From Buenos Aires we flew at 12:30pm to Ushuaia, arriving at around 4:00pm. The last 20 minutes of the flight had absolutely breathtaking views. Unfortunately I was not in the window seat, but I managed to get some halfway decent photos. There were white sand beaches stretching along islands, mountains, and snowy areas. Once we arrived Nick and I walked with all of our belongings just over one hour to get to our apartment in town. We were staying about 45 minutes by foot outside of the downtown/harbor area. It was a quieter residential neighborhood.

Our apartment was on the top floor of a skinny building with views of the mountains. It had everything we needed. It’s much nicer getting to unpack and cook at home when staying somewhere for so many nights. We went to Sucucho for dinner, a restaurant serving slightly nicer versions of common global street foods. Nick tried the pulled pork sandwich and I got the crispy chicken bao bun. Both were delicious and it was a smooth arrival day.

After a productive morning of laundry and other boring logistics it was time to walk to the bus station downtown. It was straight forward to arrange a shuttle from there to the Emerald Lagoon trailhead as it is one of the station’s main stops. Our shuttle departed at 2:15pm and we started our hike at 2:38pm. Not too bad! In total we hiked for 11.7km as we did the trail to the lake and also went around the lake. It took us about 3 hours with some breaks to take photos and eat snacks. The hike started in the forest with a muddy trail.

After the forested area the trail started to open up more and we had views of the river. The river had half dead trees and stumps throughout which were beautiful. The trail became a boardwalk occasionally over areas of deeper mud. There were not too many people hiking in to the lake, but many people hiking out when we arrived. The trail met up with an active beaver dam and we got to see the beaver swimming around and working on its dam. The beaver house was just on the other side of the water. It was so fun to see a beaver that close. We later learned that the beavers here are an invasive species imported from Canada and cause a lot of destruction. They are actively hunted for that reason.

Once we arrived at the lake we saw a few types of birds. There was a Southern Crested Caracara, a bird that looks like an eagle with a brightly colored beak. We also saw a bird that was blue and yellow which was very cute. All the birds seemed to be way too unbothered by the presence of people nearby. The lake was turquoise with clear water and long stretches of pebble beach. There were both dead and alive trees around the lake and views of various mountains.

Nick and I walked around the lake, which was tricky in some areas. After arriving to the lake from the trailhead we continued to the right all the way to the far side of the lake. The ‘trail’ was mostly along the coastline. Once at the far end of the lake the trail left the shoreline and continued into the forest along a small creek for a short distance. That section was an out and back where we then retraced our steps to get to where we could continue around the lake. Nick was able to gracefully jump across the river to get to the other side where the trail continued. I was not confident after my practice jump so I went back farther and found a log that sat across the river. I can say it was much less stressful to just walk across instead.

There were many types of fun colored ducks and geese on the lake, but they seemed more shy. They flew away any time we got close so no photos of them. The other side of the lake was also nice and at the end there was a small waterfall in front of a pile up of logs, perhaps remanent from the dormant and abandoned beaver dam upstream by the river. To get to the trail again we had to cross over the logs floating in the water. Some of them sank as we put weight onto them, others rolled with each step. Nick had a better strategy of just moving quickly to avoid to0 much sinking. My strategy was 3 points of contact at all times, squatting and holding on and moving quite slow. Both of us succeeded in having dry socks at the end, so that was a win.

On the way back to the parking lot we stopped and waited to see if the beaver was around again. It was not. We made it back to the parking area earlier than the 7:00pm pick up time, just so that we weren’t stressed about it. Luckily for us the shuttle came back at 6:36pm, loaded us on, and drove back to town early. We hoped the other passengers from our earlier shuttle also made it back. For dinner we ate at the The Sandwich God, a sandwich shop by the pier. We each got the triple combo thinking that meant sausage sandwiches with three toppings based on the photo, but it actually meant three sandwiches. Thankfully our apartment had a fridge so were happy for the leftovers.

The third day in Ushuaia was an exciting one as we had our first guided all day activity. It required cash, but we realized the night before that Nick lost his debit card somehow. Luckily when he checked the account no suspicious withdrawals had occurred, so it was easy to just cancel. When we went to get cash using his backup debit card he left it in the machine and went to leave the building. Luckily Nick has an observant wife who took the debit card out for him, you’re welcome honey. It was pretty funny that it took 13 months of traveling to lose the first debit card but he almost lost the replacement one on the first use.

Our boat tour was at 10:30am, where we ‘sailed’ or motored along the beagle canal for 3 hours. The ride was beautiful with nice clear skies. The first islands we came across had South American Terns, a white migratory bird with bright orange/red beaks. Following the tern island our boat came up to an island with cormorants, birds that look like penguins that can fly. The third group of islands were the sea lion islands! There were many sea lions all napping together on the large rocky islands (with some cormorants too). The water was clear so we could see the sea kelp forests by the shores. Some females were lying with their babies who were so cute.

Nearby to the sea lion colony was a beautiful lighthouse. We got many angles of it as our ship did a few passes around the area before continuing onwards at around 11:30am. The boat ride continued with views of small islands and the shoreline along the canal. We saw a few albatross flying over the water and passed by Puerto Williams, Chile which is considered to be the southern most town in the world. Our guide then said Ushuaia, Argentina is considered to be the the southern most town in the world (not to be confused with Ushuaia, the southern most city).

At 1:30pm we arrived at Estancia Harberton, a historic ranch with interesting history. From here our boat divided up into 2 groups, our group being the first to embark on a smaller boat headed to Isla Martillo. That island is home to 2 types of penguins, Magellanic Penguins and Gentoo Penguins. We learned that there are about 18 different kinds of penguins in the world with the vast majority of them living in the southern hemisphere. The Magellanic penguins look like they have a black ring on their bellies just before it becomes entirely white. The Gentoo penguins look more ‘classic’, with a full white belly and bright orange beaks. When we first landed on the island our walk as a group began on the beach where there were many Magellanic penguins swimming and lounging. Since penguins don’t naturally have land based predators they are not afraid of people. Some birds will eat the eggs and young chicks, but not the adults.

After walking along the beach we continued along the coastline and made our way to the center of the island following the marked trail. Our group got to hangout behind a rope nearby a Gentoo penguin nesting area where there were many eggs and small babies. It’s the season for babies so we were happy to see so many of them; there were even some nests with twins! It was hilarious watching penguins ‘run’ from the beach up to the nests to switch places with their mates and feed the babies. I had an absurd number of baby penguin photos after that stop. The nests were piles of small pebbles.

The next stop following the trail was the Magellanic penguins nesting area. It was interesting to see how different those were compared to the other penguins. The nests were more like underground burrows, not very deep but a bit longer. They were everywhere! There were many sections where we had to be very careful where we stepped. Since the nests were less visible we saw less babies. We did get to see two nests with two babies in each, though, which was incredible. In one nest the babies were fighting over food from mom and the other nest had no adult in it. When there was no adult around the babies seemed to get along much better and spent their time cuddling to protect from the wind.

One hour with the penguins flew by and it was time to take the boat back to the ranch. At the ranch we got a brief tour of the area and its history. The houses are well maintained and they have huge gardens with lots of produce. We were surprised that so much could grow there. After that it was time to explore a whale bone museum that had a lot of full skeletons of various marine animals and birds found in nearby bays. Many whales get beached in the area due to the various strong currents and tides.

After some free time wandering the museum we got a guided tour including information about the collection, the research, bone cleaning process, and the woman who started it. It was all interesting, but I have to admit that the smell in the cleaning area was horrible. The whale bone house was where researchers carefully took the found animals apart, cleaned the flesh off, and started the bone cleaning process. Since using chemicals and hot water alters the ability to accurately study the bones, the process takes a long time as they only use water and gentle brushing.

The tour ended with a quick drive back to Ushuaia. The tour was absolutely incredible, but the one thing that was annoying was the microphone use. On both the boat and the bus one of the guides was completely clueless on how to use it. Whenever he spoke it was static and quiet. We missed out on a fair bit of information whenever he spoke due to this. His female co-worker on the other hand was crystal clear every time. We made it back after under 2 hours of driving and headed straight to dinner. We ate phenomenal burgers from La Morada Burgers, a spot nearby our apartment. We were there before the workers, people really do not eat early in Argentina.

At 9:00am we got picked up right from our apartment for our next full day tour. That tour was canoeing and hiking in the nearby National Park called Tierra Del Fuego. After a short drive from town and acquiring our park passes, the bus stopped at Roca Lake. There we took pictures of the lake with mountains around it. The weather was perfect, clearish skies and hardly any wind. At 10:15am we got into our ‘canoe’ and started our paddle. Our entire group fit into one boat. The boats were more like inflatable rafts than a canoe, but it was still fun to paddle. The paddle started on the lake where we stopped to take in the views before we continued on to the river.

When paddling on the river the current was strong enough that we really didn’t need to paddle if we didn’t feel like it. There were times when no one was paddling and we still kept making our way down the river. We saw many types of birds, none of which I could identify. A few of them were mating pairs, as we were there during mating season. After some time we passed by two glass domes where we would eat lunch later in the day. There was a section of rapids we were not allowed to paddle through so we had to land the raft and then carry it to the next drop in point a few meters away. With a group of 8 people and 1 guide it was easy to carry.

The paddling part of the tour was cool because we got to paddle on 3 types of water: a lake, a river, and the ocean (the channel). Shortly after re-entering the water we began paddling the Beagle Channel we had sailed on the day before. Once on the channel the wind picked up a lot. We went close to some small rock islands where there were hundreds of mussels attached and many birds. One of the islands had a large group of terns on it which all flew away as we approached. It was a cool experience having them fly all around us and then start diving for food before returning to their hangout area. The paddle back to shore was long and challenging due to the wind and waves, but we made it in the end. We used our raft as a bridge to get across a small stream.

Once on land we got to walk around for 20 minutes at ‘the end of the world’, where the road no longer continues. There were boardwalks and signs to take pictures of. The views were nice but I was more excited for the next activity: lunch. A short drive down the road back to the glass domes we saw previously and it was time for food. We got served local red wine, bread, olives, cheese, ham, and beef stew, and dessert was dehydrated brownies with cream, dulce de leche, and berries. The dome had gorgeous views of the water we had just paddled on.

In the afternoon we did a short hike through the forest along the Coastal Trail. The trail ran along the coastline, sometimes popping up on beaches, sometimes with views of the water, and sometimes further back in the forest. We saw lots of Indian Bread, a type of edible mushroom that grows all over the trees there. They are bright orange, round, and grow in clusters. They were very cool. We saw white orchids and yellow orchids almost in bloom. Near the shores were tall mounds covered in grass. We learned that they were not naturally occurring. Rather, they formed from generations of Indigenous Peoples eating mussels and throwing the shells in one area. Hundreds of years later and those piles are now mounds all along the coastline of the park. I found that interesting.

We saw some ducks with their babies and many pairs of Upland Goose. The males are white and the females are brown. I really loved how those birds looked. They even had sneaky green feathers in some areas of the wings that were much easier to see when they went to fly. Another type, the Ashy-Headed Goose, was grey and brown and both genders looked the same. In total we hiked 6.5km, and it took us 2.5 hours due to the many stops for explanations. Our guide gave us tea and muffins for the short drive home. Nick and I returned to Sucucho for dinner where he got the shawarma and I got the bao buns again. Yet again we were blessed with great weather and a fabulous day excursion.

The next day, we took a morning shuttle back to the park (an interesting ride with two children up front blasting 1 song on repeat while the driver listened to the news loudly). Nick and I had originally planned on hiking Cerro Guanaco, but the trail was closed due to poor conditions. Instead, we decided to leisurely do the Hito XXIV hike. There are not many trails in the park so that was pretty much the only option left for us. This coastal hike went along the shoreline of Lake Roca, rather than along the ocean like the trail we did the day before. In total we did 9.7km in 2.5 hours at a casual pace with snacks.

From the Visitor’s Center we walked along the path, which was open to start, and then became much more forested. We saw mushrooms, birds, and flowers. It was another sunny day (super lucky as the forecast looked rough all week) for us, which was also fantastic. We saw one bird we had not seen yet, but who knows what kind that was. It was hanging out high up on a leaning tree and had a long curved beak. At the end of the trail was a small area with benches where a few people were enjoying a snack. The trail ends at the border with Chile.

After the short and easy hike we had lunch at the Visitor’s Center. We each got a lamb empanada and one ham and cheese empanada. They were pretty delicious for a National Park cafe. Nick and I also tried their hot chocolates with dulce de leche, which were unsurprisingly very rich. They would’ve been perfect if they had more milk in them. I had a brownie (so moist) and Nick tried a chocolate cake stuffed with dulce de leche and fruit. We were rolling out of there to catch our shuttle back to town. On our way to the apartment we strolled along the waterfront and enjoyed the viewpoints. The next day would be the start of a super unique and incredible adventure.