The ferry from Puerto Williams to Punta Arenas is a 30 hour ferry ride through the Beagle Channel and the Magellanic straits.
The ferry is a commuter and goods ferry, so it is not designed as a tour - however the scenery makes it an unforgettable experience.
The ferry itself is functional and comfortable with fully reclinable bed seats which were long enough even for me and quite comfortable. The food is basic, but tasty, but you don't take the ferry for luxury.
A reasonably tasty spag bol
The trip starts through the Beagle channel heading north towards Ushuaia. During this trip, the ferry was joined by many animals, including Orcas (which sadly dived before I could photograph them), Penguins and sealions.
A sealion
The ferry also startled many birds who took off as the boat approached.
A Cormorant flies off
The ferry starts by travelling up the Beagle Channel through fairly calm waters.
A fellow traveler on the Beagle Channel
As the ferry leaves at four in the afternoon, the slow sunset over the channel provides a beautiful backdrop to the cruise.
Sunset over the Beagle Channel
The mouth of the Beagle Channel
The ferry then turns out of the Beagle Channel and into more open seas over night.
My view first thing in the morning
Where the sea is a lot rougher
Rough seas
However, once the ferry entered the Magellanic straits, the sea calmed as it passed the southernmost tip of the South American continent.
Entering the straits
There is a giant white cross which marks the southernmost point.
The tip of the South American continent
The ferry continues towards Punta Arenas as the sun goes down over the Magellanic straits and arrives around 10pm in the evening to Punta Arenas, allowing passengers a final sunset on the sea.
The Cerro Bandera trail is the first part of the Dientes de Navarino trail in Puerto Williams.
It's easily accessible from the town, with a short 40 min walk to the main road to the Aerodrome and Puerto Navarino. The trail starts along the road to the town water supply where the road splits at Plaza de la Virgen.
The Plaza de la Virgen
From the town water supply, the trail heads into the forest of Northofagus trees that are typical of the area.
The start of the trail
The path climbs steeply up the hill until it reaches the first of the lookouts. From here you can see Puerto Williams, the Beagle Channel and far in the distance, Ushuaia.
Puerto Williams
Looking up the Beagle Channel towards Ushuaia
From this lookout the trail becomes considerably steeper as it winds through further forest until you ascend past the treeline where there is a second lookout.
The Beagle Channel
Puerto Williams
The mountains
From here it's a very steep ascent to the flag at the top.
Steep trail to the top
The Bandera (flagpole) commands views across the valley to the Beagle Channel.
The bandera with Puerto Williams and the Beagle Channel in the background
The trail continues up the mountain and from the H5 and H6 waypoints you can get beautiful views of the lagoons, mountains and river.
The mountains and lagoon
The lagoon
The mountains (aka Los Dientes)
The river at waypoint H6
The trail follows the side of the mountain and is very steep and difficult terrain. Sadly I had run out of time to continue and it had started to rain - so the prospect of more mountain trekking was impractical.
The steep and difficult trail along the mountain
Looking back to the bandera with the weather closing in
The Beagle Channel from waypoint H5 (before it started raining)
Puerto Williams is a small town on the island of Navarino and is the southernmost town in the world. Puerto Williams is often described as being "beyond the end of the world" - as a reference to Ushuaia's claim to be the end of the world. It's main attraction is trekking in the spectacular mountains that surround the town known as the "dientes de Navarino" (The teeth of Navarino).
To get to Puerto Williams from Ushuaia you have to take one of the infrequent and expensive ferries.
The ferry at Ushuaia
As the ferries are quite small (14 passengers) they are subject to the Beagle Channel's fickle weather and crossings are often cancelled.
The ferry crosses the river to Puerto Navarino which is a tiny settlement (basically a few navy buildings and an immigration office).
Welcome to Puerto Navarino
From Puerto Navarino there is a connecting bus which drives the 50km to Puerto Williams along a gravel coastal road.
The bay at Mejillones on the way to Puerto Williams
The trip takes around 1 hr to Puerto Williams. The town itself has a population of around 1500 people, most of whom are local navy personnel from the base in town. Outside of the base the town has a small selection of shops, cafe's and bars catering to tourists and locals alike.
The main square of Puerto Williams
The selection of goods is very limited and is only replenished when the once a week ferry arrives from Punta Arenas - on the day this arrives there is a "rush" in town to buy the fresh vegetables and other food that arrives on the ferry which adds to the town's feeling of remoteness - it really is beyond the end of the world in Puerto Williams.
A tall ship in the Beagle Channel at Puerto Williams
Ushuaia is a port city on the island of Tierra del Fuego in the southernmost part of Argentina.
Looking south towards the end of the world
It markets itself as the "End of the world" as it is the southernmost city (although the town of Puerto Williams is further south)
The city itself has a very small town feel with the main part of the city being sandwiched between the mountains and the sea.
Ushuaia: between the mountains and the sea
Although there are many tourists in Ushuaia, it feels like the town has not really embraced the tourist market. The waterfront, although pretty, remains very much a working port and tourism centres around trips into the Beagle Channel and organised treks.
The waterfront with the port in the background
Trekking without taking an expensive tour is still not cheap and treks outside of the Tierra del Fuego national park are only accessible by car. The local buses to the national park (which is only 10km away) cost $Ars300 (about $AUD30) return and entry into the park is $Ars170 (about $AUD17). This makes doing several hikes in the park prohibively expensive. This is a real pity since the park is a major attraction.
In the town there are many touristy high priced cafes and restaurants and a strange mix of old and modern architecture.
The Don Bosco Church and recreation centre on the main street
In the side streets are odd little local places - like the Dublin bar marketing itself as the Southernmost Irish pub. The only think Irish about it is the name but it's the watering hole for locals an tourists alike.
Ushuaia has a certain quirky feel about it - it's isolation certainly makes you feel like you're at the end of the world.
The Beagle Channel is a body of water that separates the islands of Tierra del Fuego in Argentina from the Patagonian archipelago in Chile.
It is an important shipping route as well as being a haven for bird and sea life.
Birds make their homes on the many rocky islets that dot the channel. There are large colonies of blue-eyed cormorants on islets near the town of Ushuaia.
Blue-eyed Cormorant Colony
Around these colonies predators, such as the Pacific Petrel wait for any unfortunate cormorants to stray into their path.
Pacific Petrels making short work of an injured cormorant
Further out in the channel are colonies of South American sealions as well as several species of Albatross.
South American Sealions
Albatross - not sure which flavour
Continuing on through the channel passes the famous Les Eclaireurs lighthouse, built in 1915 after several ships were wrecked in the area.
Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse
Once past the lighthouse the channel opens out and now forms the border between Argentina and Chile. Along the Southern side you can see Navarro Island in Chile and it's tiny capital Puerto Williams.
Puerto Williams from the Argentinian side of the Beagle Channel
Deeper South into the channel is Martillo Island which houses several animal colonies such as Rock Cormorants,
A colony of Rock Cormorants on the cliff
Gentoo and Magellanic Penguins,
Gentoo and Magellanic Penguin colony
And King Penguins - the second-largest species of Penguin.
A pair of King Penguins
The entire trip takes about 3 hours from Ushuaia to Martillo Island and so the return journey was made in the dark and freezing cold...
