Patagonia, Day 14 - around Ushuaia and finally to the End of the World

A quick 30km west from Ushuaia lies the Parque National Tierra del Fuego, and within this national park is the End of the World. Not literally of course, otherwise I'd not be writing this, and you'd not be reading it.

Ushuaia is the World's most southerly town, except if you count the small settlement of Port William just across the Beagle Channel. And in fact the End of the World even further south, is not even the end of the South America, as beyond that are a group of islands separated by only the narrow Beagle Channel. So what's at the 'End of the World'? Well a pretty cool national park with lovely views and nature, and the World's most southerly post office, where you can buy all sorts of souvenirs, and even get your passport stamped. Many of us did - we've officially been to the "End of the World" (fyi, last page in my passport, natch).

Passport stamp from the End of the World

It's also the end of Ruta 3 the World's southern most highway, which is dirt/gravel for the section from Ushuaia. So you get the theme, End of the World, most southerly this and that.

A view from within the national park

But, we're around 54.5deg South; to put this into perspective Middlesborough is around 55deg North. So, we are at around the same latitude south as Middlesborough (in the UK) is north; hardly worth shouting about. But it's significantly colder than Middlesborough. Here it's late summer, and a few weeks ago they had snow. In reality the UK and Europe are incredibly mild for their latitudes, so the next time you moan about the weather in Brussels, London, Manchester, Glasgow or Barnoldswick: consider yourself lucky!

Wending our way back to Ushuaia (yes, I've been to the End of the World and back to write this blog) we stop of for a quick lunch before a free afternoon; at which point the group harmony appears to disintegrate and we mostly go separate ways in smaller groups. Not sure why, but there you go. Gerard, Hugo and Graham take the low road south east along the coast; Danny, Steve, Ray and I take the high road east into the mountains before then turning south to the coast. Mark goes chasing pain killers for his hand, and Duff chases a few beers as he's knackered his bike (the warning lights finally come on), which AJ and Cory fix. Mick and Brett were AWOL on other unknown adventures.

Our group took the long option, back up Ruta 3 and then turning right onto Ruta J. Following this winding gravel road in the valleys for 30 or so km takes you to the coast again, with sea views or mountain views inland. Very pretty. Across the Beagle Channel we can see Port William in Chile; where we are, is probably the most southern point we've reached on this trip.
 

A view looking North from the most southerly point we reached

It gets very windy here!

On the way back we take a detour to another small village; we see a small navel outpost and wave at a local, who reciprocates. The ride back on Ruta 3 is entertaining as the car drivers seem to want to race Ray. They are locals who know the roads but Ray defends the honour of two wheels admirably, and they toot their appreciation as Ray slows to on the way into town.

We dip briefly into Ushuaia for dinner each evening and pass through it on the way to the End of the World; it's surprisingly thriving, much more so than I expected. I guess the reason is the oil/gas industries and tourism; there are plenty of outdoor activities to amuse and the port is busy receiving tour ships. There's also a strong sense of loyalty to Argentina and connection with the Falkland Islands. Apparently many of the Belgrano crew were from this area. No wonder Clarkson was run out of town.

Tomorrow, we're leaving, but of our own accord! Back into Chile and we're planning to visit a penguin colony, before going back to Cerro Sombrero.

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