Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Ushuaia, the most austral city in the world, 55º south of the equator, and just a stones throw away from Antarctica. I arrived last night prepared for the worst in my spanking new thermal/waterproof/windproof jacket, so I was a bit disappointed to discover that it was actually 15ºC and had been excellent weather for this time of year. Checked into a hostel in the centre of town for 15 pesos a night (less than 5 euros - Argentina is working out to be quite cheap).

This morning, after looking around the town and getting the "End of the World Museum" stamp in my passport, I decided to trek up to a glaciar nearby, Le Martial. At first the trek was fairly easy going, up through woodlands, over rocky shale and alongside a stream of meltwater. The wind was cold, but the sun was shining and I was pretty hot after walking for a while. After a couple of hours climbing, near the foot of the glacier, there were beautiful views down the valley and over the city of Ushuaia, it's port and the Beagle channel. Met several fellow trekkers on the trail from Argentina, Mexico, France, UK and Holland.

Tomorrow I hope to go to the National Park "Tierra del Fuego", then hopefully I'll manage to do a small boat trip on Saturday before heading north to Punta Arenas in Chile. As another austral explore once said, I'm just going out for a walk, I may be some time...