Stop 5: The End of the World in Ushuaia
ARGENTINA | Saturday, 5 April 2008 | Views [282]
Ushuaia, Ushuaia, al fin del mundo. Ushuaia was the last stop on our Patagonia trip and certainly the most uncomfortable destination to reach. We endured the 10 hour bus ride from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia, ferrying across the channel and travelling through flat plains. We knew that we'd reach Ushuaia via a smaller city, Rio Grande, but when we arrived, we were under the impression that a few people would get off the bus and then we could continue on. Little did we know that everyone had to get off of the bus and transfer to a smaller bus. We were the last ones off and by the time we had reached the smaller bus (actually a VAN), the only seats left were three tiny narrow seats in the very back. That would have been fine for Ben and me, except there were still two passengers who hadn't yet boarded. These two passengers were two of the most obese women we've seen on our entire trip, obese even by American standards. A mother and daughter pair, and there was only the one tiny seat left next to us and the bags. The daughter stood there dumbfounded while the mother waddled her way back to the open seat, filling up the entire van with a fishy-I-haven't-bathed-in-a-week odor. She then proceeded to try and wedge herself next to Ben and basically had to sit on half of his lap. No way were we going to travel like this for the last four hours. The driver and bus company representative were summoned to figure out what to do with the daughter, as she still didn't have a seat. Some schmuck offered to give up his seat and take a later van, so she comfortably had a single seat towards the front. Off we go right? Wrong. Ben went after the bus driver and bus rep. shouting a combination of English and Spanish "No es bueno! Una gorda mujera, mi asiento! My seat, no room, etc.!" I WISH we had a video camera. In true fashion, the driver and rep. pretended like they weren't listening and then said we could take the later van. They also said that Ben could take the daughter's seat, but Ben he wasn't going to leave me in the back with those two. After a few more heated moments, a young Japanse woman offered her single seat to the obese woman and she sat in the back with us. What a saint; we were very grateful. The van ride was uncomfortable, cramped and thanks to the obese woman, quite smelly. We winded up and down roads for awhile, and by the time we pulled into Ushuaia, I was feeling a bit green. We shot a few dirty looks to the driver and mother/daughter pair, then headed up to our B&B.
Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city, is tucked in at the end of the earth on a landmass called Tierra del Fuego. The city is surrounded by beautiful mountains and channels, and it's hard to believe this now tourist town was once a prison settlement where the government sent criminals and social undesirables. We spent the first day walking around town and up and down the hills that run through the city. Our second day out (my birthday!), we spent at Tierra del Fuego National Park. The park is smaller and the hiking trails are very simple, but it paled in comparision to some of the other parks we had visited. To top it all off, it was yet another rainy and cold day in Patagonia, but we made the best of it and it certainly was a very interesting place to spend my 26th birthday. We finally came across the end of the Pan-American highway, which stretches from Alaska to Ushuaia.
After two and a half weeks in Patagonia, we are now back in Buenos Aires for one week to regroup and get ready for the next big trip: Mendoza and the wine country, Chile and then up to Peru!
Tags: the great outdoors
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