A very cold boat ride in Ushuaia

With our tour of the Beagle Channel from Ushuaia rescheduled from the night before, we packed on nearly all of our clothes (in hindsight, I should have added a t-shirt for a fifth layer) and headed to the boat. We got to test out our layers right away, waiting in the cold for thirty minutes for the boat to be ready (or the guide to show up, who really ever knows). At that point, I would have gladly added to the 19.5 kg I was packing around, if I had space in my bag.

Explaining where we’re going

Unsurprisingly, the trip did not get any warmer. We boarded what I would describe as a sport fishing boat, with three other chicas (girls), two from France studying in Uruguay, and one from Ecuador studying in Buenos Aires. Our first stop (and by stop I mean we did not actually get off the boat, just putted around) was at an island with a colony of penguin- like birds. They weren’t penguins nor were they related to them, but they looked like them. That was all I got from the guide’s description before the piercing wind blocked out any more comprehension.

Sea lions

Our next “stop” was another island where we saw, by far, the biggest sea lion ever. When I saw the size of the head, I suddenly understood why they were called sea lions. We also passed by a famous lighthouse, still being lit apparently by solar power. By this time, we had been on the deck of the boat for at least fifteen minutes, and we were ready to move on.

An apparently famous lighthouse

Heading back, we stopped and got off the boat on the largest island of the Beagle channel. It also seemed to be the coldest. We reached the top however, and were rewarded with a 360 degree view of the channel and the city. It was definitely worth it. Hiking down, the wind miraculously stopped, and I felt a degree of warmth return to my body. Enough so that I managed to learn that the indigenous inhabitants forwent clothing for the superior protection of blubber oil. Apparently the European influence convinced them clothing made more sense, and actually contributed to their downfall, as the clothing got wet and didn’t try easily. Thank god my clothing was dry!