Today we say goodbye to Buenos Aires until we return after our Patagonian adventure. Mauro picked us up and transferred us to the airport a bit earlier than needed as the flight was delayed twice for about 2.5 hours. Mom and I passed the time by working on our step count for the day since we weren't sure my originally planned glacier trek would still be a viable option given our arrival time. We finally arrived in Ushuaia and were taken to our hotel in the tiny town. Our local operator suggested that we should stay in town for that evening instead of the hike. We obliged and checked out the Panoramic point, the Prison museum, and then grabbed dinner on the main road. Ushuaia was originally a penal colony before becoming a tax free zone in order to grow the population of the area. As the clock struck 9:30pm and we enjoyed some Quilmes beers and the sun has still yet to set on the tiny town.
The next morning we woke up early to take a bus to Estancia Haberton. As we made our way down Route No. 3 our guide Santi explained to us about the region, the Estancia, as well as some traditional Argentinian customs such as sharing a cup of matte. As we approached the Estancia, the views were breathtaking and we stopped for pictures of the wind trees. Once we arrived on the ranch our group loaded up a Zodiac boat and headed off to Isla Martillo to walk with the Penguins! The boat ride was a bit bumpy (Mom's head may have hit the ceiling). As our Zodiac approached the beach, the thousands of penguins parted way for our arrival. Three species of Penguins covered the island as far as one could see. The Magellanic penguins use the island to lay their eggs and then depart when the cold weather comes. The Gintoo penguins, however, remain on the island as they can withstand colder temperatures since they are a breed of Antarctic penguins. The third type of penguin that inhabits the island are the King penguins which were absolutely beautiful! We walked around the home of the near 20,000 penguins and got up close and personal with them.
Ushuaia is known to have strong wings ripping across the beagle channel which made the day quite cold for a mid-summer day! We made our way back to the boat and returned to Estancia Haberton where we grabbed a cup of Hot Chocolate to warm ourselves up from the trip before taking a tour of the marine biology museum. The tour was quite fascinating as they explained the differences in marine life that can be found in the region.
We returned to Ushuaia for a quick and relaxing bite on the Main Street of San Martin. After lunch I ventured off on my own to tackle the Martial Glacier hike. The ascent which could be reached by taxi was not too far from the center of town. It was an absolutely breathtaking view of the city and between the intermittent sun a rainbow emerged as I looked back upon the city from the mountain.
Along the route i exchanged many pleasantries in Spanish until halfway up I encountered a few english speakers. Having been walking for nearly 45 minutes I was relieved to have found a few new friends to converse with. They were a couple from London/Germany Connie and Sebastian. We chatted the rest of the way up until finally reaching the glacier.
Sebastian a bit more prepared and adventures took to the glacier like a penguin sliding down in reckless abandon. I opted out as my attire didn't seem suited for the penguinnery. I left my new friends and headed back down the glacier to meet my parents for dinner. After a few hours trekking it was nice to relax before the next day of adventure!
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