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.

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.

Ushuaia - The End of the World

I have now made it as far south as I will likely ever be, unless I decide to go to Antartica.  This is the southern tip of Argentina and is only 700 miles or so from the Antartic.  I feel like I should be trying to figure out the equivalent in the northern hemisphere so I can really claim to have been tone four corners of the world :o)

Anyway, it's beautiful down here, a little cold, and the weather can change quickly but the Andes mountains come down here and then do a turn so that instead of running north-south they run east-west.

Today was some hiking followed by some canoeing out in the bay.  The weather wasn't the greatest and the going was slow.  Not because of the weather but because of the Belgian couple who had signed up for the trip.  Now, I don't have anything against people wanting to see things and push themselves but sometimes you need to be realistic.  The woman had suffered a brain tumor several years ago and had real trouble with her balance, not to mention that she was on blood thinners so if she fell it was going to be real trouble.  The paths through a national park are not the smoothest and it was pretty slippery - guess who fell over, yup, down I went again - so we had to go really slowly and help her over the rocks and up and down the steep sections.  I think it probably took an extra hour over what it should have done.  Oh well......  It was some really nice scenery and no one got hurt so let's move on.

By the time we got back to Ushuaia it had decided to hammer it down with rain so I did the sensible thing and went to the pub!  Tomorrow is a boat trip out into the beagle channel, should be interesting.

A Day Of Rest-ish

Bus back to El Calafate today but not until later in the day so time for some light wandering a around the area before picking up and heading back.

Not much to write really, there weren't any serious hills but some ups and downs.  A good warm down after the mountains of yesterday.  So to cut a short story shorter, here's some photos.......

Tomorrow is more travel, this time to the end of the world..... Ushaia, the very tip of Argentina.

One final note, a late bus out of a trekking destination has it's plus points, you can do some of the shorter trails beforehand, you can get some supplies for the journey and such like.  The downside, and it's quite a significant one is that those who do not necessarily take advantage of a shower or change of clothes after the shorter trails can make the bus smell a little.......... Ripe shall we say.

Climbing More Mountains

Today was a beautiful day, thankfully after the snow and clouds of the day before so it was a perfect day to go and climb up some more hills and while not quite mountains, things that were definitely steep enough.  Fortunately I met someone on the bus out here so I wasn't climbing alone, that would not have been fun.  

Overall it's about a 4 hour hike out to the base of mount Fitz Roy.  The first 7km is a little uphill, climbing about 350m.  Ok, so more than a little.  However, from the viewpoint you get you first aight of the mountain, and it's quite impressive.......

However, there's still another 6km to go before you get to the base.  The next 3km is nice and flat and you can go and a good pace and see some gorgeous valleys and the whole mountain range.

As well as the glacier hanging off the side.

From there the only way is up.  400m up in the space of about 2km to be precise.  There's snow on the ground and it's slippery.  Thankfully it was a good day, in bad weather you'd never make it, not to mention that you wouldn't see much anyway.

Oh, and here's my climbing companion, having 'borrowed' a walking stick off a nice / stupid Russian who offered it to her.  I wasn't there at the time so I only have her word for it but I know she gave it back.

And the view from the top is quite something.........

Getting down was treacherous to say the least with loose stones, snow, ice and all manner of things to make you fall over.  As is my way with these things I hit a patch of snow and promptly dumped myself on the ground.  Fortunately, as I'm sure most of you know, pride and dignity said farewell to me a long time ago so at least I didn't have those to lose.

Tomorrow is a rest day and then the bus back to El Calafate, one night and on to Ushaia.  Going to take it easy and rest up, I'm absolutely shattered after today.  Maybe a little stroll out the waterfall but that's about it.

El Chalten

Now I wouldn't say El Chalten is a one horse town, but.........

Llama maybe :o)

So the only reason this place exists is to give people somewhere to sleep after they've hiked up and down the hillsides that surround it.  All in all a nice little place but you come here for the scenery, not the town.  

I got here around lunchtime so I had chance to grab something to eat and then head off on one of their beginner trails, to a lookout point that looks out over the town and the valley.

And then another that looks out over the lake and gives a good panoramic view.

All in all about 2 hours of hiking.  Tomorrow is the big one,about 8 hours to the base of Mount Fitz Roy, hopefully the weather is clearer than today - it's snowing here too!

The Iceman Cometh!

First words when I mentioned to someone I was doing the 'Big Ice' trek.......  "Hopefully it won't be windy".  They never mentioned about the snow!!!

I thought I heard rain against the window the night before but didn't think anything of it until I realised that someone had been playing with the black and white filter on the mountains as we were driving to the boat.

So, yes it was cold, it was snowing, and it was windy. Perfect day for hiking on a glacier!  Cue my invisible man impersonation.

However, even with how cold it was I started to overheat so that didn't last too long :o)

Anyway, about an hour hike up to the starting point where you get a harness and crampons.  

Serious stuff.  After those were on it was out onto the ice, now unfortunately if I put my lens cap on my lens fogged up, if I left it off it got covered in snow and then melted so some of the shots didn't come out quite as I would have hoped.  However, there were some worth showing.

It was cold, it was wet but it was fun.  It felt almost right to be doing this in the snow.  When it obscured all the mountains so all you could see was glacier it really felt like a proper survival type trek (although it was only three hours, but........).  

Anyway, at the end I did have time to pose for a statue.

It's amazing how quickly you can chisel with ice picks!

And on the boat ride back, a glass of whiskey and a cookie - awesome!