Walking with Penguins

 After an early breakfast on Friday morning, I hurried down to the harbour to catch the shuttle bus for the penguin tour with Piratours.  I was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning.  As we were waiting, I met Joseph from Croatia who was also travelling on his own, and we ended up chatting for most of the trip.  There were 20 people in our group – Joseph, myself and a couple from the UK were the only ones who spoke English so our guide Santiago conducted a great bilingual tour.

Santiago explained that we were driving 90 km to the boat and it would take an hour and a half.  The first half of the drive was on gently curving winding roads, the last half was on really winding gravel roads that steeply rose and fell as we made our way through the mountains.  Thank goodness I was sitting near the front.  Along the way, we saw a fox that ran along with us for a few minutes and we stopped at the top of a hill to take photos of windblown trees.

When we arrived at Estancia Harberton we made a quick pit-stop and then boarded the zodiac to head to Isla Martillo to see the penguins.  Everyone was so excited – you could feel the anticipation as we pulled onto the shore.  We were told that when we were on the island we should stay low so we wouldn't frighten the penguins, keep quiet, don’t smoke or eat, and take lots of photos!  When we got off the boat the penguins were right there and there were so many of them.  Santiago explained that the colony began in 1970 when a couple of penguins settled on the island (no one knows why) and the population is now about 4000 and growing each year.   The penguins were very curious and waddled over to check us out.  I was surprised at how close they wanted to come to us. 

We hiked uphill to another area of the island, away from the beach, where the penguins were nesting with their babies.  The babies hatch at the beginning of December so we were fortunate to see many of them in their nests as well as out with one of their parents.  I had always envisioned penguins living in cold Antarctic conditions so it seemed odd to see them in a meadow of long grass and on the hillsides with shrubs all around.  I was also surprised how noisy they could be when they would bellow to one another or warn one of us that we were getting too close to their nest. 

Curious penguins checking out the visitors

Adorable baby penguins with the parents

Penguins on the beach...

Penguins in the meadow, penguins on the hill....

Penguins on nests

We had an hour to spend on the island, photographing and watching the penguins, and it seemed like it was over in a moment.  We reluctantly climbed back into the zodiac and sped back to Estancia Harberton.

Cool old truck at Estancia Harberton. I'll have to ask dad more about this
truck when I get home - year? make?  It says "PowerWagon" on the side.

Outside the Museum

We had half an hour before we left so Santiago suggested that we visit Museo Acatushun on the property, or we could eat our lunch.  Joseph and I wandered through the pasture area, taking photos of the horses and rusting equipment, and then over to the museum.  What appeared on the outside to be a regular farm shed turned out to contain a remarkable display of marine skeletons assembled from remains that have washed up on the shores nearby.  Much of their vast collection was found at Bahia San Sebastian where a difference of 11 km between high tide and low tide leaves marine animals stranded on the beach. The UK couple had skipped the museum so Joseph and I had an exclusive English tour while the rest of the group went on the Spanish tour.  The displays all had English labels and information, which was very helpful. Who would have thought you would find such an amazing museum literally in the middle of nowhere?   

Displays inside the Museo Acatushun

 

Soon it was time to head back to town to eat a late lunch, hike back up the hill one last time to gather my things from Tzion and then say goodbye to Ushuaia.  What a remarkable place. 

Notes:

Ushuaia is the launching point for all Antarctic cruises.  If I only had a few more weeks and a LOT more money….. 

When I looked in my guidebook back at the B&B, Lonely Planet described the Estancia Harberton as a ‘don’t miss’ destination in Ushuaia.  Tierra del Fuego’s first estancia, it was founded by Thomas Bridges and his family in 1866 and became famous after his son wrote a memoir titled Uttermost Part of the Earth about his experiences growing up there among the now-extinct Selk’nam and Yahgan people.  The museum specimens have been compiled by biologist Natalie Prosser Goodall.  If you are interested in visiting, be sure to contact them ahead of time by email as there is no phone and hours vary or book your visit through one of the agencies in Ushuaia. 

Ushuaia – The End of the World





Ushuaia - nestled along the side of the Andes,
gateway to Antarctica

 My trip to Ushuaia began as many trips do in Argentina, with a delayed flight.  My flight from El Calafate to Ushuaia was supposed to leave at 11:25 am and I had hoped to arrive in time to do a cruise on the Beagle Channel to visit a penguin colony.  However, the penguins and I had to wait a little longer to meet as my flight finally left at 2 pm.  By the time I arrived in Ushuaia, made it through security with my luggage and checked in at my Tzion B&B most of the afternoon was over.  I used the rest of the day to check in with the tourist information agency, book my penguin cruise for Friday and find someplace for dinner.  When I booked my B&B on booking.com, the reviewers raved about the caring family who ran it but mentioned that it was located about 8 blocks from downtown.  What I didn’t realize is that Ushuaia is built on a very steep hillside leading up to the mountains, so whenever I left the B&B I walked 8 steep blocks down, only to return 8 steep blocks uphill later in the day. 

View from my bedroom window -
Mountains, town, Beagle Channel

On Thursday, I was up early to catch the shuttle bus to Tierra del Fuego National Park to do some hiking.  It was cool and damp when we left Ushuaia at 9 am and within a few minutes it began to rain, at first just a drizzle but then changing to a good steady rain.  As the driver dropped us off at the trekking station, he said “Pick up 3, 5, 7.”   So he was dropping us off in the cold and rain at 10 am and not coming back until 3 pm at the earliest.  I wondered what I had gotten myself into – how was I going to kill 5 hours in this park without freezing to death?  I envied the more prepared hikers with their weatherproof outfits and hiking boots. I had a nice fleece coat and rain resistant coat (I found out the hard way that it is no longer rainproof a few years ago), jeans and my sneakers. I thought to myself that more commercial operations would have equipment to rent – hiking boots and waterproof pants for unprepared tourists like me.  But there was no such kiosk here so I took my hiking map and headed off in the same direction I had seen a few other people go.  After about 15 minutes, I realized this wasn’t a trail for me – walking along a lake for mile after mile - boring, and turned back to go in the other direction.  As I walked, I noticed large noisy birds hunting for insects nearby and stopped to take some photos. 

Changing direction, I went south towards the National Guard station and a series of short hiking trails.  Trail #1 was supposed to be an easy 15 minute hike.  I must have taken a wrong turn as it took me about an hour.  Even though I stopped to take many many photos, even without stopping I couldn’t have done that trail in 15 minutes.  I had to scramble up and down steep rocky sections that were slick with rain and mud and at one point I slipped and landed on my bottom.  I thought I’d better head back to the main road and find an easier trail.  If I was to fall or twist my ankle, it could be a very long time before anyone wandered by and there was no cell phone service in most areas of the park. 

Trail 2 looked boring – a short hike to a lake so I wandered down to trail three which stopped at the end of Route 3 where there was a nice lookout area and busloads of tourists.  By now the rain had stopped and the sun was beginning to push through the clouds and the rest of the day was overcast but dry.

Trail 4 was a beautiful hike through beech trees and a peat bog. Again I took many many photos of the beautiful scenery and interesting birds to share with anyone back home foolish enough to ask to see my vacation photos.

The views along trail 4

 

In the morning, I had thought that five hours was an eternity. Instead I found myself hurrying back to the drop-off point where the restaurant was now open and a warm fire was burning in the fireplace.  I had a cup of tea and chatted with some fellow tourists – a girl from Holland, a couple from Denmark, and another couple from France who were also waiting for the bus.   Once back in town I debated – do I hike back up the hill to the B&B, rest for a bit and shower, then hike down the hill for dinner and back up the hill for bed?  No.  Instead, I killed some time shopping downtown while hauling my backpack with me, had an early dinner, stopped at the grocery store to pick up snacks for tomorrow’s boat ride and then called it an early night.

 

 

Things I’ve noticed:

Unlike other areas of Argentina where we have lived and visited, there is no litter in El Calafate or Ushuaia.  Residents and tourists alike are vigilant about caring for the environment. 

My suitcase was definitely in the minority at the luggage carousel in both towns as most tourists here are hiking, trekking and into other outdoor adventures.  Big backpacks are the norm.  I felt a bit like Zsa Zsa Gabor in Green Acres as I wheeled my big suitcase out of the airport past the backpackers, but I’m heading home to Canada after our weekend in Buenos Aires so I’m packing a ton of stuff that I won’t need here but will need at home.

More gorgeous scenery

Time For A Cold One

Before I went home for Christmas there were two places in Argentina that I really really wanted to visit – El Calafate and Ushuaia.  In El Calafate, you can go hiking on the Perito Moreno glacier and Ushuaia is ‘The End of the World’ – home of Tierra del Fuego and the Beagle Channel.  John had no desire to go to El Calafate (I’ve seen glaciers before, he scoffed) and couldn’t get time off work to go to Ushuaia, so this week I’m travelling solo.  After I booked the trip, I had two pieces of advice that were too late to use but that I will definitely keep in mind for future travel. One couple told me that if you book the flight with an Argentinian credit card or on the Argentinian website the price is reduced by about two thirds. Another person told me that since it is the off season, I could have used about 10,000 miles from my Delta Skymiles account to book my flights.  Something to keep in mind for next time.

Courtyard of Hostal Amancay

First stop on my southern journey – El Calafate.  I took an early morning flight from Cordoba to Buenos Aires and then had a three hour layover that turned into four hours before flying to El Calafate.  When we landed, I booked a spot on the shuttle bus which dropped off passengers at little hostal after little hostal until soon it was only me and a lovely retired couple from Philadelphia who have been coming to South America every winter for the past seven years.  On the drive, I marvelled at the scenery.  El Calafate is a small town (population 20,000) perched on a hill overlooking Lago Argentina in the Patagonian steppes. There is little vegetation due to the lack of rainfall, and the ground is strewn with rocks of all sizes.  Some of the hostals that we stopped at were located on the hills overlooking town on winding unpaved roads.  You couldn’t really call them gravel roads as they were covered in rocks that ranged from the size of golfballs to the size of grapefruits. Many of the hotels and hostals were gorgeous cedar buildings but Amancay Hostal Patagonia, where I would be staying, was fronted with corrugated steel.  Not very attractive on the outside but inside it was warm and lovely.  The rooms surrounded a courtyard with roses and lupen in bloom and chairs and hammocks for guests to relax in, my room was cozy and clean, and best of all, it was one block from the main street with restaurants, shops and trekking companies.  (What they call a hostal, we would likely call a bed and breakfast).





Lupens grow everywhere in town



I asked the clerk on duty about the shuttle bus to the Glacerium and he informed me that it left every half hour about three blocks from our hostal.  It was 5 minutes before 6:00 so he told me if I hurried I could make the 6:00 shuttle.  I said I thought I’d go and get something to eat but he said they closed at 8:00 pm so I’d better go now.   I hurried to the shuttle bus parking lot and climbed aboard with tourists from all over the world. 



When we arrived at the Glacerium, I figured I had time to either tour the museum or visit the ice bar.  I’ve been to lots of art galleries and museums since arriving in Argentina but have never had an opportunity to visit an ice bar before, so I ditched culture and chose to party instead!  Each person paid an $80AR cover charge which included admission to the ice bar for twenty minutes, a protective cape and gloves, and all you can drink. 

Ice Age bar meets Space Age outfit

A group of about twenty of us trouped downstairs, donned our futuristic insulated capes and gloves and entered the ice bar.  It was so cool (pun intended!)  The walls, the furniture, the bar and the glasses were all made of ice.  The bar was sponsored by Branca, makers of Fernet, so there was a large eagle holding a bottle of Fernet, a puma, a fireplace and even couches and tables made of ice.  Everyone was so busy taking photos but then we realized that we only had a short time so everyone ordered their drinks at the bar. I tried a shot of Calafate liquer which is made from the Calafate berries that the town is named for, while many of the others drank Fernet and Coke.  Two elderly ladies were drinking shots of tequila from shot glasses made of ice, and soon a conga line was winding through the bar as music blared.  At 7:30, the bell rang and the party was over – shortest party I’ve ever been to, but lots of fun! 

I hopped on the bus back into town and chose one of the many many restaurants for dinner.  Today’s food had consisted of medialunas and tea at the airport in Buenos Aires, crackers and a cookie on the flight, and an empanada at the Glacerium.  I dug into a hearty bowl of risotto, then it was back to the hostal for a good night’s sleep.