Adam's diary of the holiday: Ushuaia (first visit)

Getting through the airport in Ushuaia was pretty straightforward. Because the airport is so tiny, walking through it took hardly any time at all. Waiting to see if our luggage had arrived was as nerve-wracking as ever, but it wasn’t long before our bags appeared on the conveyer belt. Finding a taxi was also easy, and the journey took only a few minutes and cost the tiny sum of 6 pesos.

After the Sofitel in Buenos Aires, the hotel Cap Polonio in Ushuaia was a bit of a shock. Great God, this is an awful place! Our room was small and had single beds, no mini-bar, and not even a trouser press! No wonder trips to Antarctica are famed for the harsh conditions if the accommodation is like this. Even the toiletries in the bathroom came in cheap-looking sachets. I can see why Shackleton and his men hadn’t washed for over a year if this is what the facilities are like in this part of the world.

Avenida San Martín, the main street in Ushuaia

We left the hotel as quickly as possible and went out to see the sights of Ushuaia. Carolyn had told me that Ushuaia was a wild and woolly place, and she was right. It was so wild and woolly that I was surprised not to see any sheep wandering down the streets. The best way to describe it is probably as a cross between a tacky English seaside resort and a wild west frontier town. Only with more lupins. They were everywhere: in displays by the roadside and in gardens of the local houses. I wondered whether the inspiration for Monty Python’s ‘your lupins or your life!’ sketch had come from a trip to Ushuaia. I quite liked it really, although we started to have doubts about whether it was really wise to have booked a whole three nights here after the cruise. Lupins in Ushuaia

We first walked along to the port to see if we could see our boat. We recognised a few other boats that we had seen in brochures and considered travelling on, but couldn’t see our own. We walked as far as we could into the port, but weren’t allowed to walk among the boats unless we were about to board one.

We then went to investigate some of the restaurants we had read about. One that had received glowing recommendations, ‘Kaupé’, was not too far away, on a hill going up from the main street into the hills. Even though it was only 3 blocks or so from the main street, the road had already turned into a dirt-track by this point. Kaupé looked like somebody’s house, although it did have a sign outside saying it was a restaurant. No chance of investigating it in any detail though, as it was closed for the afternoon.

We walked on a little up the hill to see what was beyond. It looked like the outskirts of Ushuaia went on for quite a long way, although perhaps it would be worth exploring further on our return to Ushuaia, as the hills behind looked quite inviting.

We then walked back down to the seafront and walked along a bit in search of another restaurant that we’d seen recommended, Kuar. We walked past a naval base and some kind of oil-related industrial site, the latter having a sign outside proudly proclaiming that it had been without accidents for 145540 hours, or 2470 days. I guess that means they work very long days in this part of the world. I wondered whether the sign counting the number of hours had been put there first in a time when their safety record was less good and they weren’t too sure of being able to count their accident-free time in days. Maybe when they get really confident they’ll start counting the number of accident-free weeks as well. You also have to wonder what would happen if Señorita Vasquez in the accounts department caught her finger on a staple while handling a pile of invoices: would the count go back to zero, or is it like no-claims bonuses on the car insurance, where you can have one minor prang without losing the whole lot?

Anyway, we never got as far as Kuar, as we were clearly heading out of town and there was no sign of a restaurant in sight, and the rain was getting heavier. We headed back to the main street and found a bar where we could further refine our ability to say ‘dos cervezas, por favor’, which we were starting to get quite good at. We had some chips as well, and then Carolyn had a coffee and I had another beer to keep her company, before we got the bill for the rather laughable amount of 14.50 pesos. There are definitely advantages to going on holiday in a country with a currency that has gone totally tits-up.

After going back to the hotel for a little rest, we headed out for dinner at about 8.00 pm. Kaupé was busy, but fortunately they had a table free. It was a truly lovely restaurant. Not only was the food and service superb, but there was the most amazing view over the harbour. I had carpaccio to start, which once again was the most fantastically tender beef imaginable. Carolyn had the king crab in saffron sauce, which was also heavenly. For the main course, we switched over: I had crab and Carolyn had a steak. Both lovely. The wine was an Argentine chardonnay, which was amazing. We liked it so much that we booked two places for their new year’s eve dinner.

We left at about 10.30 pm, at which time it was still perfectly light. But I guess we’d better get used to that where we’re going.

Went down to breakfast about 8 am. The selection was deeply uninspiring: bread, rolls, croissants, and various cheap jams. All washed down with reconstituted orange juice and the breakfast’s only saving grace, some perfectly serviceable coffee.

We chatted to an antipodean couple at the next table who had just returned from a 10-day cruise on the Explorer. It sounded like they had had a fantastic time. They had been to the Weddell sea and had seen many penguins. Apparently the captain had wanted to get as far as the Antarctic circle, but had not been able to find a way through the pack ice. They warned us that it was cold, especially when the wind was blowing.

After breakfast, we packed and checked out of the hotel. We were a little worried that when we asked them if we could leave our luggage at the hotel until later, they just left it all lying around in the reception area, but there wasn’t a lot we could do about it.

We then walked down to the harbour to see if we could see our boat, and indeed there it was. How exciting!

View of Ushuaia

After establishing that our boat really existed, we went for a walk out of town to try to find the cable car up the mountain. The map Carolyn had picked up at the tourist information office was somewhat lacking in detail, so we failed in this quest. Instead, we walked far enough up the road going out of town that we had wonderful views over the town and the port. We also found a rather splendid-looking hotel (Las Hayas) where we stopped for a coffee and to admire the view. We also established that we were on the right road for the cable car, but that it was another 40 minutes’ walk, so decided to give up on it for now. As the hotel was so splendid, we asked if they had rooms available for our return to Ushuaia, but to no avail.

We walked back down into the town, and wandered up the main street buying T-shirts with penguins on and the like, after which it was time for lunch. Found a place called ‘La Ideal’, where I had a rather tasty crab soup followed by steak in a lovely cheesy sauce, and Carolyn had beef stroganoff, which was also very good.

After a fairly leisurely lunch, it was time to go back to the hotel to pick up our things and ask if they could give us a room with a double bed when we return. We were pleased to find our luggage was still there, and all we had to do now was carry it the few minutes to the port.