Ushuaia is considered the most southern city in the world - well deserving of its nickname as “The End of the World”. Our original intention was to drop in to solely catch our cruise to Chile, but life happened and we ended up staying here for 4 nights. It is the best place we have been to in the last 6 months.

Day 1 - 8:00PM - On the Airplane

I was reading my kindle when out the corner of my eye, I saw the sky. It was nothing like I had ever seen before. Imagine flying over snow-capped mountains with the sun setting in the horizon. When we walked off the airplane, the landscape was just as beautiful. I had to stop to take a photo.

Day 1 - 9:00PM - Our Arrival

We had the unfortunate circumstance of flying on a day where over 2000 passengers were affected by happenings at the Buenos Aires airport. We heard it was a technicians strike then heard it was a misunderstanding around pilots attending a quarterly meeting no one knew about. Either way, our flight was delayed 6.5 hours. We missed our cruise (fortunately rescheduled to the next one) and arrived into Ushuaia city at 9:00PM with nowhere to sleep. We ended up staying at a wonderful little hostel called Hostería Aonikenk. Our double bed was one of the most comfortable in Argentina with blankets and pillows to match. Our window had a gorgeous view of the city and mountains.

Day 1 - 10:30PM: Dinner at Kalma

Starving from not having eaten a meal all day, we quickly did some research and read about a place called Kalma. We arrived at 10:30PM and were welcomed in even though regular closing is 11:00PM. The chef came to our table, letting us know that he cooks in the kitchen and services customers with the wait staff. He farms his own herbs, catches sea urchin, and uses all local produce and seafood. We happily agreed to enjoy his tasting menu (with no actual menu) of 8 courses - celebrating the local seafood of Ushuaia. It was so amazing we went back a second night.

Day 2 - 12:00PM - Lunch at Bamboo

We checked into an airbnb the next morning and right down the street was a Chinese buffet restaurant. Reminiscent of both our childhoods and excited by the google reviews, we enjoyed lunch at Bamboo. It was 950 pesos per person and then an additional 2000 pesos for a whole king crab pulled fresh from the tank. They had lamb being roasted in the back and a table next to us was solely eating lamb ribs over and over again. On our end, we couldn’t finish all the crab so we ended up pulling out all the meat (with the help of the waiter who knew his way around it better than us) and made a seafood gumbo soup for lunch the next day.

Day 2 - 4:00PM - Boat Cruise Through the Beagle Channel

We walked down to the port area in central Ushuaia and decided to go with Canoero Catamaranes (we saw a flier at our hostel the first night). They had two tour options - a two hour option or a 4.5 hour option (difference is seeing penguins). Since we had already gone to a penguin colony a few days earlier in Peninsula Valdes, we decided to go with the 2 hour boat trip (2400 Pesos per person including a port fee = 40 USD). The weather in Ushuaia is usually cloudy, windy and rainy. For whatever reason, the weather gods decided to shine on us with sunny, clear, somewhat windy weather. it was the first time we saw active sea lions in the wild. They were making loud noises, some fighting with each other, others just cuddling up on the rocks. There was also a short 10-minute walk on one of the nature reserve islands near the end of the tour, ending with me getting back on the boat and enjoying a hot chocolate.

Day 4 - Hiking Torres Del Fuego and Driving To Lake Escondido & Fagnano

On our third day, we decided to rest at home, download tv shows in preparation of the next 7 days without wifi, and cook dinner at home. This gave us the energy we needed for our fourth day exploring the other parts of Ushuaia. We rented a car and drove 12km to Torres Del Fuego National Park (admission is 560 pesos per person).

Day 4 - Round 2 Dinner at Kalma

We mentioned how much we loved dinner at Kalma that we decided to go back again and enjoy the same tasting menu. The chef and staff welcomed us back warmly. While on our first course, we saw someone come in with two bags of fresh sea urchin. The chef confirmed what we saw and offered to open up two just for us!

It is fascinating what life throws our way. We didn’t plan to spend time in Ushuaia because of all we read about the cloudy, rainy weather. But we missed our cruise and ended up spending a few days here with the most glorious weather. In fact, of all the cities we have visited so far in the last six months, Ushuaia is definitely our favorite. We hope to return in the future to get on a cruise to Antartica. The people are incredibly friendly, the views are gorgeous, the food is stunning - we cannot stop complimenting this wonderful place. If this is the end of the world, then we don’t want to be at the beginning.