South/Cental America #1 - Ushuaia

1. Ushuaia

Well maybe not but we have been spoilt with the fine weather that we have been more than assured that it is not normally like this. Every day has seen blue sky, though a little chilly, it has been fine,

The town itself has a very good vibe too it and all of the locals are fantastic and very, very friendly.We woke early the other day due to our travels and were blessed by a spectacular sunrise over the last landmass on the planet, the sun slowly crept over the horizon and we sat with cameras ready and were not disappointed at all. We then decided to climb up to the glacier that sits above the town; well 8km to the start of the walk was well worth it with a great stroll through the town and a chance to see some of the lesser sights of the town. Matt and I then climbed up onto the glacier and were again pleased to find that everyone else stops some way before that and we sat and ate lunch up on the ice. A big day and we crashed that night after a couple of beers.

Another splendid day, though the legs hurt a little we set off for the National Park and trekked through the beech forests to the bay and had a picture postcard day and sat and our jaws dropped at the views, simply amazing. Well we hiked and hiked and saw a lot of interesting views and animals that I am sure will stay with me forever. We did try and hunt down some beaver but it stayed hidden in its burrow... They were introduced by some crazy Americans back at the turn of last century.

Today I took off on a cruise of the bay and got a great view of bay, it is even more dramatic from on the water.

So far no luck on the Antarctic boats, I have met a couple of people that got aboard but for US$3200 – hit out of the budget. In fact we are managing to travel on $40/day. Tonight the hostel is putting on a huge party with all you can eat BBQ, salad and beer, $7.50.

It is great down here and we both love it, by the looks of things we will be here until Tuesday and then head back to Punta Arenas and then onto Torres del Paine for more hiking.

To everyone who wanted to know how we could be sick of ravelling already, it was 48hrs on the move in 60 hours.

Roland