Pictures from Ushuaia
We made it to the end of the world! The rest of this wall says USHUAIA: End of the world, beginning of everything! That's sort of how we feel, end of the world, beginning of our big adventure!
We took a tour with a fantastic group called Canal Tourismo and the first day we went to Harborton where we got into canoes and paddled through the Beagle Channel. We ended up in a spot where we unloaded from the canoes and got on a boat to head for an island where there is a penguin colony. One of the best parts of this boat trip was that we had lunch which included 3 bottles of wine for the tour group to share. Needless to say, we were all really excited to see the penguins 20 minutes later! The canoe trip hard work, but the trek around the island which followed was really relaxing and fun, adn the scenery was breathtaking. We also totally lucked out and were with a great group and really friendly guides.
Dork on a dam!!! Beavers were introduced 60 years ago and because of that they have no natural predators, so they are taking over the forests and proving to be quite a nuissance! The government, effected by the "green" movement (so says the guide), is not doing much to curb the problem, offering only 10 pesos for every beaver skin turned in, so the long-toothed workers are pretty much left to chop, or should I say chew, and build to their little hearts' content. They do make some cool structures, though!
Flat tree. Ushuaia is famous for these. We were so lucky to have such a beautiful day with a bright sun and warm weather that at the time we couldn't imagine weather that could do this. As I sit typing this today, the wind is blowing and it is freezing and all of a sudden I can see why this tree is shaped like this.
Gable Island, looking onto a part of the Beagle Channel. We trekked around this island after our canoe trip and visit to the penguins. We saw Fake Mistletoe, Bollox, Ñires and lots of other kids of plant species. We also saw a grey fox and tons of birds. Cool.
Pinguinos!!!
Getting ready for day 2 of adventuring, this time we were sea kayaking up through the natural park and into the Beagle Channel. It was much colder, as you can see the sky was grey, and we had to wear wet suits. The orange "skirts" are the things that cover our legs when we sit down in the boat. It was quite an ordeal to get all geared up and strapped in. The water was soooo cold, but Levi and I were a good team out there, when he wasn't "teaspooning" with the paddle, taking little dinky strokes, while I was stuck with all the work! For the first half of the day he was in front and had to use the rudder, so we would get going then every 5 strokes he would stop and fiddle with the rudder which made it really hard to keep in a rhythm. You have to paddle on the same side to keep from tipping over, so as the back person I was constantly kept on my toes trying to figure out where he would paddle next. Then after lunch we switched (I think he was tired of hearing me give paddling advice...) and I was in the front which is actually a really hard job, so now I understand the teaspooning, and I would gladly do the trip again...from the back seat!
The town of Ushuaia on a grey day. Our third day, as I write this, it is freezing and raining and windy. It feels like it could snow. Still, the air is so clean and fresh, and it is so nice to not be sweltering in the Buenos Aires heat that we are more than happy to sit with a coffee and watch the trees bend and the clouds blow. We also saw an awesome double rainbow on the way up to the hostal. It is so beautiful here!
Again on a sunny day, and you might not be able to tell but this picture was taken around 8 p.m.
Levi's long lost buddy. Can you see the resemblance? I think they might be related! OR, has Levi found a new profession? He does look good in hats...
So here is one of those stories that just makes me cringe. On the first day when we had the canoeing tour we were all picked up at our hotels/hostels around 8 in the morning. There were people from France, Spain, England, America and Argentina on our tour. As we were heading out of town the guide turns around and starts in on what our day will be like. He says we are heading to Harborton, about 90 km out of town to the harbor where we will get into the canoes. Well, before he can get the next sentence out the guy in front of us, a guy from the U.S, there with his wife, starts yelling. "What??? We are going to be on a bus for how long??? 90 minutes!!! I don't want to do this! We were supposed to be on a boat tour. I want off this goddamn tour, I never would have signed up for this if I had known!!!" And the whole bus gets quiet. The guide says well, i am not sure what yourtravel agent said, but this is not that kind of tour, we don't to a boat ride through the channel. And the guy says "Well let me off. Stop the van, I want to get off!" SO the guide says Ok, tells the driver to stop, and says he will call a cab, the guy can go to the port and get on a boat, they leave in 30 minutes and he can do the tour he wants to do. Then the guy in front of us says "There is no was they can get a cab here and get us to the harbor, oh this is ridiculous, and waht, he is just going to leave me on the side of the road now? Oh this is ridiculous!" And the guide is like No, I am calling a cab, and he also went so far as to call two companies and reserve spots for them so that when they got to the port they could get right on the boats. The guy was just losing it, saying to his wife "I can't believe this, this is ridiculous, and to think of the money and what the hell bla bla bla..I can't wait when people stop making my blood pressure go through the roof." Like the world was out to get this guy because he had to sit in a van to get to the trip. AND, with his hissy fit he took up time and made the rest of us miss a part of the trip because we didn't have time after waiting for his cab. Then he gets off the van and continues to yell at the guy outside of the van as he gets into the taxi to head back to town. You could feel the whole van sigh with relief when they got off. He was so embarassing. And it was not the fault of the guide, it was the man's travel agent who booked it, and we all thought the guide had gone above and beyond trying to help this obnoxious guy. Anyway his being an American, I know exactly why we have the reputation we have, thanks to people like that. We hope the reason he didn't want to sit was because he has hemmorroids (sp?).
We took a tour with a fantastic group called Canal Tourismo and the first day we went to Harborton where we got into canoes and paddled through the Beagle Channel. We ended up in a spot where we unloaded from the canoes and got on a boat to head for an island where there is a penguin colony. One of the best parts of this boat trip was that we had lunch which included 3 bottles of wine for the tour group to share. Needless to say, we were all really excited to see the penguins 20 minutes later! The canoe trip hard work, but the trek around the island which followed was really relaxing and fun, adn the scenery was breathtaking. We also totally lucked out and were with a great group and really friendly guides.
Dork on a dam!!! Beavers were introduced 60 years ago and because of that they have no natural predators, so they are taking over the forests and proving to be quite a nuissance! The government, effected by the "green" movement (so says the guide), is not doing much to curb the problem, offering only 10 pesos for every beaver skin turned in, so the long-toothed workers are pretty much left to chop, or should I say chew, and build to their little hearts' content. They do make some cool structures, though!
Flat tree. Ushuaia is famous for these. We were so lucky to have such a beautiful day with a bright sun and warm weather that at the time we couldn't imagine weather that could do this. As I sit typing this today, the wind is blowing and it is freezing and all of a sudden I can see why this tree is shaped like this.
Gable Island, looking onto a part of the Beagle Channel. We trekked around this island after our canoe trip and visit to the penguins. We saw Fake Mistletoe, Bollox, Ñires and lots of other kids of plant species. We also saw a grey fox and tons of birds. Cool.
Pinguinos!!!
Getting ready for day 2 of adventuring, this time we were sea kayaking up through the natural park and into the Beagle Channel. It was much colder, as you can see the sky was grey, and we had to wear wet suits. The orange "skirts" are the things that cover our legs when we sit down in the boat. It was quite an ordeal to get all geared up and strapped in. The water was soooo cold, but Levi and I were a good team out there, when he wasn't "teaspooning" with the paddle, taking little dinky strokes, while I was stuck with all the work! For the first half of the day he was in front and had to use the rudder, so we would get going then every 5 strokes he would stop and fiddle with the rudder which made it really hard to keep in a rhythm. You have to paddle on the same side to keep from tipping over, so as the back person I was constantly kept on my toes trying to figure out where he would paddle next. Then after lunch we switched (I think he was tired of hearing me give paddling advice...) and I was in the front which is actually a really hard job, so now I understand the teaspooning, and I would gladly do the trip again...from the back seat!
The town of Ushuaia on a grey day. Our third day, as I write this, it is freezing and raining and windy. It feels like it could snow. Still, the air is so clean and fresh, and it is so nice to not be sweltering in the Buenos Aires heat that we are more than happy to sit with a coffee and watch the trees bend and the clouds blow. We also saw an awesome double rainbow on the way up to the hostal. It is so beautiful here!
Again on a sunny day, and you might not be able to tell but this picture was taken around 8 p.m.
Levi's long lost buddy. Can you see the resemblance? I think they might be related! OR, has Levi found a new profession? He does look good in hats...
So here is one of those stories that just makes me cringe. On the first day when we had the canoeing tour we were all picked up at our hotels/hostels around 8 in the morning. There were people from France, Spain, England, America and Argentina on our tour. As we were heading out of town the guide turns around and starts in on what our day will be like. He says we are heading to Harborton, about 90 km out of town to the harbor where we will get into the canoes. Well, before he can get the next sentence out the guy in front of us, a guy from the U.S, there with his wife, starts yelling. "What??? We are going to be on a bus for how long??? 90 minutes!!! I don't want to do this! We were supposed to be on a boat tour. I want off this goddamn tour, I never would have signed up for this if I had known!!!" And the whole bus gets quiet. The guide says well, i am not sure what yourtravel agent said, but this is not that kind of tour, we don't to a boat ride through the channel. And the guy says "Well let me off. Stop the van, I want to get off!" SO the guide says Ok, tells the driver to stop, and says he will call a cab, the guy can go to the port and get on a boat, they leave in 30 minutes and he can do the tour he wants to do. Then the guy in front of us says "There is no was they can get a cab here and get us to the harbor, oh this is ridiculous, and waht, he is just going to leave me on the side of the road now? Oh this is ridiculous!" And the guide is like No, I am calling a cab, and he also went so far as to call two companies and reserve spots for them so that when they got to the port they could get right on the boats. The guy was just losing it, saying to his wife "I can't believe this, this is ridiculous, and to think of the money and what the hell bla bla bla..I can't wait when people stop making my blood pressure go through the roof." Like the world was out to get this guy because he had to sit in a van to get to the trip. AND, with his hissy fit he took up time and made the rest of us miss a part of the trip because we didn't have time after waiting for his cab. Then he gets off the van and continues to yell at the guy outside of the van as he gets into the taxi to head back to town. You could feel the whole van sigh with relief when they got off. He was so embarassing. And it was not the fault of the guide, it was the man's travel agent who booked it, and we all thought the guide had gone above and beyond trying to help this obnoxious guy. Anyway his being an American, I know exactly why we have the reputation we have, thanks to people like that. We hope the reason he didn't want to sit was because he has hemmorroids (sp?).
posted by alexis @ 8:49 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
you two are hot in those outfits!:) I can't wait to do some fun adventures when I get down there!
love ya! -liz
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