The Aerolineas Argentinas office was crowded with would-be travelers waiting to exchange tomorrow’s tickets for flights today. A national strike was just announced for tomorrow. No one we asked could say why except that this is Argentina. A few of the folks were Americans scrambling to make it home for Thanksgiving, which Connie tells me is Thursday. Can this be true?
The strike, this one at least, won’t affect us. We were there to book a flight to El Calafate, our destination when we return from Antarctica. As it works out we can hop from the ship to the plane and be in El Calafate by early afternoon without having to spend another night in Ushuaia.
There isn’t enough to warrant four nights in the southernmost “city,” in the world at 54o48’24”S unless you’re waiting for your ship to come in. Or your laundry, and we qualify on both counts. The other major attraction is a visit to Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego, which we did yesterday.
The “Land of Fire” isn't exactly a birder's paradise but it is a nice place for a hike. It's a popular place with regular bus service to and from several trailheads. There were a few large tour groups out but mostly just couples and families enjoying the chilly, sometimes rainy, day.
Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego
The views from the Costera trail alternately reminded us of coastal Alaska and the Canadian Rockies. The trail generally followed the Beagle Channel, named after Darwin's famous ship Beagle. Sometimes it veered away from the shore to avoid rocky cliffs and wandered through forests of strange and gnarled trees with snowy peaks visible above the branches. There were a few steep sections and many tangled roots to snag the unwary, but overall it was an easy and relaxing six miles.
The birds, though not numerous, were mostly new to us and Connie added ten more to her "life list," now over 2,800! By the time we returned to Ushuaia, the temperature had dropped about ten degrees and the wind picked up. A portent of things to come????
