It´s the end of the world as we know it!

  Ushuaia, Patagonia, Argentina
Sunday, October 5, 2008

So we boarded the bus down to Rio Gallegos a longish 18 hour journey. We had decided that we would head to the Glacier at El Calafate and then start to head north again. This wasnīt the most eventful of trips. George did get singled out by a school child doing a reading club at the bus station. I looked the other way whilst George struggled to understand the book for a 6 year old being read to her. George enjoyed it and made the kidīs day when she presented her with a pack of John Lewis coloured pencils as a reward!

We got to Rio Gallegos at 8.30 am a bit giddy as always after an overnight bus journey. We scanned the various bus companies for buses to El Calafate and something jumped out at us. There was a bus leaving at 9 to Ushuaia, the Southern most city in the world in the extreme sounding Tierra Del Fuego. George looked at me pleadingly. It had been somewhere she had been keen to visit, and the notion of reaching the very bottom of South America appealed to me too. We booked our tickets, excited about the quick change of plans but a little anxious that we hadnīt booked any hostel and that we didnīt know quite what to expect. Too late now.

After a long, drawn out security check we set out. The journey was to involve 4 border crossings and a ferry crossing across the Straights Of Magellan. An exciting sounding journey. We headed off and after 45 minutes or so had reached our first border check, the exit from Argentina. The wind was howling and buffeting the bus. Everyone jumped off the bus, staggered through the wind and queued quietly while the over-officious Argentian border police solemnly stamped passports and exit cards. Back on the bus we got and on we drove for a couple of hundred metres to the Chilean border. We stopped for a while waiting to be beckoned off the bus, the wind still howling. After 5 minutes or so the conductor got back onto the bus and told us that the Chileans were not going to let us pass. At first we thought it was due to cock up by the company, bus as it turned out it was due to the wind. It was so strong that the ferry crossing 2 hours down the road was too dangerous and they had stopped services. Bugger! Not a good result. We turned the bus around and headed back to the Argentian border. We stopped at the bus again and waited. After 20 minutes or so waiting, there would be a lot of this, we were told we were going to attempt to cross the Chilean border again.

As we sped toward the border, the wind was still howling, and I had visions of us driving straight through the gate, smashing it to pieces James Bond style! It didnīt happen. The Chileans had decided to let us through to take our chances at the dock. We had until 5pm for the wind to drop and for the ferry to start up before we had to turn around and head back. We decided to take our chances. Another round of stamps, and declarations of no fresh food being carried and we were through. At this stage it was exciting, a real on-off roller coaster of a journey. We got to the docks at 1pm, 4 hours into our journey with another potential 8 or 9 to go! Maybe this wasnīt such a good idea after all! Damn spontaneity!

no really

We sat around on the bus and occasionally ventured out into the gale to stretch our legs! A look to the horizon showed black cloud, and the straights looked choppy. At this point I didnīt want them to take any risks and I almost hoped that we would just give up and go back. I didnīt fancy a dangerous boat ride! We sat around for a couple of hours and then in the distance blue sky began to appear, and the was movement among the bus drivers. The wind seemed to have calmed but only a little as far as I could tell. Then the sight we had hoped for, a ferry was heading for the dock! We were on our way. We got off the bus and walked onto the ferry, the passengers exchanging nervous glances with one another! 

magellan straights

We set off and almost immediately the boat began to rock from side to side and up and down. I hoped I wasnīt going to be sick and more importantly that we would make it across! As we ventured further across the straights the water got choppier and the wind stronger, the buses and lorries swaying outside and us feeling a little queasier. We carried on and soon the other side came into sight! We looked like we were going to make it! Phew!

Back aboard the bus we passed the "Welcome to Tierra Del Fuego" sign and immediately it began to hail. Hard. Where on earth were we going. We drove on through empty, weather beaten landscape. It was 4 hours until we we reached Rio Grande back in Argentina after more stamping and waiting at border crossings. It was 8 pm and now dark. I began to wish we had hostel reservations! We had another 3 and a half hours to go before we reached Ushuaia! As I worried, George dozed off. We drove on through the dark and about an hour out of Ushuaia I looked out at the window. It seemed a little bright our there. I looked more closely. Snow on the ground. Great. I looked again and saw the snow coming down in thick sheets. This was getting more and more ridiculous. I had visions of us arriving at midnight to 6 feet of snow and nowhere to snow. For the first time on our trip I hoped and prayed to the god of travelers that there would be a hostel tout at the bus stop!

There was. I have never been so happy to hear the voice of a tout shouting "you need hostel". I grabbed the flier, asked how much, and without really listening to the answer got into his waiting minibus! And relax. The now was still coming down, but now it seemed romantic and exciting, not intimidating. I guess, in hindsight, the excitement of the journey made the whole thing more of an adventure and we were able to appreciate the remoteness of the end of the world even more fully. We got to hotel at just after midnight, opened the door to our warm and toasty room and collapsed on the bed. What a journey!

We awoke to grey skies and blanket off snow covering everything.

beagle channel

We had breakfast overlooking the town and out to the Beagle Channel. We decided to head to the museum housed in the old prison. It was quite a big old museum and had displays on Maritime things, the history of the prison, and some stuff on Antarctic exploration. All in all it was a bit pricey, although the section devoted to the prison and penal colony was really good and very well done. We visited the Antarctic stuff hoping to find interest exhibits and hopefully some references to Thomas Crean, but there was nothing, not really even much mention of Scott. Very strange. 

ski lift

Day 2 and the skies had brightened, for a while at least, weather here just seemed to happen. One second beautiful blue skies and the next snow was coming down. There clear conditions gave us our first view of the mountains that surrounded the town. They were quite imposing and it was the first time on the trip that the Andes ran from West to East rather that North to South. We decided to risk the weather and go for a

g

walk up to the ski lifts that were operating. Not before I went to buy myself a new camera though. For some reason the prices in Ushuaia were pretty competitive and I found one I like and snapped it up. Anyway we had a good walk up to the ski lifts and after suffering another bout of vertigo/fear of heights a good ride on them up the mountain.

ski lifts

Day 3 was another walking day. The weather had warmed and the snow had melted in the town. We headed up to the ski lifts again. This time taking the no accessible and much more scenic route up the mountain, through the forest. It was really beautiful.

icy stream

A real untouched winter wonderland. We got to the ski lifts earlier and headed up the mountain. We were determined to walk to the glacier today and we had given ourselves time. We set off through the snow staying on the "path" of already trekked snow. I wanted to do a snow angel so stepped off the path I took two steps before my leg went through the snow up to my waist! I was stuck. George laughed before giving me a hand out! I would stick to the path from now.

george the ecplorer

We trekked up the hill, occasionally looking back at the incredible view over the town and in the distance. It was a beautiful but stark landscape.

valley

Up we went, not really sure where we were headed. We had our mini picnic on some rocks at the end of the world it was quite a setting. The path became steeper and steeper and the snow deeper and deeper. It wasnīt apparent where the end was so after a couple of hours tiring walking we decided to turn around and go back our mini adventure over.

snowball fight

We headed off the next day, glad that we had made it to the end of the world. We were to head North from now on for the first time on our journey. The homeward leg had now truly begun.