Argentina- Buenos Aires to Ushuaia

I have six posts planned to cover my otherworldly journey to South America + Antarctica last month. It will be a feat to properly share all the wonderful places I discovered and more importantly, to share the impact that this region had on me in only three weeks.

And thus begins my best attempt.

It all started on January 9th when I touched down in Buenos Aires after I very turbulent 10-hour flight from Houston. Having been in Fairbanks a mere eight days prior the contrast from -30°F(-34°Ç) in Alaska to 93°F (34°C) in Argentina was shocking, in the best way!

National Museum of the Cabildo of Buenos Aires and the May Revolution. Originally this building was used as a seat of the town council during the colonial era.

I navigated the taxi system from the airport and enjoyed the hour’s (sometimes wild!) drive to my hotel taking in the novel landscape. Having never traveled to South America before I was not sure what to expect. The farthest south I had been in the Spanish-speaking world was a semester studying abroad in Mexico, 18 years prior. Unsurprisingly, I found nothing about Argentina that was relatable to Mexico, aside from the language which, similar to my time in Mexico, I could passably flounder through!

I spent four days and four nights in Buenos Aires staying at the Alve ar Pal ace Hote l. During that time I enjoyed the many parks, local street performers, the very red-meat-heavy cuisine, experienced my first tango performance, and joined a half-day tour of the main attractions in the city.

It proved to be a great way to get my feet wet in Argentina and adjust to the new time zone and culture before heading further south.

A giant and very old ficus tree in Buenos Aires.

The following Friday morning, I traveled with my group to the domestic airport to catch the flight to Ushuaia where the next day we were to load onto the Ocean Victory and set off for Antarctica.

In true South American style, rules were a bit squishy at the airport. Their weight allowance for baggage was low (15 kilos, or 33 pounds for suitcases, and 8 kilos, or around 17 pounds for carry-ons) so paying an extra fee was common and a great way for the airlines to make a few extra bucks. But, there were ways around this. Smiling, distracting, admiring, ignoring the scale, or just hiding your carry-on from view were all effective techniques to avoid paying the extra fees, according to our local guide and fixer Karla. My suitcase was at weight but I knew my carry-on was 4 kilos over!

I enjoyed watching my fellow Americans awkwardly approach this song and dance, most of them standing stiff and scared looking in the face of having to “put on a show”. Not so accustomed to such performances at the airport, most people ended up paying a fee but my fate was different. A young, cute Argentinian was the next attendant available when it was my turn. We chatted as I kept my carryon out of sight. But he was on to me and asked to see it. Busted! I put it on the scale. He stared right at the readout confirming that it was 4 kilos overweight, while I ignored it completely, as instructed. Instead of imposing the fine he smiled, handed me my boarding pass, and said “have a nice flight.” Yes!

After the 3.5-hour flight, we landed in Ushuaia, Argentina. Buenos Aires was well worth the visit but this, THIS, was my kind of place. It was breathtaking. A small town with giant, rugged peaks in every direction. This was Patagonia. This was Tierra del Fuego and the gateway to the Andes.

Ushuaia, Argentina as viewed from our hotel The Arakur R esort. The snow-capped mountains in the distance are in Chile.

Lessons from: Argentina- Buenos Aires to Ushuaia

In Buenos Aires, there are two airports: the international airport and the domestic airport. Very few domestic flights depart from the international airport, so most often it requires traveling an hour from the international airport to catch a domestic flight.
Taxies from the airport- it is safest to use one of the official taxis: Manuel Tienda Leon or Ezeiza Taxi. You actually pre-pay at the counter just outside of customs. Of course, it is still customary to tip the driver at the end of service.
Before arriving in Patagonia, I did not know that Patagonia is actually a region in South America, not a national park. Tierra Del Fuego is a province in Argentina, not a national park, although there is a national park called Tierra Del Fuego just outside of Ushuaia. So, Ushuaia is in the region of Patagonia and the province of Tierra Del Fuego.

Something Interesting: Tierra Del Fuego, the National Park.

I spent the morning of our embarkation on a 4-hour tour of Tierra Del Fuego National Park. The entrance is just a short drive west of Ushuaia. Though one can only see I tiny sliver of the park without hiking into the backcountry, it was a wonderful overview of an incredible area.

The park was first established in 1960 and then expanded in 1966. It was the first shoreline national park in Argentina. It is 630 sq kilometers (240 sq miles) in size, and very little of it can be accessed by road.

One of the highlights of my time there was having the opportunity to see an Andean Condor. It was high in the sky yet I could not help but feel thrilled that I was viewing a bird whose max wingspan was 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in)!

I also asked the guide how the name “Tierra Del Fuego” (Land of Fire) came to be. It turns out that it was named by Spanish explorers who witnessed smoke billowing up from this area. The native inhabitants relied heavily on fire, presumably to keep warm, among other things. After all, it was the peak of the summer and the temperature was hovering around freezing. Later that afternoon, snow was in the air!

Tierra Del Fuego National Park. This image was taken in Argentina yet the mountains in the background are in Chile.

A look behind the curtain

Last Mother’s Day I spontaneously surprised my mom by flying to Colorado and showing up on her doorstep to celebrate Mother’s Day weekend. While I was there, I saw a flyer for an Antarctica trip on their coffee table. Captivated, I asked if they were going to Antarctica. My mom said they were considering it and asked if I was interested. My head felt like it was going to explode. YES!

The funny thing is I had never thought seriously about traveling to Antarctica, mostly because it is not something that you can just do on your own and I had never considered booking a trip with a tour before. This felt like my chance.

Unfortunately, in December, less than a month before departing, there was a family health setback that prevented both my parents from joining. Disappointed, I did not even consider canceling. At this point, I was more than comfortable traveling alone.

It is interesting to consider the timeline of events looking back. Booking Antarctica took place a few weeks before I woke up and spontaneously booked my 5-week trip to Norway. My experience in Norway paved the way for me to become comfortable with the idea of traveling alone to celebrate my 40th birthday in Alaska and to fly to South America and experience Antarctica with 150 people I had just met, most of them 20+ years older than me.

Even more interesting, Norway planted a seed in me that needed water. Alaska and Antarctica watered that seed, and now I am going back to Norway in less than three weeks to see if I can get that seed to grow. And all because I woke up one morning and decided to surprise my mom on Mother’s Day.