El Chalten and Piedra Buena

After returning to Ushuaia from Antartica, I was at a bit of a loss about what to do next. I went back to camp in the Tierro del Fugeo national park (la pataia), because that place is amazing. It ended up snowing the 4 days I was there, so most the time I was in my tent, but the air was still magic. This is my favorite park in South America.

After leaving Ushuaia, I headed to El Chalten, the nation’s hiking capital. I camped behind my host, Flor’s house/ shop.

She lives with her boyfriend and 3 children. I spent about 2 weeks in this charming village. I met lots of travelers also camping in her backyard. 

There were many adventures had, including a group day trek and skinny dip in a mountain lake.

I did some solo treks to some glaciers.

While at Flor’s, we had cordillero (lamb) one night, the region’s specialty.

Part of the reason I stayed in Chalten so long was because it’s difficult hitchhiking north or east of the town, everyone goes south. I had to wait for Flor’s family to come visit her from a town in the east which is where I was headed.

Her mother and sister came and gave me a lift to Piedra Buena. They are really generous lovely people. I stayed with them, above their ice cream shop/ café for 3 days.

We did a lot of cooking exchange. The town is charming and small with a lake, some wooded area, and lots of flowers and art around the town. 

Antartica

I made it back from Antartica yesterday. I can still feel the boat rocking. Antartica was a dream.

 We left on the 11^th from Ushuaia. Shortly after, we made a stop at Puerto Williams, and continued on past the infamous Drake passage for 2 days.

The Drake was kind to us on the way there.

We made our first landing at cuverville island, saw some penguins, and a seal. The penguins fight for rocks. It was mating season.

We had the chance to cruise down some straights on zodiacs.

At one point we got off on some sea ice to take a group pic and play.

We had a BBQ out on the top deck one evening and saw some orcas (whales) the same night.

The next day we stopped by port lockroy, a museum/post office. It used to be a British base.

Later we actually got on the mainland, saw more penuins, had a snow fight, and slid down a mountain.

We stopped by Ornu harbor the next morning and saw a lot of penguins. I think it is the second biggest colony of penguins in the world. The sound was like a constant car motor running.  

The final landing was on deception island, which is an active and water filled volcano. There is old whaling equipment there. We had the chance to go swimming.

This is just a short summary of what I experienced on the trip, words can’t really do it justice. This was certainly a highlight in my travels. I made some beautiful new friends and the food was good too. 

Punta Arenas, Ushuaia, and Tierra del Fuego

I hitched hiked down to Punta Arenas. It was a long journey passing through the Patagonian windy flat lands. The first night, I end up in a little Argentinian village, Tres Lagos. My last driver offered me a place to stay at his brothers little house. Nice family. 

The next day I get picked up, hitch hiking, by a Chilean politician.

I arrived in Punta Arenas and met my host Oren, his friendly family, and a couchsurfing American couple Blake and Catherine. While in Punta Arenas I did some Antartica investigations, went to a park, bought some camping equipment, and had a look around the center. The last day, I met/ had dinner with new couchsurfers staying with Oren.

A few days later I headed out to Ushuaia, Argentina. Interestingly, I got picked up by another Chilean politician.

My Cs host didn’t respond to my messages when I got to Ushuaia, so I checked into a hostel, Refugio Mochilero. The entrance is full of water tanks of turtles and fish.

After having had a look around town and spending a few days in Ushuaia, I camped out in Tierra del Fuego National Park for a few days. This is the prettiest park I’ve been to on my south America travels. Magic.

I met several lovely people in the park, including these 3 children and their 2 mothers. We sat in an open field, with views of mountains, a river, and cliffs.