We flew from Cordoba to Ushuaia, Argentina a couple of days ago. I don’t think I’ve ever been on such a rough plane ride as our descent into the Ushuaia airport! John kept assuring me that everything would be OK, but I’ll tell you, I was a puddle of sweat sitting there on that plane. I understand the winds are frequently like that, and for the life of me, I don’t know how those flight crews do it day after day!
The rewards were very worth the sacrifice, however. We were greeted with unbelievably magnificent craggy peaks and glaciers
Martial Glacier, Ushuaia
surrounding Beagle Sound at the end of the world. Ushuaia is actually the southernmost town in the world connected to an access road.
Our temperature in Cordoba reached a sizzling 95 degrees Fahrenheit, and when we reached Ushuaia, the weather could best be described as a “pleasant winter day in Bellingham, WA”. We woke up our last morning with fresh snow on the surrounding hillsides—quite lovely, and very much a change from the center of the country.
We checked into a darling little B&B close to the town “center” and took ourselves on a walking tour of the marine area and downtown. For dinner, we had king crab soup and king crab salad! Our second day, we celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary by hiking up to the Martial Glacier and then having dinner in a great French restaurant overlooking the town and the channel.
Tierra del Fuego, Chile
Crossing the Straight of Magellan
We left Ushuaia on a morning bus, passing through dramatic mountain passes and forests, to eventually follow the eastern coastline along the windswept Patagonian pampas, full of guanacos (cameloid animals slightly larger than llamas). Our bus just crossed the second border checkpoint, and we are now in Chile again heading for the Straight of Magellan, which we’ll cross today into Punta Arenas, Chile.
Teresa Van Haalen Ventures 