Direkt zum Hauptbereich

Patagonia Part 5 - Punta Arenas and Ushuaia

Bild
Von
Today, we took a bus which brought us from Puerto Natales to Punta Arenas, another city in the chilean part of Patagonia. After El Calafate and Puerto Natales we didn't really like it. Maybe it was also because we had so much nature around us for the last days that we weren't much motivated to explore the city. We had a nice late lunch at "Los Lomitos" and later explored the cementary (quite impressive!), afterwards a very funny evening at "La Marmita" restaurant. 

Punta Arenas



The next day, we left Punta Arenas. This journey was long. 12 hours to Ushuaia - to the End of the World. Tierra del fuego. Land of fire. We were all a bit afraid of the 12h busride (especially those without netflix...), but it was not as hard as we had thought. In the bus, we got something to eat (better service than at home!!), then we had to change to the ferry. This was a welcome change - even if the waves made us all looking contentrated to the horizon.. :-) Crossing the boarder to Argentina again and the last miles in a minivan that had probably been perfumed with 3l of terrible sweet perfume hours before... 

When we arrived in our hotel in Ushuaia "Cilene del faro" we couldn't believe our eyes. Did we really get the 2 suites on the highest floors?? Yes, we did!! Home parties, here we come!! :-) The view from the balcony was fascinating. I couldn't believe it. Now we really reached the End of the world. The Antarctica only 1000 km away. Ushuaia - the southernmost city on earth. Where so many adventures began. Unbelievable! 

The view from our suites balcony - Ushuaia, the southernmost city on earth

Ushuaia harbor
I think I don't have to mention that we slept very well in our luxury suites... 

 The next day, Carmen (a german member of the group) and me decided to do a tour that took us to Tierra del fuego Nationalpark. Our guide Facu had told us that it's an "old ladies tour" with a hop on-hop off bus, so we were a bit ashamed to do it. But once again it's good if you don't trust your guide sometimes. The tour was great! We had a very good (and handsome!!) guide named Luciano and a funny group - a bunch of loud, spanish ladies, an Austrian couple, Carmen and me. We saw a lot of nice things! For example the Fin del mundo train (End of the world train), which was used between 1909 and 1952 to transport material to the prison of Ushuaia but also to transport prisoners which had to chop wood in the forests. Today it's a huge (and expensive) tourist attraction. 




 We also visited world's southernmost post office... 


... beautiful lakes...



Some mate to go - the first sip tasted...umm.... not so nice.... But after the next sips, I really started to like it! 



 ... Landscapes that are inhabited by the beavers. It was interesting to learn that beavers are a huge problem in Patagonia. They were once brought from Canada to Patagonia to start a fur business. Only 25 animals. But the weather was to warm so the fur wasn't thick enough for a good business. Now there are several thousands who destroy the forests. And no fur business. I don't want to imagine what will happen with those animals in the future! :-( 


We also reached the ending point of the famous Panamericana - route (which goes from Alaska to Patagonia). Ooh, do I feel some inspiration?? 




Luciano had another surprise for us - he pulled out a bottle of Lengui (an Argentinian liquor) out of his pocket. It tasted fantastic - and made the Spanish ladies even more talkative (and fortunately my Spanish better! :-) )... 




Back in Ushuaia, Carmen and I went for coffee and cake (we did this whenever we could and it soon was the running gag of the group. Now that I think of it I guess it wasn't that wrong to put us in an old ladies group! :-) ). We walked along the harbor and later enjoyed the hotel spa. 






Sneak peak: In my next (and last) post about my Patagonia adventure, you'll read about one of my personal highligts. Meet the... 


Some recommendations for you:

 PUERTO NATALES:
- Café "The Coffee Maker": very cosy café, good coffee, nice shops next to it. And good wifi (which you should use if you're in Patagonia! You never know when it's next!) !
- Café and hostel "Amerindia": a very nice hostel with a very cute, public café and great staff. The "Love Cake" we ate was awesome!! 
- Restaurant "Wild": good burgers, nice atmosphere
- Restaurant "El bote": great staff, nice interieur, fantastic local beer and food

 PUNTA ARENAS:
- Visit the local cementary. A bit similar to the one in Buenos Aires. Big, impressive! 
- Eat a tasty sandwich at "Los Lomitos". Recommendation of our tour guide. We enjoyed it! 
- Restaurant "La Marmita": a fantastic restaurant with great food and nice interieur! Try it if you're there! 








Labels:

Beliebte Posts

Uganda in a nutshell - my one week roadtrip

Von
  I never thought that my long-cherished dream would actually come true - especially during this difficult time and after postponing the trip once and later almost cancelling once. That I would actually fly to Uganda in the midst of disputed elections, travel warnings and the Covid crisis. How grateful I am that for once I ignored the doubts and fears of my friends and family and dared to go . It could have gone totally wrong. It didn't. It worked out so perfectly that I am still a bit afraid that something bad will happen now (but after one week at home now I guess I will be ok!). I made a lot of new friends, treasure so many beautiful memories and am full of inspiration. I excuse myself in advance just in case my enthusiasm will be to big. But be sure that in reality it is even much bigger! There would be so much more to share! I would like to start with the 2nd part of my journey. After an incredibly educational and inspiring week on Ngamba Island, a sanctuary for orphaned chimp
Letzte Posts

My Patagonian Dream - Part 1: Hola, Buenos Aires!

Von
The love story between Patagonia and me is quite strange. I had never planned to go there. I didn't even know where it is until I dreamed of it one night. I dreamed I was there. And it was nice. Reeeally nice. The next day I woke up confused and asked google where Patagonia was (all I had seen of it before was the logo of an American outdoor clothing brand with the same name). Checked the pictures. Fell in love. That was it. The start of a long-held dream that finally came true this November.  Because this trip was so varied, I will write about it in several posts. Time-hopping is exhausting, so let's start at the beginning.  I'm Swiss. And I like it organized. That's why my preparations started early. My bag was packed weeks before (itchy feet, itchy feet!) and the whole range of Argentinian Malbec-wine was drunk (acclimatisation, you know - but don't worry. the range in Switzerland isn't that big...) when I finally took the plane to Buenos Aires v
Letzte Posts

Welcome to Hel... (sinki)! Or: How I fell in love with a bus stop

Von
Finland... Already when I think about it, I get quite nostalgic and strangely also a bit homesick. Two years ago, I did an exchange semester in Mikkeli, in the south of Finland, and fell in love with this country. I don't know what it is, but Finland has something that just makes me happy. That's why from time to time I get the feeling that I just have to go back.  So I did last week. Read about my 4 day-trip to Mikkeli and Helsinki here.  Warning: If you don't like nostalgic posts then you better just look at the pictures! :-)  Day 1: Arrival in Helsinki and bus ride to Mikkeli One of the few good reasons to get up at 4 o clock in the morning is travelling. I took the plane at 7 in the morning and after a short stop in Amsterdam,  I landed in Helsinki with a big smile on my face. It already felt like home when I came out of the small airport, when I saw the finnish and swedish signs at the bus stop and when the bus driver said "Terve!" to me  (I haven'
Letzte Posts

Acqua alta for beginners - a weekend in Venice, Italy

Von
" "All cities are the same, except Venice, it's a bit different" had written Friedrich Torberg in his book "Die Tante Jolesch". He was right! Venice is different. And that's why I love this city more than any other! Venice is unique. Romantic. Wonderful. A dream! A city that you have to see!! Discovered in December 2011 with the family" (Me in my travel diary, 2011) My opinion about Venice hasn't changed much in 6 years (except that I find it a bit less romantic nowadays... :-) ). Since a long time, Venice is one of my favourite cities. So I decided to go back.  Everyone asked me if it was a good idea to do this in December, and all I can say is: YES! It is!! There are much less tourists (still too much though), it is less smelly (at least that's what I've been told) and the atmosphere is very special - can you believe that I was more in christmas mood that at home, even if all the christmas markets and the snow were missi
Letzte Posts

The End of the world (and my Patagonia trip) - Meet the penguins!

Von
Do you remember that I had written about our guide asking the group the first day about our motivation to come to Patagonia in one of my previous posts? The landscape, the hikes, the food... And the penguins? To be honest... The penguin-answer came from me. Since a long time, I love those little animals. Especially their clumsy way to walk (maybe there are some similarities??) make me laugh all the time. That's why the last day in Ushuaia was a real highlight for me!  I really liked Ushuaia - not only because of our luxury hotel! This city has a very special atmosphere! With its fascinating history (from great and important explorations to the sad history of the native Yamana) I had the feeling that there is still something in the air. And even if there is a Hard Rock Café nowadays, Ushuaia seems to keep its old, adventurous spirit.  I wasn't the only penguin fan in my group. The plan was to visit the penguins by boat, but some of us wanted to see them from very near. Th
Letzte Posts