We traded in the easy comfort of summer clothes and sandals for hiking and winter gear pretty quickly when we landed in Ushuaia, the first stop along our Patagonian trail.

With only two nights here, we visited Tierra del Fuego, the national park, right away, and spent a few hours hiking its various trails. The morning was quite rainy and overcast, but thankfully by lunchtime the sky had cleared and we could see the views at their most impressive.

The following day, thanks to the landlady of our B&B, we got a place on a boat tour, which brought us along the Beagle Channel and as far as Isla Martillo, where a large colony of penguins resides. We also saw sea lions and Les Eclaireurs lighthouse, the iconic landmark nicknamed the Lighthouse at the End of the World.

We had a truly exquisite meal that night in a restuarant called Kalma, which prides itself on fresh, locally sourced ingredients served with a twist. Between us we had king crab (an Ushuaia specialty), shrimp, sea bass, steak, a dessert of chocolate biscuit cake served with olive oil and ice cream and bottle of Argentine red wine. This cost us about €50 each, a splurge compared to what we’ve spent so far on meals (if they haven’t been self-prepared or included in our hostel price, they’ve been an average of €10-12), but otherwise very good value for an exceptional meal. We regret nothing!

Heavy rain on our last morning scuppered plans to return to the park for more hiking, so we spent the day planning the next leg of our trip and fit in a visit to the prison.

Ushuaia, we learned, was one of the original penal colonies in Argentina in the late 1800s. It’s how the town came to be in the first place: the Argentine government wanted prisoners to mate to establish a population. It was in operation until the 60s for political prisoners.

Next stop is El Calafate to get to Torres del Paine for hiking and camping.

Ar aghaidh linn 🙂