• Logbook
• Road Stars
Photo album:
• Tierra del Fuego
Activities:
• Ushuaia Boating
Lodging:
• Ayres Porteños Hostel
• Posada del Michay
January 13th, 2011 – Arrival to Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Believe it or not, even after having been planning the trip for so long, the last minute arrangements prevented us from having time to sleep the night before we took our flight to Buenos Aires...This is the way our trip starts!
The arrival to Buenos Aires comes with some surprises: the boxes that contained our bikes appear in the conveyor belt completely open (imagine a book made of cardboard with the cover opened and a disassembled bike inside). The reason: TSA (no comments…). Luckily, only one incident: Cesar's bike break disc is badly undulated (will be replaced for a new one in Ushuaia). Lesson learned: better disassemble the break disc and don't leave small items in the box.
We meet with Javier for dinner and enjoy not only his company but a great parrillada de carne (this is something you can't miss if you go to Argentina!).
We're a staying at the Ayres Porteños Hostel in the San Telmo neighborhood for the night (we fly to Ushuaia at 5:00 AM the following day). This is a very peculiar place where Tango is the main topic (see pictures for details).
January 14th, 2011 – Arrival to Ushuaia (El Fin del Mundo, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina)
Another night with no sleep …it seems to be the trend of the trip. Reason: rebuilding the boxes for the next flight. Finally! We've reached our first destination, and the starting point of our trip: Ushuaia! End of the world, Beginning of life (as it reads on one of the touristy t-shirts you could buy here).
Ushuaia, the most austral city in the world (well…that's what the Argentinians claim…it's different when you talk to the Chileans). It's a hub for sailing trips to Cape Horn and the Antarctica, as well as several cruises. It is separated from the Chilean island of Navarino through the Beagel Channel, and its closest National Park (Tierra de Fuego, 20km) shares terrestrial border with Chile. In fact, you can only leave Ushuaia, without entering Chile, by plane…This has already proven to be a problem for them, since when we arrived there has been a demonstration from the Chilean workers of the XII region (due to an increase in the price of gas) that ended up closing the communications to/from the border for a week.
The city is growing fast with not much planned structure. It is confined between the Beagel Channel (Beagle was the name of the boat captained by FitzRoy in which Charles Darwin traveled) and the snowcapped peaks of Sierra Vinciguerra on the North, Sierra Sorondo on the East and the Chilean Cordillera Darwin on the West. It is beautiful scenery! Outdoor possibilities are multiple, with rivers and lakes no matter where you go, of course, if you dare the changing weather of the region (which is bearable with waterproof equipment).
We're staying at La Posada del Michay for 3 nights with the lovely family formed by mom Silvia, dad Estanislao, Cristina and her other brothers. They've been very welcoming and the place is very clean and well kept.
January 15-16, 2011 – Sleeping… visiting and preparing the trip to Navarino Island (Chile)
Everything takes longer here! Argentinians like to talk and talk and talk…
We visit the Fin del Mundo museum with lots of antiques (meaning from 150 years ago max). We also visit El Presidio, now a museum. This was the main reason for the development of Ushuaia. The convicts provided labor to build the city. In turn, a considerable part of the city activity was to provide services to the most dangerous Argentinian criminals: food, clothes, etc. Other less creepy activities include enjoying the great variety of chocolates and the famous Argentinian meats.
We find an excellent source of information for hiking and riding: Alejandro and his team at Ushuaia Boating. They lend us "The Bible" for the Dientes de Navarino circuit. This is an impressive hiking guide for this demanding trek in the neighboring Navarino Island. The guide is almost impossible to find, so we scanned Alejandro's and now it can be downloaded from our site. Definitively, if you need to talk to someone really knowledgeable of the region, with a great sense of care for visitors, go to Ushuaia Boating.
