Tierra del Fuego

We had to squeeze in one more trip before we left Argentina. James started his mission and spent six months in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in South America. Chile has a town further south, but Argentina claims the most southern city.  

It was surprisingly gorgeous. We were going to go a few months earlier but it worked better for us to go in April, so it was cold. 

Charlotte got this poncho for her birthday a few days before this trip. She didn't take it off the entire time.

These signs are in all the touristy towns, trying to remind the world that the Malvinas/Falkland Islands belong to Argentina. 

We randomly stopped at this little valley that looked pretty from the road. It was a misty/autumny/enchanting horse pasture. We chased the horses and felt like we were in a fairy tale. 

These horses liked the way Jack's feet smelled. He felt so accepted. 

We took a boat ride out to see the Lighthouse at the End of the World. We also sailed past an island covered in sea lions and cormorants. We would have seen penguins, but they left the week before we arrived. We did see some whales though!

We also stopped and got off at this island. It was not warm. All over the national park and this island there were signs with images of native people living here. They wore nearly no clothing, which Susan and I just couldn't believe. We looked it up and turns out it's true. Even in the winter the ancient natives would not wear much clothing. They would cover their skin in whale blubbler, but for the most part their high metabolism and simply being accustomed to the climate allowed them to not need clothes. They also had little fires burning all the time everywhere they were, including inside their canoes--one theory on why this area is called Tierra del Fuego=the Land of Fire. 

We happened to have lunch at the same restaurant all the current Ushuaia missionaries were eating at. 

James and I had dinner at the houe of one of the families who attend Church here. They were so sweet and told us all about living at the end of the world. 

Representing the Seahawks from afar!

We sent postcards from this famous post office where the postman insisted on covering the postcards in ink stamps. 

We ate at this restaurant almost every day. It was right next to our AirBnB and had the best pizza. 

 

This was a highlight. We drove for an hour and a half to find this treasure. Luckily it was old enough that it didn't smell too bad. The locals told us this whale had been hit by a boat propeller. It had been stinking up the little town for weeks. 

After the tide went out:

We took a little hike to this watefall

Charlotte somehow matching the waterfall

View from our AirBnB

Where James lived as a missionary

We're glad we were able to make it to Ushuaia. It was so beautiful and exciting to be so far south. James still wants to venture further to Antartica, but I am yet to be convinced.