Argentina Travel

Tierra del Fuego National Park and a red fox

The first full day in Ushuaia started off with the typical breakfast and then off to change money since we had about 2.5 pesos left. We passed an exchange place where the rate was 2.91 pesos but we kept searching so we could compare at least two places. We walked a few blocks and found two banks but one had a really long line and neither published their rate, so we headed back to the exchange place. However, on the way, we found the travel agency that the tourist office had told us about the day before so we stopped to see if there were trips to Puerto Williams.

Puerto Williams is located south of Ushuaia across the Beagle Channel and is really the southernmost city. I was just wondering if trips were available. Well one thing led to another and we have ended up hiring a sailboat to take us to and from Puerto Williams tomorrow. The price is kind of steep - $280, but hey, we´re here, and none of us have been on a sailboat before. We are the only passengers on a trip that will take 4 hours each way. On the way, we´ll be stopping by the Isla de los Lobos (sea lion island), a lighthouse, and an island with a bird colony.

After spending the last of our cash, we had a bit of an ordeal at an ATM as we tried to get 2000 pesos, then 1500 and 1000 with no success. Margarita was convinced that the ATM wasn´t working but I asserted that we were probably trying to withdraw too much money. After a couple of attempts at two different machines, we went to another bank to check our balance, because the ATM hadn´t given us any indication that there was a problem - just wouldn´t give us money, so were afraid that we might have withdrawn money without getting any, if you know what I mean. Anyway, at the next ATM, we checked our balance and it was ok, so we tried to get money. I suggested we try the maximum amount shown on the screen - 700 pesos, but Margarita insisted we try 1000 again, so I did and sure enough, it didn´t work. The next time I tried 700 and success!

We cash in hand, we headed for the place where we had seen the bus stop for buses to the Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego. After a bit of walking, we found it and chatted up the man who greeted us. It was about 12:30 and the next bus left at 1pm so we headed back to the hotel to pack up and go. Margarita went to the confiteria to buy sandwiches, empanadas, and drinks for the trip, while I took Michaela to the hotel to pack. Forgetting about our time constraint, I allowed Michaela to crawl up the stairs to the room, which caused us to rush more than we would have liked. On the way out, we stopped for batteries for the digital camera at the kiosco across the street from the hotel. They didn´t have a full package of AA batteries hanging up, so they gave us what looked like 4 duracell batteries wrapped in plastic for just 4 pesos. At the time, I didn´t think anything of it - more on that later.

We had just 5 minutes to catch the bus now, so Margarita and I split up, since I was moving faster than she was. We didn't want to miss the bus because the next one was at 2pm, and that would make us run late. Being so far south means we don't get much daylight. The sun sets at about 6pm and it rises at about 9am. Later in the winter, there are only 7 hours of daylight. I reached the bus before Margarita and it was still waiting for us, fortunately. For 20 pesos each, the bus would take us to the park and pick us up either at 4pm or 6pm. The 'bus' was basically a small minivan. After playing around and trying to stand up as the bus moved around on the dirt road, Michaela fell asleep drinking a bottle of milk. Then I saw it in the middle of the road: a zorro colorado or red fox - and it was not road kill. We slowed until we stopped and the fox just stared at us and we stared back. It looked to us as if it must be used to people feeding it from cars, because it showed no fear and looked like it expected a handout. An Argentine military vehicle approached and the fox moved to the side of the road and returned to the road after it left. We could have stayed there for longer, but we continued on to the park. For the first time, we did not pay an entranc fee to a national park. The entrance kiosk is still under construction, so we kept our 18 pesos this time. It turns out that the driver is also the coach of the provincial champion women´s soccer team. He and the team will be driving to Missiones to compete in the championship. That is basically the length of the country! ¡Dios mio!

At the park, the driver dropped us off at the beginning of what was to be a beautiful hike to Lapataia Bay. After crossing a small stream, we ate some of the food we had brought while we admired the scenery and serenity. The surrounding view was gorgeous and the weather was absolutely perfect. Barely a cloud in the deep blue sky, snow covering the tips of the mountains around us, and frost still covering nearly everything that was in the shade. The hike was easy and we made our way to the mirador (lookout) overlooking Lapataia Bay. On the way, we discovered that the batteries we had bought were no duracell, but a rip-off clone called durabatt. Except for the name, they looked almost exactly the same. They weighed noticeable less than duracell batteries and they failed to power up the camera. Four pesos down the drain and almost no digital pictures from this portion of the trip :-( At Lapataia Bay, we let Michaela out of the backpack to crawl along the pier and up the stairs while we looked around. For those who care, this is the end of the Pan-American highway. The ground for portions of the hike appeared to be peat bog and some was frozen, but it still felt soft and cushioned under our feet.

We hiked along the road to where the next trail started and we continued our hike, this time through lenga forest with various mushrooms, lichen, and moss covering nearly everything, including some rocks. We played with some of thin ice on the water next to the road and at one point realized that Michaela had dropped the stuffed cow she so treasures, so we headed backwards to find it. Fortunately, it was close by, and we returned to make forward progress. Along the trail, we saw rabbit droppings and even fur, but we never saw a rabbit. We intersected with the trail out to see the beaver dam and we stopped to take a look, knowing that it was unlikely that we would see any beavers at this time of day. We had never seen a beaver dam before and this one was quite impressive. It was quite long and a few feet tall - obviously a LOT of work. On our way to the dam, Margarita had been looking for the connecting trail but didn't see it (I was not looking at all for the trail), so we headed back, and looked at the map again. I was convinced we must have missed it while Margarita insisted that there wasn't a connecting trail. We headed back and I gleefully pointed out to Margarita not only the trail but the sign that was hard to miss with the name of the trail. By now, Michaela had been asleep in the backpack, though her sleep was a disturbed sleep at the beginning as her head moved around during the hike. She was out pretty hard now.

The hike continued and the scenery continued to impress, at one point reminding us of some of the scenes in the Blair Witch Project. I began filming with the video camera since we weren't taking many pictures and managed to capture the sound, but not the image, of Margarita falling in the woods. That answers the question about whether Margarita makes a sound when she falls in the woods and nobody is around to see it. The hike totaled some 6km or so. By the end, Michaela was awake and fussy. We sang to her and it soothed her for a while, but the sun was setting and it was getting cold. Soon, neither our singing, nor food would soothe her. It was just after 4pm, and we thought that we may have missed the bus, but as we sat and allowed Michaela out of the backpack, we saw the bus headed in the direction of Lapataia Bay, so we headed to the road and began walking in the opposite direction, knowing that the bus would pick us up. We first started with Michaela in the backpack but her crying became too loud and consistent, so Margarita decided to carry her for a while. That wasn't enough to soothe her either and we were both grateful when the bus picked us up. On the bus, it took Michaela a little while to warm up and wake up, but she was soon her cheerful self, playing with the two girls on the bus from Mexico. She didn't sleep at all on the bus back.

We made our way back to the hotel, where Michaela and I fell asleep for a while before we headed out for dinner at Opipero, a pasta and pizza place on Maipu (the waterfront street). I had trucha al relleno while Margarita had chicken ravioli. Again, she didn't enjoy it much and has now vowed only to have beef or lamb in the future. My trout, however, was quite tasty, if not quite what I expected - it was stuffed with the skin and head still on it - but it was good.

Tomorrow we're off to Puerto Williams after buying dramamine at the pharmacy. Chau.

Posted by mike at May 19, 2003 07:36 PM