The Beagle Channel

Again, I can't believe how lucky I'm being with the weather, yesterday wasn't great but it was a day for moving around so a bit of cold wasn't too bad, not to mention that the rain stayed away properly until we'd finished.  Today it was Ushuaia's attempt at blue skies, at least a little bit anyway.  And it really gave the mountains behind the town a chance to show off.

So today was a boat trip out into the Beagle channel, one of only three natural channels to cross between the Pacific and the Atlantic.  The other is the Magellan straits and Cape Horn, although that is considered extremely dangerous due to the two oceans meeting.  The Beagle channel is 180km long and Ushuaia is right in the middle.

Actually a great trip today, it was a small boat so there were maybe only 25 people on board in total and the guide was great.  While we were going from place to place he actually talked through a lot of the history using a bunch of different books and maps of the area.

The main thing that stands out in my mind is the tribes that used to live in this area,  there were two which were land living and nomadic and two that sailed.  They survived hunting sea lions, penguins and eating the seaweed and other vegetation.  Despite the cold they wore no clothing and had survived in the area for 6,000 years.  Then the Europeans arrived around 1870 and converted them to Christianity.  They forced them to wear clothes, stop their hunting practices and within 60 years there were none left.  Sad to say but I know this isn't the only story of its type. 

Anyway, more cheerful topic, first stop was a sea lion colony, always good for some photos and these guys knew they were the star attraction.

I was even able to get onto the rocks so someone could take a picture of me........

:o)

From there an island full of nesting cormorants.

The guide suggested we could just tell the brazilians they were penguins since they wouldn't know any better :o)

Next up, the lighthouse which is featured Ina lot of photos of the area.  It is there as stretching from just south of Ushuaia all the way to it are pockets of shallow water.  In 1930 a German ship tried to cut the corner inside the lighthouse, hit a rock and sank.  There were 1,300 people on board who had to wait in Ushuaia (population 800 at the time) for seven weeks until another boat arrived looking for them.

From there the journey back took us onto an island where the natives used to live.  It's an active archaeological site now so you have to be careful where you walk but some of the views were great.

We even got to see some penguins.........

....... Briefly.........

All told it was about three and a half hour out in the channel, a good group of people and a good crew.  If anyone goes down to Ushuaia I thoroughly recommend Patagonia Explorer as opposed to the other companies running much bigger boats.

So that ends my time in Patagonia.  Right now I'm on the plane heading back north again.  A one night stop over in Buenos Aires (literally, I land around midnight and leave the following lunchtime) and the on to Iguassu falls.  I have to say I'm sorry to leave this area behind,  it really is stunning and there are amazing options to hike and camp all over the place which I haven't really taken advantage of.  Maybe another time, but it is a long way to come.  For now it's time to pack up the winter gear and stow it down in the backpack out of the way and break out the shorts and t-shirts for the warm weather.  Apparently in Rio a week ago it hit 45C which according to the Brazilian I was talking to is just considered 'uncomfortable', to me I consider it as me turning into a puddle on the floor.  Let's see how we go.