one night, perversely thankful that I'd been presented with a stopover not at all photogenic.<br><br>The soaking arrival of Cycle Craig made my fleeting visit to Punta Arenas worthwhile. Whilst I had frowned upon the dismal weather on my walk around town (often from the warm ...

... and Argentina. The north end is flat and dry, it reminded me very much of southern Alberta, but with guanaco. The south end is more like the Rockies -- mountains and forests and crystal lakes. And here, at the end of the world, we ran into somebody we know from Prince George. Which, of course, left me humming "small world after all" for the next three days. Our first big task for Ushuaia (aside from finally ...

... had maybe 30 minutes sleep before getting on Swampy to go to Ushuaia (where I am now). Now.. my bad night. I would like to state the obvious and say that I am ok and not injured in any way. Some of my group were out at an English pub and I went to catch a taxi to meet them by myself. It wasn't that far away.. maybe a 20 minute walk. So.. I flagged down a taxi, jumped in, showed him on a map where I wanted to go. He established that I couldn't speak spanish, and he couldn't ...

... and see a glacier but had the luck that just this week the teleferic was out of use and we did not have enough time left to climb the thing. I got a certificate of the city of Ushuaia that I was at the end of the world. At least at the most southern city...

... should have gone for the cruise that went all the way out to the penguin colony. As a plus though our boat had an onboard keg so we got well drunk while checking out cormorants and fur seals. The Tierra del Fuego national park was a bit of a letdown following the towers of pain. Finally if you plan on going to antarctica by boat do yourself a favour and head to Ushuaia in summer before ...

... getting mild sway so far, may not here another story till we get home, unless the drake isnt to back toshuaia. The Drake got real bad on the 2nd day, Had it not been for the sick sick meds I would have been sick, were able to make it up for Lucnch and dinner, some werrent so lucky, and were really sick, we didnt see them forr a day or two, till we entered clamer water, Thankfully we made it back to the Beagle channell for our last supper together and everybody made it to dinner.

... I was under the idiotic impression that Ushuaia is an exotic place, full of good looking, almost naked people who want to shower continuously. But let me tell you, nothing could be further from the truth. Seeing it on the map is much more exciting, seriously. The landing was quite complicate and long, so we had plenty of opportunity to seize this famous city from every possible angle. The whole area is very rocky, covered with hills and mountains, except a tiny ...

... the next hostel over and under a few hills, set our bags down, and went exploring before it got dark. Ushuaia is a very cute little town. Buildings are all sorts of colours and shapes, and everyone has meticulously cared for gardens with these beautiful flowers. The main street runs parallel to the water front, a couple of blocks up, and is full of stores with tourist stuff, outdoor gear, and restaurants. There were ...