Fin del mundo - the end of the world!

In order to get to Antarctica, one first has to travel to the end of the world. Most vessels bound for Antarctica depart from Ushuaia south of Argentina, and this was also our destination for the final part of this epic trip.

Even though the climate is harsh and cold, the indigenous people mostly ran around naked - apparently undisturbed by the low temperatures as opposed to their western counterparts freezing under heavy blankets. Over time the locals have developed a higher metabolism than people in warmer territories - causing their internal body temperature to be higher than normal. Apart from this they also had special techniques to combat the cold, including sleeping in a squatted position and in this way reducing how they were exposed to the cold. Another trick was to cuddle up to eachother around small campfires, which is the reason this southernmost province of Argentina got it's name - Tierra del fuego (land of fire). The picture below shows a typical camp from the early inhabitants of the area:

Tierra del Fuego, was one of the last parts of South America to be inhabited by westerners and got its name from the many campfires seen by early western explorers when they first came to the area. The British were the first to settle here, and even after Argentina got its independence, the area was still not under Argentinian sovereignity.

Ushuaia was founded in 1884 and centered around a prison built by the Argentine government to increase the Argentine population here and this way ensure their sovereignity over the province. Following the French example from Devil's Island (French Guyana), and the British in Tasmania (Australia) they created this prison intended for repeat offenders and serious criminals. And just as in Australia the prison population became some kind of "forced colonists", spending much of their time building the city and its infrastructure. They even built a railway from the prison to the settlement which is now a tourist attraction - Tren del Fin del Mundo (End of the world train). The old prison itself is now also a tourist attraction; turned into a museum after being closed in 1947 following many reports of abuse and unsafe practices.

Arriving in Ushuaia came as bit of a shock to all of us. The sub-zero temperatures and falling snow hit me quite hard wearing shorts and t-shirt disembarking the plane after 3 weeks in hot climates. "Excuse me, are you not freezing?" came from a group of americans stating the obvious, and we were quick to book a cab and get to our hostel to change clothes.

The weather prevented us from exploring too much outside on the first day in Ushuaia. Earlier on the trip we stayed a few days at the world's highest located city and got to check in at many "world's highest" venues. This time we did the same thing over again just that now it was "world's southernmost". We spent the day exploring the city and its many shops and cafes and planning ahead for the following day.

Rising early me and Lars were not able to wake up Chris even after repeated attempts. As our ride was leaving we decided to give it up, and off we went in the snow and cold. Our goal for the day was the #1 attraction in Ushuaia - the Tierra del fuego national park, and the train at the end of the world!

Arriving at the station we decided to go for the Premium tickets that included "comfort" seating, seafood sandwiches and a glass of champagne. We also got a little gift included in this offer that proved to be a 2013(!!!) calendar with pictures of the railway. Why they hadn't changed this into a 2014 calendar remains a mystery to me as the date we received this gift was november 27 - just a month away from turning into the new year.

The train was extremely small - the tracks just 50cm between them. Our premium carriage seated two persons beside each other while one had to cuddle up 3 and 3 in the coach class. Boarding the train the weather cleared up in a blink giving us blue sky and sunshine as we rolled into the national park. Our local guide showed us around and told us about birds and flowers and we got tons of good pictures. At least me and Lars as Chris was still in bed..

After a tour around the park, a run at the southernmost railway in the world and some good photo opportunities we returned to Ushuaia. Chris, who by then had been woken up, was found sleeping on a couch as he had to check out of his room and couldn't continue sleeping in his bed. There are ofcourse some hilarious pictures following this story but it's not something for sharing on the web. ;-)

Grabbing our gear and strolling down to the port we got ready and eager to start the part of our trip which was the main reason for going to south America in the first place - the voyage across the Drake passage to Antarctica, the final continent. Our boat is the M/S Expedition with the red hull at the end of the pier:

Boarding the ship, this is a picture looking back at Ushuaia from the top deck one last time before leaving civilization behind:

Fifth stop - Argentina!

The first hiccup of this trip occured when Chris realized he made a mistake looking at the calendar.. Holding the title as the current minister of travel we entrusted him with responsibility for all logistics - perhaps not the best of ideas. The problem was a result of us travelling over night from Easter Island, thus making a date-change that was overlooked. When counting the number of days available in Chile we were already one short when we arrived there and this ended up with us missing the plane to Argentina. :-)

Alright! New tickets got booked on the spot setting us back a few thousand NOKs, but in the overall budget for this trip it was but a glitch in the matrix. The biggest bummer about the whole thing was that we missed the extra day in Buenos Aires we planned on spending on exploring the city.

Being scarce of time we had to prioritize carefully what to do in Argentina's capital. A quick look at what the country is most famous for gave us Evita Peron and PRIME BEEF! For three big men the choice was easy. We were going for dinner. And what a dinner it was!

Lars chose some 2nd rate cut, but me and Chris decided to go all-in for the filet of filets - Wagyu beef. Directly translated wagyu means something like "Japanese cow" and refers to several breeds of cattle. The meat from this cattle is known for it's high quality and intense marbling, and demands a high price - even in Argentina. Compared to Norwegian standards however it cost "nothing" so 600g per person was ordered, and we were given proper tools to battle the huge chunks that was served:

Lucky for us the taxi could pick us up right outside the restaurant and take us back to the Hostel. After finishing this ridiculous meal none of us were able to walk very far. Going back from Antarctica we had another stop in Buenos Aires - this time just 6 hours - but enough time to repeat this food splurge at a different "Parilla" (steak house).

- The next day we packed our bags one more time and prepared for the final part of this trip. And this adventure would start in the capital of Tierra del Fuego, and the southernmost city in the world - Ushuaia!

Casablanca - the wine valley of Chile

When South America was first explored by the Conquistadores of Europe, the prime goal was to make more money for kings and queens of the old world. One way to make money is by producing good wine, and thus explorers were dispatched to the newly conquered southern lands of South America to look for locations where such business could be successfully conducted. These quests ended up in the discovery of Casablanca Valley - now one of the more known locations for production of, especially, cold climate wine.

We booked this trip following a recommendation by our landlord in Valparaiso. His friend, Englishman Michael Ayandokun, runs Valparaiso Wine Tours (www.winetoursvalparaiso.com), and proved to be an excellent and knowledgeable host.

First he took us to Casas Del Bosque. A relatively new wineyard, but one that already has claimed several international prizes - amongst them "The worlds best red wine". We got a tour of the estate, including an in-depth explanation on the difficulties with growing grapes in Casablanca Valley. There is no running water there for once, so wells have to be dug to ensure growth of the crop. Another thing is the climate that reaches as far down as the freezing point. The way to overcome this is to have huge turbines set up all over the fields to constantly move the air, preventing temperatures from going to low. Sounds like a lot of work? Well, they manage to make a profit all the 13 producers operating out of Casablanca.

Our second stop was with Emiliana Organic. They pride themselves on being the only certified biodynamic wine producer of the Valley. What they do different from the competition is that they try make the environment as natural as possible for the grapes to grow. One thing is having a trolley with chickens that they move around the fields during the day. Another thing is they grow flowers between the wine ranks, making the latter "battle" the flowers for the nutrition in the ground. They also have Llamas, ladybugs, and several other things present in the field, making a trip around the premises quite enjoyable - and something very different.

Another, more questionable thing they do is they use the "powers" of the earth, the moon and the stars with charms and astrology claiming to have impact on the growing grapes. Any effect? Well, the wine they produce is pretty decent but I cannot say the "biodynamic" one was much more different than the "organic" one. Interesting experience though!

Lunch were had in a local restaurant, Macerado,  placed in the middle of the valley and consisted of seafood, an incredible tasty main course with potatoes and pork ribs, and a ridiculous dessert platter. If there is anything I regret about this trip in total is the amount of food consumed during the four weeks. I think I gained in the area of 10-15 pounds - and this just before Christmas where there will be even more food. *sigh* 2014 would be a tough year to get back in shape..

Final visit of the day was at Bodegas RE. Different again from the two previous producers these guys idea is to RE-create and RE-invent the art of making wine. Using clay pots and techniques from biblical times there is little stainless steal to be found around this facility and the results are absolutely on par with today's modern methods. A tour around the bodega is highly recommended - just be advised they have a very friendly dog who eagerly wants to welcome guests. Amongst the three of us, Lars proved to be the favourite:

Being quite the expert on local history Michael told us about the rediscovery of the Carmenere grape. This is a grape that produce red wine, and one that was originally grown in europe. Back in 1863 there was a pest introduced that killed off what was thought to be every piece of Carmenere there was - leaving the Cabernet Sauvignon as this one proved to be immune. Several years later there was some research done on the Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, revealing that this indeed was NOT what everybody thought it was, but actually the Carmenere. The wine makers were quick to adjust the process for making the wine to better fit the grape - thus reintroducing the Carmenere to the world in 1994 - some 130 years after it first was thought to be extinct. Pretty exciting! And yes, it is also very good. :-)

After touring Casablanca for a whole day, Michael drove us to Santiago International airport, and our final destination Argentina and the Antarctic. Leaving the continent also meant we had to leave things as Internet and cellphone coverage behind, so sadly no room for blogging along the way. We spent the time taking tons of photos though, so stay tuned. Over the weekend I will shed some light on Fin del mundo (the end of the world), and the great white mystical continent to the south - Antarctica.