Tierra del Fuego:  22. – 29.03.2010

There we were at the end of the American Continent, Tierra del Fuego or Fireland. The name comes from the natives; they did not wear clothing all year long. Instead they carried fire all over the place, to keep them warm, even in their canoes. Just the thought of it left us freezing we wore cap, scarf, gloves as well as the warmest jacked we had and it was not even winter yet.

We finally wanted to visit one of the many Estancias we have seen all along the way. Therefore we chose the oldest one in Tierra del Fuego, Estancia Haberton. But that excursion did not really convince us. The whole setup looked more like a tourist trap with many busses and boats from Ushuaia being pushed through. And after a quick coffee we sneaked off again. But we haven’t been ready for our southern most destination, so we took a right turn instead of left and all of a sudden we found ourselves on one of the most beautiful roads we have been, on our whole trip. It was ever-changing from dens forest, to fjord like lagoons, pretty little bays, steep cliffs and deep blue lakes. No question that we stopped here for the night and enjoyed the magnificent view.

Now it really was supposed to go to the southernmost city of the world, Ushuaia, which is actually not true. Puerto Williams, Chile is just a bit further south. Since Ushuaia advertises louder and is easier to reach, it takes this place. As we arrived it was raining. And after a visit in a Coffee House, we went from travel agency to travel agency. This was not supposed to be the end for us; we wanted to go one step further, Antarctica. Unfortunately we had to realize that we missed the last vessel by half a week. Quite a bit disappointed we strolled along the main road and had to realize that this place has not much to offer except that it is supposed to be the southernmost city of the world.

One and a half days we had left with Markus Parents, we spent them in the Parque National Tierra del Fuego. With light rain we walked along Bahia Lapatai where we saw all kinds of birds, ducks and geese. Even Easter Bunny and Fox were crossing our way. Until finally in the early afternoon the sun came through that we could enjoy the great landscape in whole. In the evening we had a farewell steak in a restaurant and it was the best we ever had. Just thinking of it is still mouth watering.

The next day meant to say goodbye. After 34 days of ‘extended N-Team’, team ‘Villa Elisa’ flew via Buenos Aires back home. It was wonderful that you could accompany us on our way to the horizon for a while. Thank you for the luxury that we could enjoy with you. Grateful we think back of that time.

The rest of the day we spent in the National Park on the search for another bird, the red head woodpecker. That is supposed to be endemic for this region. We almost walked every track in the park, without success. And after a further rainy day in the park nothing could hold us anymore, not even the possibility to see such a rear bird. So we packed up and left for our beloved road, where we spent two more days with great weather. We actually planed to get wet between the kelp and breath a bit of compressed air. But wind and unpredictable currents ruined those planes.

So it was about time for us to say goodbye to this piece of earth. Our next destination is the National Park Torres del Paine, Chile where we plan to take our hiking boots and tent into action. How that developed you can read in our next report.

Best wishes from autumn

Sonja and Markus

Here it goes to the pictures...