Punta Arenas – ChileThis small city was a few hours south of Puerto Natales and, in a similar vein, is a place which serves as a gateway to other places. The trips which came highly recommended also came with a high price tag, so we ended up being restricted to the town itself. Fortunately, we were in a lively hostel so were able to find lots of people to talk to. We also visited the cemetery, which is one of the city’s top attractions, and wandered up and down the rows and rows of incredibly ornate gravestones and mausoleums, though felt it would be a little disrespectful to take any photos. Instead, we took a photo of the statue outside the Ministry of Agriculture building.

After our brief foray into Chile, we returned to Argentina to continue to Ushuaia: the country’s southernmost city (possibly in the world, but contested by Puerto Williams).

Ushuaia – ArgentinaWe arrived late on Monday evening and we were greeted by an intense grey downpour. In spite of this, we were pleased to see that the city was much prettier than we had imagined, nestled between the sea and the mountains. The next day was taken over by laundry, shopping, familiarising ourselves with the area and trying to organise a boat trip – all of the glamorous things that we try to avoid discussing! Luckily, while booking our boat trip, we were given two vouchers for a free hot chocolate in the local chocolatier. We decided we had been sufficiently productive and immediately made our way there. Since the drinks were free, it was only fair that we then purchased a slice of cake to share. This is important enough to make it into the blog because prior to this, every dessert or cake we have tried has been pretty disappointing – happily, this one was quite possibly the best dessert we have EVER shared! We returned to the hostel in a chocolate-induced state of lethargy.

Wednesday dawned bright and clear (at least, I assume so – we’ve managed to avoid dawn for the majority of our trip) so we pulled on our walking gear and set off for the nearest mountain. After leaving the town, the path took us through a forest, along a glacial stream and up to a ski school. Here, we stopped to enjoy the view before turning back down. We had also been given two vouchers for free beer, so, deciding that our walk had earned us the right to enjoy a drink, we headed to the bar which was conveniently located opposite our hostel.

We had booked our boat trip for the following day, so after a couple of drinks, we called it a day to make sure we would be up early enough for our 8:30 (!) start.In the morning, we made our way down to the port and boarded the catamaran that was to take us out to see the penguins. We found ourselves a couple of seats by the window on the second deck and settled in for the journey. Having remarked on how flat and calm the water was, the further out into the Beagle Channel we ventured, the choppier the water became. We reached our first destination, a small group of islands with sea lions and a lighthouse, and headed out on the top deck with our fellow passengers. Photo opportunities were slightly more difficult due to the boat pitching and rolling and it wasn’t long before we were off again. Unfortunately, however, after around ten minutes the captain announced that we would be returning to Ushuaia as the conditions had become even worse. This was supported by waves crashing up and over the boat and several passengers requiring the paper bags being handed around by the crew.

After we docked, we managed to rebook our trip for the following day and instead headed to the city museum, set in the old prison.The building had five long wings extending out from the central hall and each one housed a different theme. The first was the prison museum and each cell either contained information, artefacts or models showing how the inmates would have lived. The second was the city’s history; the third an art gallery; the fourth was the original, untouched prison wing and the fifth the gift shop. Some of the historical information didn’t quite sit right with us, but the prison wings were incredibly interesting.

Friday was our last day so it was with crossed fingers and toes that we arrived back at the port for our second attempt on the boat. Luckily for us, the channel remained completely still and calm and we arrived at the penguin island without any problems. Here, we could see three types of penguin: Magellan (or Magellanic), King and Gentoo. We watched them waddling or running along the beach, diving into the water and swimming around, and generally being amused by their antics until it was time to sail back.

We both really enjoyed Ushuaia and could have spent longer there, but at the same time, we were both quite relieved to be heading to Buenos Aires and back to warmer weather in Saturday. After an uneventful journey, we arrived at our AirBnB, ready for some sunshine!