Stella Australis 5 - Ushuaia

Having been to the southern end of the continent, we were now docked in the southernmost town in the World. This is our day in Argentina.  When we awoke it was beaming sunshine.

We have a tour today, which was a bit of a mystery to us as we did not book it!  We were collected by Land Rover at 0830.  We drove along the main highway out of the town (only some 3500km to Buenos Aires).  We went into the Garibaldi pass - named after a postman not the Italian revolutionary or the biscuit.  At the top of the pass, we left the main road and went onto the track that follows the original route through the beech forest there.  This was a four wheel drive route - bumpy, slopey and wet in places. Having rejoined the main route, with great views of the mountains on Tierra del Fuego, we found out that there are attempts to build a winter sports industry down here.  When all the animals were brought out of Antartica, many of the Huskies were repatriated here.  We saw some at a winter sports base, where dog sledding, cross country skiing and snow mobiling are all possible. The sun was still out and it was warm in it.

Then on to see the two main lakes.  The first was Lago Escondido, which sits in a glaciated valley and was extended by an earthquake. Here we spent a little time on the water in a Canadian style canoe.  We then went on, parked and walked to a viewpoint over Lake Fagnano - this lake is about 100km long and is almost long enough to divide the island.

From there we returned to the first lake and trekked through the woods to the lake shore before a late lunch of Choripan (alright, a sausage sandwich) followed by a lump of steak cooked on the barbecue - washed down with the near mandatory Malbec (Argentinian here of course).  Then the walk back (assisting with digestion) and a ride back to Ushuaia.  We got dropped off in the main street to have a look before we were due back on board - as this was mainly souvenir shops or shops selling outdoor clothing, we did not spend much time there.  Somehow, the Patagonian weather has delivered an unusually warm and sunny day - absolutely lovely to be out in it.  Back on board for the briefings - as tomorrow is the one 'repeat' day, we knew what was coming, but had to attend.