Ushuaia

Farewell Chile (for now)- Hello Argentina

The journey to Ushuaia started with a four hour van ride across the border to El Calafate, 300k away.  It was a very good road, through splendiferous scenery, starting gently rural and finishing in the arid desert that surrounds El Calafate (see previous SA blog for more detail).  En route we saw lots more guanacos and rhea, and several caracara, an angry-looking bird of prey, mostly tearing voraciously at roadkill.  However, one pair posed nicely for the photo-shoot!


The flight from El Cal to Ushuaia was just an hour, but it was turning towards evening as we arrived in pleasant sunshine. We already knew which restaurant we wanted to hit – a quick bottle of wonderful Patagonian wine, Newen, in the pub nearby first, then we rolled into the parilla with an enormous indoor BBQ/asado area including lambs on racks, gaucho-style. Absolutely the best lamb in the world.  Mick washed it down with a local Beagle beer; I could see no reason not to have another glass of the Newen Sav Blanc…..

Next day was rainy and bitterly cold; oh yes, must mention our first “mishap” - waking that morning freezing to death, the boiler for the hot water and heating having blown out for the second time. Much stamping of feet, and we were offered a choice between a tiny room with no outlook, or staying in our nicer suite and trusting the boiler-repair man would sort it whilst we were out. Chose the latter and it worked out fine, been toasty ever since!!  The rain, which was falling on snow on the mountain tops, eased a bit towards lunch time, so we went for a coffee and perused the lovely map we bought of our upcoming passage through the Beagle Channel and the Magellan Straights – not forgetting Cape Horn!  We then repeated a long shoreline walk to the west of town that we had enjoyed last time. It’s still as good, and the 3 ibis and 2 caracaras in the woody part coming back finished it off nicely.

 

 

We were a bit thirsty so popped into a local store for some water, which turned out to be an absolute little treasure trove – cheese, wines, sweeties, yummy stuff.  And then for dinner? No reason not to go back to the best restaurant in town…. This time for a fine slab of beef and a leg of chicken , oh, and a bit more lamb, please?