Ushuaia - At the End of the World!

In the night of the 18th of Mars, I first rolled into Ushuaia! (Picture taken later!)

King Penguins & The Last Stretch to The End of The World

I took the ferry from Punta Arenas to Porvenir in the morning, leaving me with the last 500 km to reach the ultimate destination: Ushuaia. I was excited to say the least! I bought some supplies for the ride, fueled up and took off!. The dirt road navigated through the vast and open country side, and up and down the coast line. At one point I saw flamingos, but the first stop was to be the King Penguin Colony at Bahía Inutil (The Useless Bay), which I had circled on my map since early on.

The park is run by an incredible person whom took it upon her own shoulders to protect this King Penguin colony from disappearing through damaging and unmanaged tourism. Now she manages the park so that all can enjoy this incredible close-up experience of the King Penguins without jeopardizing the longevity of the colony. The penguins do leave during the winter months, so be sure to check when they are home!

We were immediately reminded to respect the boundaries and not invade the penguins territory. She explained that these penguins do not cross where humans have walked before, so it is imperative that the boundary is respected. Still, the Penguins remain just on the other side of a small stream, which allows you to get close enough to fully enjoy the experience!

http://www.pinguinorey.com/index.php

I arrived at the boarder shortly after leaving the park, crossed it with little difficulty and later arrived at Rio Grande. As I pulled into the gas station, it was already late in the afternoon, and I knew that I wouldn´t make the last 200km to Ushuaia before sunset. Still I was not ready to ride around and look for accommodation, so i saddled up and hit the very last stretch toward the Most Southern City of our planet.

I must say this very fact gave me some chills. It made me think about the long road I had ridden so far, through both Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina. Even though it was getting really cold and my @ss really started to hurt, this very unique sensation of being just before the goal line made me fully enjoy every second of the ride! Yet, it got to a point when the sun had set long before, and I was carefully navigating the snaky road through the last mountain pass. The darkness made me unable to orientate the impressive landscape around me, and the long day was taking its toll. It felt like I would never arrive!

Still, at some point I finally passed the last turn and found the small town, lit up in the dark night, by the Beagle channel. Cold to the bones, walking cow-legged, and entirely exhausted, I checked-in at the first hostel I found. - Ushuaia, I had a strange sensation that my visit would no be short-lived! 

Ushuaia - by day