Go Play Outsider: Fin Del Mundo - The End of The World

No, you can't steal baby penguins

My trip to "The End of the World" has been eventful. Once I arrived I immediately loved my hostel. Even if it is at the top of the city, which requires some urban hiking to reach. The hostel had someone waiting at the airport for me with a sign. I was SO delighted. Until they were late, and I was standing there like a dummy for a 20 minutes. But hey, it was still cool to see a sign with my name on it at the airport :)

Runway, El Calafate

Beautiful flight out of El Calafate

After I arrived I made the journey downtown and found an English speaking travel agent. I immediately liked this dude, first, he told me not to waste my money on trekking tours because I was physically able and could do it unguided. Then he asked where I live, because after 10 years he no longer wishes to live in Ushuaia and is therefore "shopping" for a similar paradise. We discussed the PNW at length, swapped photos/videos and chatted about snowboarding. Eventually I did book a trip, but I should have taken his advice and saved my $$. Oh well, everything happens for a purpose.

That night, by chance, I discovered a friend I had met in El Calafate, Joy, had just arrived and was staying at the same hostel. We caught up over breakfast and decided to keep one another company. We also picked up another solo traveler, and the 3 of us would spend the week accomplishing nothing, but laughing at everything.

Holy Food Coma

I ended up on a 4x4 adventure, which was quite a waste of money. The guide asked me to sit up front, as I was the only English speaking customer that day. While he filled the rest in on the touristy information in Spanish, we moved on to climbing, mountaineering and such in English. That alone ended up saving the day...our first stop was to watch people play in a snowbank on the side of the road. While it was great to see people experience snow for the first time, it was immediately evident that this tour was not for me. Luckily, lunch included mass amounts of wine and I was able to sleep the whole way back to the city. At least I got some good photos...

The highlight of Ushuaia was definitely the penguins. Even though we had consumed entirely too much wine the previous night out of boredom, somehow I didnt get sea-sick on our boat ride out. Again, lucky with guides, I was told I could stand at the back with the captain and got some great footage for my video as we crossed the Beagle Channel to the island. These penguins randomly chose this island to develop their colony. The owners of the land had a lucky break, as the island is a part of their Estancia (Ranch) and therefor private property. They charge about $14 a person to enter their land.

This Leapord Seal was too fat and lazy to care we were there...or at least to do anything about it

Penguinos!

Boats must yield to the locals

Ushuaia at sunset on a rainy last day.

Again, nothing crazy happened on my 5 days here, but I can say I saw some penguins and the end of the world. Joy also convinced me to change my travel plans and join her in Torres Del Paine. Why not, I came to explore Patagonia, right? We tried to convince Vashti to join us without luck.