Wherever You Go, Go With All Your Heart: Ushuaia, Arg

Well after weeks of debating whether to fly down here because of the constant rain on the forecast I decided to do it! This city has always been #1 on my list to visit since I began this journey. Thank you to everyone who gave me the extra nudge that I needed to get out here… You know who you are. I am already so happy that I did.

I am in the very most southern town of Argentina and 2nd most southern town of South America, just behind Puerto Williams in Chile. I have been told by many that the weather is in transition mode and it’s about to get very very cold down here. I think i picked the absolute last week to be here before it completely turns to unbearable weather. This whole week is projected to be in the low and high 40’s with some rain. Next week it will fall to the low 30’s so I am so glad i got here just in time.

This is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to. I took a redeye in and and spent the first day sleeping an exploring the town. I get a similar feel to that of Bariloche walking around the city center (less dirt though). The locals I have encountered have been extrmemely nice and the food just average, but i guess they are known for their lamb which I tried some of last night and it was just alright. Not to mention a cup of tea is double the price of that in Mendoza, but still no more expensive than California so i shouldn’t complain.

I went for a run across the harbor from the town and it was spectacular. I absolutely love exploring new places by running and I love running in the freezing cold so that run made me a very happy girl.

This is where I am on a map

Flying out of Buenos Aires

Flying into Ushuaia

Flying in at sunrise

Town center... Check out those mountains

Another shot of the town

On my run looking across at the town of Ushuaia

Ran into my friend Maria from Bariloche in the streets of Ushuaia

Laguna Esmeralda

This was my first full day here out of 6. I wanted to take full advantage so I hopped on an early bus to the Laguna which was pretty easy to find even though the tourism industry is on strike. The hike started off in the forest where is was absolutely freezing even with all of jackets, gloves and a beanie! As I walked closer to the mountains it became even more cold! There was lots of mud from the rain the previous day but since it was so cold about half of it was frozen over. This made it somewhat tough to move at the pace I wanted, but on the plus side my “new” shoes are completely broken in again :) I ended up being in front of or trailing a mother and younger daughter the entire time and the daughter kept picking up stuff that I was dropping and had no idea that I was. It was fun to practice my Spanish with them, It began to snow by the time we reached the Laguna and after a few pictures a lot of groups were leaving so I left with everyone since the weather seemed to be changing pretty quickly and I hadn’t had much experience in the snow/ice. Minus my soaking wet freezing cold feet by the end it was awesome as you can see from the pictures.

The start of the Laguna Esmeralda Trail

Laguna Esmeralda

It was ineveitable :)

I love my new beanies

Costero Trail- Tierra Del Fuego National Park

There were quite a few hikes to choose from in the park, but i chose this one since it was said to be a “moderate” hike with not too many hills and just beautiful views the whole way. I didn’t feel like trying an uphill battles this morning since I felt pretty sore and had a headache when I woke up. The trail stayed along the beautiful coastline for most of the 4 hours. The views of the ocean and snow capped mountains were of course incredible and i was so distracted by the beauty of it all I almost tripped many many times… There weren’t many people on this trail even though it was a beautiful sunny day which made for a peaceful hike.

I ended up on the main road by the end of it and saw signs to a few other things i wanted to see so i continued to walk around the park. It was breathtaking. There were many little lakes and meadows and random people scattered around camping. I got to the cafeteria a little bit early that I was told the bus would come to and grabbed my favorite snack of an empanada and tea. The empanada was so simple yet the best I had ever had in this country.

Start of Costero Trail

This was one of my favorite parts of the trail and I ended up eating lunch here with no one else around

Of course with no one else around I had the chance to mess around with my GoPro and get this shot

Outside of the trail- just wondering around the beautiful park

Autumn colors were everywhere!

Met these 2 guys from the Argentinian Military at the end of my hike and ended up hiking back with them. They didn't speak a word of English, but we still managed to have a fun conversation.

Penguin Island- Isla de Martillo (52 miles outside of Ushuaia)

Today I went on a tour through a company that does boat tours through the Beacon Channel to see some penguins. It was very very cold outside of the boat, but that’s where I hung out about half of the time. We couldn’t actually get out and walk next to them but the boat did get pretty close. Thank goodness because the Argentinians seemed to be more aggressive with their selfies than Americans! I couldn’t believe how crazy everyone was getting with taking pictures. We were too far from them to really see that much. I wasn’t as impressed as i thought I would be with the island full of them, but it was still awesome to experience. We stopped next to a few other sites along the way and it was freezing!!! We stopped near another island where there were less penguins but we could watch them walk around a bit more. They walked so funny with their stomachs out and with a waddle! I still don’t know if it was more funny to watch them waddle around to to watch all of the tourists try to get selfies with them. I was standing next to a girl from Portugal and we talked for a bit near the captain area and then the captain invited us in since we looked so cold! We spent the last half of the trip talking to him and to each other. It was great for practicing spanish and it was really nice to talk to someone my own age out here and talk about all of our adventures.