April 8, 2010.  Today was a big day for us.  After 633 days on the road and 25,112 miles (40,734 km) of driving in Central and South America, we were finally arriving in Ushuaia (population 100,000), considered to be the “southernmost city in the world.”  Making the day even better was that we were driving into Ushuaia on the same day that two of our friends, Mike and Carla, were in town.  Mike and Carla are two of my friends from college.  They are on an around-the-world trip, and just happened to be in Ushuaia at the same time as us.  We were really looking forward to seeing and catching up with them.  By the way, they have a terrific travel blog located here:  Mike and Carla’s round-the-world trip.

First off, just a little background on Ushuaia and its “Fin del Mundo” or “End of the World” status.   Technically, it really is the southermost “city” in the world.  However, there is at least one town (Puerto Williams, Chile, population 2,000) and several villages that are actually further south than Ushuaia.  Cabo del Horno (Cape Horn), the geographically southernmost point in South America, is another 147 km south.  However, getting to any of these further far-flung destinations all involve paying a hefty price to a boat or tour company (hundreds to thousands of dollars) to take you disproportionately further south.  Ana and I, not wanting to chase titles or blow our budget just to get to the next “furthest south” point, decided that Ushuaia, at least for us, would be the “Fin de este viaje” or furthest south on this trip that we would go.

So, excited to finally be arriving at the reportedly beautiful city of Ushuaia, we awoke to a clear blue sky after spending the night on the shores of Lago Fagnano, near the town of Tolhuin.  Tolhuin is located 103 km northeast of Ushuaia, on the main highway heading into town.  We camped for free this night at a pull-off by the lake.  When we awoke we were greeted by a beautiful crisp and windless day.  The lake water was very still, and you could see the rocks on the bottom as well as reflections of the mountains leading into Ushuaia.

We hit the road and were soon enjoying the fall colors on the nearby trees.  The leaves were hitting their stride and giving us a colorful show of red, yellow and orange.  We stopped a few times to take pictures, and talked with some Argentina tourists as well as a motorcyclist from Moldovia on an around-the-world ride.  The motorcyclist was now heading north, traveling fast, and was planning to be in Seattle, USA in two months.  We realize that different people travel for different reasons.  However, two months to drive through South and Central America seemed like a ridiculously fast pace.  We thought he’d spend all of his time staring at pavement and probably miss out on most of the culture and probably much of the scenery as well.  Still, it’s going to be one great ride!

The road into Ushuaia passes by scenic Lago Escondido, and then climbs steadily until it crosses Paso Garibaldi.  We stopped to take pictures at the top of the pass, enjoying the views of the lake and the full splendor of a fall day in Tierra del Fuego.  From there, it was an easy 50 km descent past ski resorts, wide valleys, and a few beaver ponds until we reached our destination of Ushuaia.  We definitely felt a little emotional pulling into town.  Thinking of how far we’d come to get to this point, and all the experiences along the way, it felt REALLY, REALLY GOOD driving into town.

Making the arrival even better was that upon entering town, we happened across two bicyclist friends, Shauna and Julian.  They were in front of a big Ushuaia sign drinking Argentinian Quilmes beers and taking photos.  Shauna and Julian are National Park Rangers in Banff, Alberta who spend their Canadian winters bicycling in various parts of the world.  They just completed a monstrous 6 month bicycle ride from Lima, Peru to Ushuaia that makes our drive in Mango feel like a leisurely stroll through the neighborhood.  They are both great people with infectuously good-natured laughs.  We celebrated a Quilmes with them while taking each other’s pictures in front of the big sign.

After promising to meet again in a few days, we left Julian and Shauna  behind and headed into town.  Ushuaia, other than being the “Fin del Mundo”, is also a really beautiful city and nice tourist destination in its own right.  It sits overlooking the Beagle Chanel with an impressive view of Isla Navarino on the other side.  The city is also backdropped by beautiful mountains.  This time of the year seemed especially scenic, as the fall foliage above town was changing colors, really putting on a show for us.

We rolled into town and shortly thereafter met up with Mike and Carla.  It is nice to successfully end a long trip like this with your spouse, but it’s even better when you can also meet a few good friends.  Mike and Carla are on a yearlong around-the-world trip and just happened to be in Ushuaia at the same time as us.  For me, it was especially meaningful ending our trip with Mike and Carla there because of our shared history together.  The three of us attended college together at the Air Force Academy in Colorado. Mike and I also flew C-130s at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina, and later were deployed together in Iraq and Afghanistan.  We went from one side of the globe to the other.  From difficult and strenuous situations where we didn’t always have much control over our destinies, to relaxing at the “Fin del Mundo” and feeling at peace with where we were in life.  It felt really good meeting up with old friends and realizing how great life can be if you can struggle through some of the more challenging times.  This has been a great trip; full of adventures, surprises, a few hardships, but definitely an experience we wouldn’t trade for the world.

Please check out Mike and Carla’s terrific blog:  They have been traveling for the better part of a year, and write about most of their experiences.  They have some great insights and thoughts about their trip.  Check it out at:

http://www.travelpod.com/members/carlaandmike

To see more trip photos, click any of the galleries below:

Arrival in Ushuaia

Driving to Ushuaia

Lago Fagnano near Tolhuin

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