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...
The Lagunas de los Témpanos trail is a 8 hour return hike that climbs 1200m to a glacial lagoon.
The trail begins through farmland and peat bogs beside the river that runs from the glacier.
Peat Bog
The river and the mountain
The trail continues along the river before beginning a very steep climb towards the top of the mountain.
Steep trail
As the trail continues to climb, you begin to see the top of the mountains through the trees.
The mountain from the trail
The sound of the glacial river becomes louder until finally the trail opens out revealing the glacial river.
Waterfall
And the very steep climb to the glacier and lagoon.
The trail up to the lagoon
Halfway up the trail
But once at the top you can see the lagoon and the glacier feeding it.
Laguna de los Témpanos and the glacier
The glacier also has an ice cave at the glacial face which allows you to climb under the glacier itself.
Ice cave
Inside the glacier
On the way back from the Laguna de los Témpanos there is a 40 minute side trail to Laguna Encanta. This lagoon is at a lower altitude and is not directly fed by the glacier, so it is not the brilliant turquoise blue. However, the lagoon is still picturesque, being surrounded by the mountain and mountain heath vegetation.
Encanta Lagoon
Mountain heath
The trail to Laguna Encanta is very steep and muddy and, although the lagoon itself was very beautiful, it was a relief to get back onto the dry downhill track home.
Lapataia river is an easily accessible area in the Tierra del Fuego national park that offers several short walks around the river.
In addition there is an abundance of animals (both native and introduced) around this area.
Sadly, many of the animals are far too acclimatised to humans as a source of food - so their presence is more opportunistic than natural. For example a native Patagonian fox was hassling tourists for food just outside of the lake area - and stupidly, despite lots of signs, idiot tourists couldn't help but feed it.
Patagonian fox
There are lots of trails, offering views of the different landscapes around the river - including several lookouts that give great views of the water.
From the river there is a fairly easy trail that leads alongside Route 3 though stands of myrtle and sphagnum moss bogs.
Myrtle trees
The trail opens out
Sadly much of this area has been damaged by introduced species.
Horses on the trail
Animals, such as horses, have changed the landscape from stands of trees to wider open grasslands.
Grasslands
The "Turba" trail
One of the most destructive introduced species is the Canadian beaver.
These animals have devastated trees and their damming of rivers has altered the flow of the rivers causing them to silt.
Beaver dam
Destruction wrought by beavers
I was told that the beavers were spreading North and that some had been seen as far North as Punta Areanas.
Beaver
Beaver swimming
The visible damage of introduced species around this section of the park, and the changes in animal behaviour because of ignorant tourists is a great pity in this beautiful part of the world - and reminds us just how fragile nature is.
Peat Bog
