Needless to say, reaching the "the end of the world" is not the easiest. Setting off from Laguna Azul, a lake in an inactive volcano crater outside of Rio Gallegos where we camped for the night, we needed to cross into Chile very briefly and then cross back into Argentina to make it to Tierra del Fuego. If one ever needed the evidence of human hubris then look no further (or as far as you possibly can) to the borders along the southern tip of South America (but really borders in general).
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| Seeking protection from the wind inside the volcano's crater at Laguna Azul |
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| Our attempt at some extra padding underneath our tent |
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| Climbing out of the crater and back to the refuge of our car (not seen are the howling winds) |
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| Top right is Argentina as well as the triangle of land in the bottom right (they are not connected!) |
This was our first border crossing with the car and we heard from others that the customs officials are often very strict. This proved more or less true throughout our road trip, though with incredible discrepancies from one crossing to the next. But in general customs upon entering Chile was stricter then entering Argentina. So here we made sure to have almost no fruits and vegetable on us and we declared other questionable items we had (nuts, granola, canned beans, etc.). At this crossing they made us eat or throw out the fruits we had (no problem) though dried fruits were fine, canned beans also fine but not dried beans, and the more puzzling choice was not allowing our honey?!?!? To the custom officer's credit she did allow us to consume all of our honey if we wanted to...we decided against this. And let's not forget, all this was happening only a few hours before we would return back to Argentine soil.
Safely in mainland Chile, we headed for our ferry crossing on the Strait of Magellan to then arrive in Tierra del Fuego, Chile all before quickly crossing back into Tierra del Fuego, Argentina (say that 5x fast). We arrived to Punta Delgada shortly before 11am, which as we learned was when the next ferry was scheduled to leave. 11am came and went with no ferry. After some time A struck up a conversation with a seasoned ferry crosser (a Chilean sheep farmer who lives in mainland Chile, but his estancia is on Tierra del Fuego, Chile). He informed us that delays are frequent due to the constant winds and difficult tides. Lucky for us, we were one of the first cars in line for the ferry, so when it did finally leave, AT 6PM!!!!, we got right on. Yes that is right, we waited in our car for 7 hours for what was a 30 minute ride. After our ferry crossing, we still had a few hours drive to Rio Grande where upon arrival we immediately found a hostel, ate a quick bite, and passed out.
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| While waiting for the ferry we watched the boat try and dock multiple times only to be denied |
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| Finally aboard the fabled ferry! |
The next day we planned to camp along Lago Yehuin, an interior lake not very far from Rio Grande. With this in mind we stocked up on some necessary items and leisurely made our way south stopping for a picnic lunch and at other various lookout points along the way. At Lago Yehuin we found a deserted campground, as well as the ruins of a hotel that burned down a few years back. Being near the hotel was a little creepy but the lake was crisp and the views stunning. It was a great way to introduce ourselves to the beauty of Tierra del Fuego. And, while we were having breakfast we found one of our first encounters with a new buddy!
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| Picnic spot along the coast, it was too early in the season and these cabanas were not open |
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| Looking out towards the horizon in between bites |
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| The shores of Lago Yehuin |
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| We were the only ones camping (not shown the ruins of the burned down hotel) |
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| Breakfast friend, the Darwin fox! |
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| After many kilometers driven through flatland, it was all the more stunning to see the snow capped Andes |
Leaving Lago Yehuin we ventured to Ushuaia, the town that markets itself as the end of the world (even though technically Puerto Williams, Chile is slightly further). Ushuaia is the classic jumping off point for Antarctica, which we briefly looked into. Instead, we opted for a few days hiking up towards glaciers, roaming around national parks, and visiting some of the local estancias. The town itself was much larger than either of us expected. It definitely lacks charm, though you really can't beat the surroundings of mountains and the Beagle Channel. Highlights included hiking in Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego, looking out into deep valleys and hidden lakes, and visiting small fishing villages along the coast towards the Southeast.
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| Lago Fagnano just outside of Tolhuin |
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| Our chariot on the shores of Lago Fagnano in Tolhuin |
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| Was not exactly the type of glacier we were expecting... |
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| Walking up to the glacier outside of Ushuaia (they used to have a chair lift - thanks old tour book) |
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| Hiking in Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego |
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| Funky mushrooms (and A's foot for scale?) |
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| Z diligently prepping some sandwiches |
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| Z has a soft spot for all pendulous flowers |
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| A post office to say there is a post office |
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| They love these geo-domes |
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| A clear day on the Beagle Channel |
After four wonderful days at the end of the world it was time to begin our slow journey north. Naturally we began with a noble quest for sheep's milk cheese. Patagonia is known for its many sheep and we read in our guidebook that a certain monastery near Rio Grande made award winning stuff. However, as we stated in our previous post, these guidebooks are almost 20 years old. Arriving to the guidebooks cheese location we quickly realized something was off... The location was that of a church/high school and absolutely NO cheese was to be found! In a way it was probably better for us as we were planning on getting cheese, having a picnic, and then crossing into Chile which would have meant we would need to have eaten ALL the cheese first. We tried to be hopeful, thinking maybe there would be a stand up ahead on the highway, but nothing. So, we crossed empty handed into Chile and headed towards penguins!!! A new colony of king penguins, 2nd largest behind emperor penguins, are living and breeding near Porvenir, chile! This is the only colony outside of Antarctica. Naturally, we made an outing of visiting this colony and saw the fluffy toddlers (born the previous year) as well as their parents living their daily life while we tried to imagine what they were thinking.
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| So fluffy! Close up through the telescope |
With this, we concluded our stay on Tierra del Fuego and took the more reliable and longer ferry from Porvenir, Chile (oddly home to lots of Croatians) to Punta Arenas on mainland South America.
This leg of the trip was 6 days, 1000 km (~ 650 mi) and here is our map:
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