On to Ushuaia

Jan 4, 2016 - Today/last night (however you look) at it we woke up at 2:10 am. Our flight for Ushuaia was at 6:40 am, but they recommend you get there 3 hours early. Our driver picked us up at the hotel at 3:10 am. I felt bad to be bothering him in the middle of the night, but when we walked outside to the car we realized Buenos Aires had not gone to bed yet. People were still in the streets going to or coming from bars and nightclubs. Our driver didn’t seem bothered at all to be making a run at this hour. Even the hotel lobby had some English speakers who’d yet to retire for the night.

The airport process was easy, but there was a lot of waiting around. I’m not sure 3 hours prior is necessary, but at least we didn’t have to worry about missing our flight or waiting in a long line to check bags. Our flight was slightly delayed due to a strike. We do not know the details of who was striking or why, but it only lasted 30 minutes.  Then we flew 3 hours on a pretty big jet to Ushuaia, “the end of the earth”.

Ushuaia, we’ve found out, is pronounce Ooh-swy-ah, and means the water to the west in Yamana. The Yamana were the original native people to this area. They were seal hunters and nomads. They were also nudists because any clothing they wore would get wet and take too long to dry. Better to be naked and able to quickly warm by a fire than perpetually damp and cold.

Ushuaia has approximately 57,000 inhabitants. It is a ski town by winter, and a port town by summer. It is a great base for trekking the Tierra del Fuego national park, and the number one port for cruises to Antarctica. The surrounding mountains plunge right into the ocean making for a pretty hilly city. Our hotel is in the perfect location - ½ a block from the port and ½ a block from the main drag where shops and restaurants can be found.

Like Buenos Aires everyone here had been very nice, and many people speak English. I’ve found a good amount of Vegetarian options, even amongst this king crab haven. Kyle got to enjoy that local delight. They also have a couple different breweries, which Kyle has sampled as well.

On our first day here we just wandered the town, bought some souvenirs and scouted out the best restaurants.