We land mid-afternoon into the port town of Ushuaia in Argentina, the farthest southern city in South America. The air is brisk and the wind is persistent. Small islands and jagged rock formations break up the land in this area, making it hard for ships and vessels to navigate their way through. A massive ship has taken its final rest in the rocky shoreline right next to where cruise ships pick up tourists on their way to Antarctica. The cost of one of the Antarctica excursions starts around $3500 US for a 10-day trip, needless to say that this is out of Paul’s and my budget.
Toothy mountain peaks surround the city of Ushuaia and the remains of glaciers that at one point in time dominated the area. The traveler’s here are of a different breed than the one’s in the beach towns. Male travelers with long hair and beards are commonplace, fitted in different quality and colors of outer ware depending on their budget and length of time traveling. The women are a little more rough and thick around the edges, not the bikini totting girls running through the streets of Brazil. The age of travelers is much older here in Ushuaia, I’m guessing because many are rich retired folks waiting to board a ship to Antarctica. The Locals and traveling Argentinians are easily spotted by the gourds of mate that they carry with them everywhere they go.
Mate is such a huge part of the Argentina culture. Here is an excerpt from Fire Walking to give you a better idea of Mate’s tradition:
“Mate is an infusion prepared by steeping dried, chopped and ground leaves of yerba mate . . . in hot water. It became widely used for referring to the calabash gourd used for that infusion. Its high caffeine content makes this drink, like tea, coffee or chocolate, a strong stimulant.
As the act of drinking mate entails the intake of a great deal of water, it also serves as a purifying infusion, and through its antioxidant elements it protects the body. Traditionally, it is drunk hot by means of a metal straw – that also acts as a sieve – directly from the gourd. It can be drunk bitter or sweet.
Everybody, from the humble to the rich, has the habit of drinking mate. Even in the way it is prepared – a ritual in itself – mate is characterized by its uniqueness. Unlike tea or coffee, served in individual cups, mate represents a whole different process when it comes to brewing it.
There is a long list of rules and traditions that apply to brewing and enjoying mate, too long to be fully included in this introduction. Among the most relevant: The infusion is served around a circle during the ‘mateada’, a gathering for drinking mate. The pourer, usually the host, drinks up the first mate, until air is drawn from the metal straw. Then the pourer subsequently refills the gourd and passes it to the next drinker in the circle – with the straw in his direction – who likewise drinks it all, without thanking the pourer. The ritual proceeds around the circle in this fashion until the mate becomes lavado (washed out or flat).
The fact that the straw is shared makes the mate-drinking experience a unique one, and specially intimate, so intimate that some people compare drinking mate to kissing. For that reason, mate is not shared with just anybody, quite the opposite. You share that experience with people you care about, because in sharing mate, you share your soul, and you do that just with relatives, close friends or your significant other. Without a doubt, mate is more than a drink; it is an element of union, a symbol of trust, friendship and intimacy among those who share it.”
In a way, the mate tradition is a rite of passage. The plant is native to Argentina, Paraguay and parts of Brazil, where more mate is consumed per year than mineral water. Back home I went through a pretty big mate kick and traveling to its origin has re-inspired my love for mate. It is a great jump start to my day and gives me more of an even buzz than coffee, never making me shaky or crash after the buzz wears off. Mate will be my sidekick while hiking around the Andes.
Paul and I headed to a close-by trail-head to a glacier via taxi to get some fresh air and see the town from a higher vantage point. It wasn’t long before I realized that I would need to purchase some outer ware . . . fast. We hiked into a pretty bitter headwind up a valley to the base of a mountain and Martial Glacier. The last kilometer or so to the glacier proved to be quite strenuous, very steep with loose rocks and gravel. We snapped some pictures and quickly made our way back down the mountain because sundown was approaching. Being so far south, the sun doesn’t set until around 9pm and it isn’t completely dark until about 10pm, so we made it down and back to town with time to spare. My loafers proved to be inadequate making my arches and legs much sorer than need be for the ease of that hike. Tomorrow I will buy some gear for our time in Patagonia.
Ushuaia is filled with tasty and affordable restaurants serving up freshly caught king crab or lamb and beef harvested in the nearby pastures. There seems to be an outer-ware store for every five travelers. Having been roaming the beaches of Brazil for the past two and half months, I decided not to bring cold weather gear. I spent the better part of the day tracking down under-armor, a water/wind proof jacket and pants and a pair of hiking shoes. The gear is less expensive than the states but not by much, so it was a pretty expensive day.
I got my first taste of winter as the rest of the afternoon was filled with rainstorms and high winds. I hiked for a bit in the rain to test my new waterproof gear, satisfied I popped into a coffee shop for a cup of Joe listening to the sounds of the espresso machine as I read my new book on trekking around the wilderness in Ushuaia.
The next day we woke early and caught a bus ride and a boat to Penguin Island. Penguins moved to the side as our boat pulled up to the shore. A quick jump off the boat and I find myself surrounded by a huge Penguin colony. I felt like I was in a scene from “Happy Feet”. The only rule was no touching the penguins, but we were able to get within arms length of the fuzzy little guys. We took some photos imitating the penguins and then walked around the colony checking out their habitat and their nesting sites. Most of the footage I’ve seen of penguins has been on ice, but the island we visited was lush and green. Our guide informed us that the majority of penguins live in these types of environments, but the penguins that live in Antarctica and other icy environments get the most amount of coverage. Penguins are curious and unique animals; I can see why people dedicate their lives to studying them.
Our last day in Ushuaia we went for a hike that started out kind of lame walking down a fire road. The trail opened up into the back country where we found a field filled with peat moss. The peat moss was extremely spongy but would reform after stepping on it, probably where the idea for memory foam came from. We ran into a group of free-roaming horses, I don't think they were wild because they had brands, but they were out in the middle of nowhere. The horses were much more curious in our whereabouts than domesticated horses, I took a couple photos thinking of my niece Terra, who loves riding horses. We headed back before sundown to get some rest for our 18 hour bus ride at 5am the next morning to El Calafate. Here begins the start of many long bus rides working our way from the southern point of Argentina to Ecuador and Columbia.
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