Ushuaia, Argentina- El Fin Del Mundo

Hola familia y amigos,

We are currently on a bus headed to Punta Arenas, Chile. We spent the last eight days in the southernmost city in the world, or so it is claimed. Everything in Ushuaua is advertised as _____________ el fin del mundo. For example, we saw the post office at the end of the world where you can get your passport stamped for bragging rights. We saw the world's last train in the south. We even camped for two nights in the national park at the end of the world. The city of Ushuaia attracts people for different reasons. It is the main port for getaways to Antarctica, a very enticing thought for us. If you book a voyage in Ushuaia, it's actually relatively affordable. Ushuaia also draws in the backpacker crowd as it is often a beautiful stop at the beginning or end of the Patagonian loop. Lucky for us, it is just the beginning.

We planned on staying just three nights, but ended up extending it to seven. We got two beds at Cruz Del Sur hostel, which has been our favorite hostel to date. We met many like minded people who are on round the world trips of their own with different twists. One gentlemen rode his motorcycle from Alaska to Ushuaia in seven months. Another girl, who spoke five languages, from Italy, is on a bit of a round the world life. She funds her trip as an online translator and moves at her pace while on the road. She takes her work wherever she chooses to be. There are so many ways people have been able to get around the, "I can't wait for the weekend," life.

We spent all of our days trekking through the snow capped mountains. Our nights were spent swapping stories of adventures had with fellow travelers. We shared a room with a beautiful family from Buenos Aires, who we hope to see again one day. Muchas gracias to Miryam, Damian, and Grisel for making our trip extra special. Without further ado, please enjoy the following images from our fantastic week in Ushuaia.

Our first view of Ushuaia from the ground. We walked five kilometers with our packs on to avoid the $10 taxi fee, but were handsomely rewarded with a view







We dropped our bags off and hit the city













Our first hike, day two, to Glacier Martial







From the top







Next, we weaved through the trees and found another trail with a panoramic view of Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel. It was much more impressive than this, but a camera can only do so much







On our third day, we took a van to visit flag trees, an archeological museum, and most importantly, by far, los pinguinos!!!

First, the flag trees. These were created by the tremendous winds in Ushuaia.







Bones from dolphins and whales




Our boat waiting to take us to see some pinguinos




Los Pinguinos- we had one hour on the island. Only one company is allowed to walk on the island as to not ruin the natural environment for the penguins. It was beautiful. The penguins are so entertaining. We loved every minute we had with them




Penguins everywhere




This guy was the star of the photo







Two funny stories from la isla:

Mila was posing in front of a penguin when all of a sudden the penguin starts flapping it wings ferociously. We think he might be making an attempt at flight but boy were we wrong. All of a sudden he turned around, took three or four steps and let out the cutest little fart. Then, back home. I guess he didn't want to fart in his area, understandable. Who does? This was the creator right before the incident




I was trying to take a picture of a penguin in front of Mila. He seemed okay with the photography session, even seemed excited about it. He started to waddle towards me, then a jog. I caught him in the act of biting me in the finger. It hurt so good and made for a nice memory




Mila's favorite- if this is not happy feet, I don't know who is!




We took many pictures and we look forward to showing them to you guys one day. Here are just a few more

La familia- it is breeding time from November to March so we saw many little pinguinos













There were even two king penguins who showed up on the island for the first time this year. We were really sad when our hour ended




Day 4, 5, 6- camping and trekking in Tierra Del Fuego national park. We borrowed a tent from a friend in the hostel and packed our bags to go into the park. For reasons beyond our control, we could not get the ATM machine to work in town. We were going to be late for our bus so we went into the park with 20 USD, 67 pesos, and stressed out looks on our faces. The entrance fee into the park is 85 pesos per person. A Brazilian couple kindly changed us for our dollars but we were still three pesos short. We must have looked really desperate because they happily gave us the rest. We owe them a beer.

Our accommodations for two freezing nights. Free campsite all by ourselves. We stayed in the tent the entire first day due to the weather




Our second day of hiking was much nicer. We did the most intense hike in the park with full packs on. It was a great warm up for our nine day trek in Torres Del Paine national park in Chile later this month

Along the way
















From the top, the views never stopped













Laguna Verde- the lake is actually green




A fox at the peak- we saw several throughout the park







Well deserved pizza at the bottom




Our second hike in the park was an 8 KM costal hike. Not as challenging, but we were treated to some nice views

Laguna Verde




These trees were making creaky noises. Don't worry, they were friendly







On the water







The hike concluded with the post office at el fin del mundo




We spent our last couple days with family dinners at the hostel. Represented in this picture are people from Poland, U.S., Argentina, Colombia, Australia, Japan, and Italy. Five continents at one table




Our favorite Argentinian/ Colombian family and our new friend from Australia




And finally, a dog with dreadlocks looking up at prisoners hollering out the window




Thank you to Ushuaia and all of the people we spent our time with. See everyone next time from Punta Arenas or Puerto Natales

-Mila and Scott

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- Posted around the world from our iPad

Location:Calle Manuel Bulnes,Natales,Chile