Ushuaia

What a wonderful two days we’ve had in Ushuaia — the southernmost city in the world! It was a beautiful sail in.

Since we were scheduled to be here only one day we had to scramble to find activities for the additional day and with the help of a friend who had done it before we booked a boat ride to see penguins on a private island. Bob and Brenda and I sailed down the Beagle channel and stopped to see a huge colony of cormorants and steamer ducks and then Sea Wolves Island where sea lions jostle for position by Les Eclaireurs lighthouse, Argentina’s southernmost structure.

Then it was on to the “farm” begun by Thomas Bridges 5 generations ago on 22,000 hectares and still run by the family who now depend on penguins for their livelihood. You heard that right. Penguins are big business. Because they are so cute and comical.

At the farm we transferred from the large comfortable boat to a zodiac which dropped us off for an hour on the island. We saw magellanic, gentoo and king penguins bickering, nesting, molting and caring for their (large!) chicks. We were cold and rained on but we almost forgot both that fact and the awful smell as we enjoyed the penguins and the other birds who live with them.

Back in the zodiac we were surprised by several humpback whales very close to us. I was in the bow and as I watched one go right under us I had a split second of fear lest he turn us over. They made a wonderful sight that lasted for quite a while. And it made our day!

It was a short night given that we didn’t arrive back until 11:00 and had lots of wet things to deal with before heading out again early this morning. Brenda and I did a trek in the Tierra Mayor Nature Reserve where we got wet all over again but loved every minute of it. We walked though squishy peat, across streams, up and down steep slippery inclines and through mossy forest all the while enjoying the Andes in the distance. It was idyllic!

Beavers were introduced here and have become a big problem. Note the very large dam in the picture above. Only one restaurant in town serves beaver 🙂

The sun came out just as we started home and the mountains surrounding Ushuaia revealed the snow at their tops as we ate delicious seafood for dinner.