Tierra del Fuego & Ushuaia

Exhausted after the W-Trek we were actually looking forward to the 12-hour bus ride to Ushuaia, since we figured we could catch up on some much needed sleep. Too much wishful thinking, perhaps, since below is the view from our bus for not a minute short of 6 hours.

There was supposed to be a ferry at this crossing, from mainland Chile to Tierra del Fuego, but the winds were so high that day that the ferry was unable to cross, and so the bus just sat at the end of the road waiting for the winds to die down a bit. As usual, we had no idea what was going on for the first few hours, since informing the public isn't a big concept here. Later, the bus driver casually mentioned we were waiting for better weather, and that we might get to leave around 4:00 or 5:00, or maybe we'd turn around and try the next day (!). Fortunately we did sleep for most of the 6 hours that the bus was stopped. Luckily, around 5:00pm (we arrived at 11:00am) the winds settled a bit and we caught the ferry to the other side of the channel. The bus stopped for dinner after crossing the border back into Argentina, but we weren't feeling the expensive and not-so-fresh looking fried chicken sandwiches at the only cafe, so we had tuna and crackers again. After 19 hours on the bus (around 2:00am) we arrived in Ushuaia, walked 6 blocks to Hostel Yakush, and crashed.

The next day we wandered around Ushuaia and organized our penguin tour.

A tribute to the power of Patagonian winds:

The sun sets very late and slowly in Ushuaia.

We have enjoyed being able to cook meals again, after lacking kitchen facilities in Puerto Montt, on the Ferry, and while hiking. We made a lovely roast-chicken ragout pasta, and enjoyed a bottle of leftover Reserva wine from Alex's birthday by a little window overlooking the main street in Ushuaia.

We wandered around the panoramic and picturesque Ushuaia harbour, where we found many abandoned ships. 

On Monday afternoon we took our second domestic flight in South America from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires. The decision to fly for under $200 CDN rather than bus for 40 hours (and nearly the same price) up the coast was an easy decision to make.