Day 98 : Road Trip Around Ushuaia

I am actually really glad and thankful to have met Jesus, because without him, I would not have gotten the chance to see so much of Ushuaia. 

Though I only suggested to visit Playa Largo together, he subsequently drove us around to visit other attractions, which without a car I would not have been able to do so.

The amazing wonders of chance occurrences…

Playa Largo

Jesus came to pick me up at 11am and we made our way to Playa Largo.

Playa Largo is on the other end of the National Park and with great views of the Beagle Channel.  It was a little chilly when we were there, and with strong winds. 

The only thing I felt disappointed about was that the people don’t really take care of nature very well as there was quite a bit of debris and a lot of beer bottles on the ground.

This time we saw a herd of cows in the wild, who stared at us with caution as we walked past them.  We weren’t sure if they were planning to run away, or if we should be wary of them charging towards us, and so kept our distance. 

I would have much preferred seeing wild horses! 

Paseo Garibaldi

Jesus visited Paseo Garibaldi a couple of weeks ago, and suggested driving me there to have a look. 

Paseo Garibaldi is about 57km away from Playa Largo, where we drove through winding roads with snow capped mountains on one side.  Weather was not looking good with dark clouds hanging over us and a slight drizzle.

The views of Paseo Garibaldi was amazing though, as it overlooked a lake (Lago Escondido), and with mountains on the side!  There was even snow on the ground!

Es Haberton and Surroundings

We headed back towards Ushuaia city and came across a side road towards another location, Es Haberton, 40km away, and decided to check it out. Within 10 minutes of driving onto that road, the weather ahead of us was extremely sunny with blue skies!  What a sudden change in weather!

We stopped at a couple of stops, including one stop at a river with dam like structures.  Jesus shared that these were built by beavers. 

Apparently beavers were only introduced into Ushuaia in the last few years due to a pest problem in the city, and since then they have reproduced beyond control and have been causing damages to the forest whenever they destroy trees to build dams. 

The only way they can get rid of beavers are to introduce bears, but as they also eat human, that is not an option!

We were hoping to spot at least one beaver in action but no luck on this instance!

We continued on and finally came to Es Haberton and was stopped at the entrance. A lady approached us and told us that it cost ARS45 to go in, which would include entrance to the museum and a guided tour.  It was pretty expensive, as we could have got a dinner with that!  So we turned around and drove off. 

Glacier Martial

We drove back towards Ushuaia and I suggested we visit Glacier Martial, located a couple of minutes from the centre of town, since Jesus has not gone there either.  According to the map, it was supposed to be a good panoramic point. 

We got to the top and found ourselves at the bottom of a ski field, which is now closed since the season for skiing is over.  The slopes had little snow, and since it was advised against walking up the slope without proper equipment, we saw neither presence of glacier nor much of a view from that spot.

However we stopped at a hotel a couple 100m away, on our way back down and got a good view of the city landscape.

It was chilly and about to get dark, so Jesus suggested that we get a hot drink in town, which ended up being dinner as it was almost 8.30pm by the time we got to the main street. 

Thanks to Jesus, I had my first dinner at a restaurant in Ushuaia!