Looking out the airplane window into cloud covered mountain peaks, the plane descended into the Beagle Channel and touched down into Ushuaia. It was one of the most scenic descents we had experienced. The video below doesn’t fully grasp the atmosphere felt. As we touched down, the passengers erupted in cheers and some had a few tear). The airport in Ushuaia is small but definitely has character and a sort of rustic feel.
After waiting for our bags (they were literally some of the lasts ones into baggage claim), we grabbed our rental car and headed into the city to our Airbnb. That’s when the adventure began as we quickly learned Argentinians are some pretty aggressive drivers and they had no traffic signs in Ushuaia except for at major intersections. Four way intersections seemed to be a free for all with no stop signs and cars only slowing for a quick second. After getting honked at a couple of times, we think we finally got a handle on some of the driving in our three days here – Grant learned you need to drive with purpose and if someone hesitates the slightest it means you need to go. As time went on we decided the cars going up and down the hills perpendicular to the main stretch seemed to have right of way.
Our first night in Ushuaia we realized our Airbnb didn’t have an electric outlet converter for us to use as the ones we bought don’t work in Argentina. (We got lucky as both the first Airbnb and Loi Suites had one). Our hunt for one in the city turned out to be a partial fail as we ended up buying a USB adapter. Walking around the Main Street in Ushuaia, we found a pizza place to try, hoping it would be better than the one I had in Buenos Aires airport. As we ordered, we realized we may have misunderstood the waitress when we asked how big the pizza was. In English, she told us the small one feeds four people so we chose that one. However, turns out she meant four slices as we received what is typically given as a personal pizza in America. As we sat there eating, we realized 9-9:30pm was the prime dinner rush hour as the sun doesn’t set until after 10:30PM this time of year.
Day 2 was our planned day for hiking the Cerro Gaunaco so we bundled up and headed to grab breakfast at a local cafe. As we headed into Tierra del Fuego, I was thinking how cold and windy this hike was going to be especially with the off and on rain showers Ushuaia receives. However, getting into the park proved difficult as none of our cards seemed to work at the guard station or visitor center. Grant was worried as we had to be at the trailhead for Cerro Guanaco before 12pm and it was already almost 11am, however, the trail ended up being closed due to snow and wind. Remember, we are in the peak of summer but this place is so far south that they can have snow year round! So switching our plans, we decided to stop by the train station for “El Tren del Fin del Mundo” to see if there were any openings for the day. After being put on a waitlist, we were allowed to hop aboard the 12:30 train that provided warmth and a nice scenic ride through some of the park. The train provided history on how it got started (was originally built by prisoners in the Tierra del Fuego prison that was shut down for being too brutal to the prisoners). At one point the train conductor pointed out an entire meadow full of tree stumps that were cut down sometime in the early 1900’s by the prisoners. The conductor also described how the guards would frequently make misbehaving prisoners stand on a tree stump for hours in the harsh winter in soaking wet clothing, and that it was actually a punishment to not go out and chop trees as it was a means for prisoners to stay active, breathe in the fresh outdoors, and warm up with activity. The train route was built by prisoners originally as a means to get into the forest and send wood back to the main city. After the prison was shut down in 1947 due to inhumane conditions, the train sat until it was converted to a tourist attraction in the 1990’s. Without the narration, one would never know the origins of the train and the stories that came with it. Along the route, we saw so many wild horses hanging out by the river and beautiful scenes of the neighboring mountains and meadows. The clouds and rain roll in on and off throughout the day so a picture at one time in the day will never be like another time of day.
After the train ride, we decided to hop back into the national park (as we now had tickets) and drive through the various parts open to the public. As we learned on the train ride, there is over 60,000 hectares of the park but only 2,000 of that is available to the public. The park reminded us in a sense of being back in Yellowstone (except with no bears, bison, or wolves). One of the trails offered us a beautiful hike along the coastline of the Beagle Channel and a chance to stop at “Correa del Fin del Mundo”. There, a single worker allows people to send postcards anywhere in the world and get their passport stamped. So of course we took the opportunity to finally get that passport stamp for Argentina! The backdrop of each trail in Tierra del Fuego is truly incredible. Some trails hug along the Beagle Channel or other big lake while others head more toward the large mountains in the distance. Wild horses were literally everywhere. At one point we came up on a “Horse Xing” sign and a herd of probably 10 horses was blocking our ability to drive down the road (hence the homage to Yellowstone with Bison). Even in the peak of summer we were in our winter coats most of the day, but when the sun finally came out for a bit we were comfortable taking the coats off for maybe 30 minutes.
Day 3 was my favorite day of the trip so far! As this trip was originally supposed to be our honeymoon, we had looked at excursions to do back in 2020. Besides orcas, I love getting to see penguins. So when I found out you could spend an hour with them on an island, I knew we had to do it! And the over two year wait to do this activity was well worth it! The day started out with an almost 2 hour bus ride from the city to Estancia Harberton. Once we got there, they split us into two groups where one stayed at the ranch to tour the property and the other would head to the island. We started out with the tour and got to learn more about the history of the ranch and how it started. The ranch was the original home of Thomas Bridges who as a child was orphaned in England and assigned the last name “Bridges” as he was found on a bridge. His story is pretty wild – click here to learn more. In short, he was a missionary that settled in Tierra del Fuego area, learned the native language to help translate (and try to convert the locals) and loved the area so much he said he would pledge allegiance to the first country to nationalize the land, which happened to be Argentina. He ended up being gifted the plot of land we were standing on by the Argentinian government, and he built the house that the 4th/5th generation still live in today. They try to preserve the house so much that they built a new wooden staircase on top of an old cement staircase that was falling apart. If we understood the tour guide correctly, he even was on the same ship as Charles Darwin at one point, and helped shape Darwin’s travels of South America.
After a 30 minute tour, it was time to hop on the speed boat and head the 10 minutes toward the Isla Martillo. As soon as we got there, you could definitely smell the island. However, all I cared about was seeing those penguins. Grant told me this was probably the most excited he had seen me over an activity in a while (may have teared up a little when I first caught a glimpse).
Seeing them in their natural habitat was surreal. There were so many penguins everywhere. The island is mostly habituated with the Magellanic and Gentoo penguins, however, we were lucky to see two King penguins hanging around the Gentoo colony. Our guide told us that the King penguins come from the sub Antarctic region and have been trying to start a colony on this island for a few years now. However, they have been unsuccessful as their young have not survived. We walked through the Magellanic colony and got to be within inches of penguin families as their burrows were right next to the pathway. One of them even hopped on the platform and tried to snip at a couple of tourists.
The hour on the island seemed to fly by, but not without taking hundreds of photos. We left the island feeling on cloud nine (okay maybe more so me), but it was definitely an experience I will never forget. After the quick boat ride back, it was off to the marine mammal museum where we got to learn a little bit about the different types of species located within this region. It is amazing how fluent the guides are in both Spanish and English.
Then it was back on the bus for the 2 hour ride to the city where we packed up our things to prepare to head out in the morning.
Now onto El Calafate and our last plane ride until we head back for the states (next few travel days will be on a bus). Looking forward to our next adventure: trekking the Perito Moreno Glacier!
Random tidbits:
- Mogul Sour candies-Argentinian Sour Patch Kids basically. The red ones threw us off as it tasted like Double Bubble gum.
- Any place to eat in Argentina, they place a placemat down before you receive your food.
- Walking around the city, we noticed they care for their stray dog population and have feeders with food and water located on most streets.
- AirBnb had a pretty cool key to get in the room. Grant had to remember to hold it like “Tennessee” in order to unlock it.
- Total trip miles traveled: 10,267 miles (doesn’t include driving/boating through the 3 days), via 4 different airplanes
Rinehart's Roaming The World 