The Andes

Hey Everybody!

The most important news: my ship is docked in Ushuaia! I expect a proper photo will surface later, but this one is good enough for now :-). It's the fairly hidden one that says Quark. It is just 11am here and we are not permitted on the boat until 4pm. Furthermore, because it's Sunday....the town is nearly shutdown until church and supper are finished. Hmmm....does that mean no more ice cream/gelato shop visits? I only go there once a day & I have had two different orders, but yesterday when I went in the same guy was working the counter & he anticipated the second flavor. Surely! That says more about the high level of customer service than my daily visit. By the way, the second flavor to complement the mousse de chocolate was Calafate. It's an Argentina fruit/berry - sort of similar to raspberry or huckleberry.

Anyway, the point of this last pre-trip post is to tell you about the off-road trip in the Andes yesterday. The participants: the driver/guide, the BBQ man, an older Australian couple, and me. Oh, most importantly....the jeep.

The view of Fagnano Lake without the jeep:

We crossed the Andes at Garbaldi Pass, which is the only place to cross and still be in Argentina. I didn't know that fact before the trip, but wasn't surprised because on the Beagle Channel trip we were in Chilean waters at least 3 times according to the map. In this photo from the Channel, Chile is on the right & Argentina to the left.

So, back to the off-road jeep...the two lakes are Fagnano & Escondido. The larger one is Escondido, which is the one we explored via zodiac. The drink of the day was Mate tea - a VERY strong type green tea. Not bad, but a pretty unusual taste.

After the off-road adventure & before the BBQ at the lake, we hiked through the forest. It is similar to Alaska in that the air air is very healthy as evidenced by the lichen. There are NO bugs, spiders, reptiles, dangerous animals.... Makes for a pretty stress-free hike provided you are prepared for ALL weather conditions.

This was the weather as we left in the zodiac....quite perfect dontcha think?

Within 30 minutes this was the weather on the lake...light rain that turned to hail shortly after we docked and returned to the jeep. Not bad, but quite cold! The wind also picked up and the guide couldn't resist the opportunity to tease me about wind & the Drake Passage. The Aussies aren't taking an Antarctic trip.

This is the shelter our guide built to use for the BBQ portion of these trips. It was quite warm inside. Meat-eaters would love the BBQ because the appetizer was Salami, the first course was a sausage sandwich (and plenty of food; period!), followed by a second course of MORE meat. Salad was available. Dessert was a typical Argentine choice called Vigilante. Vigilante is a small hunk of fresh cheese blanketed by a sweet potato jam mixed with vanilla and chocolate. Yes, I tried it. No, I didn't love it but it's okay..... chocolate & cheese saved it for me. The sauce for the meats is called Chimmichurri - a vinegar & oil mix with a handful of herbs/spices. Amazingly, it was not too spicy for me & tastes pretty good.

It was very nice and peaceful out there yesterday. And gave me a chance to feel like I explored the Andes at least a little bit. In truth, I will continue to explore this mountain range because even the Antarctic Peninsula is considered a part of the Andes range (the Antarctic Andes).

On an entirely more severe topic....I learned that there is a very high rate of suicide among Ushuaian teenagers. The temperature in town for the past few days has probably been in the upper 30's to low 40's during the day. There has been some sun, some rain, some snow (mountains), some hail and lots of clouds. Basically this is life in Ushuaia 365 days/year. On top of that the mountains make it impossible to ever see a horizon. For the teens who don't have any opportunity to travel away to Buenos Aires or beyond, they start to feel trapped.

While I don't feel trapped here and see much beauty in the place, I definitely can imagine locals reaching that point. If it weren't for horizons I don't know that I'd be here traveling. Horizons are possibility (I think) and, therefore, necessary. The school system has begun to take a more active role by taking children out for camping trips to get them exploring. We drove past a a group of schoolchildren & a bunch of tents were set up near the river. I think it's cool that the school is getting involved in this kind of community issue.

Hope all is well where you are.... Stop back by when you have finished your turkey dinners and I should have more pics for you.

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