The boat trip from Puerto Williams (Chile) to Ushuaia (Argentina) was our first northbound move after more than 2 months of travelling. However the weather was poor and we had to wait ages for the boat, so it was late afternoon when we arrived and raining.
Ushuaia is very different from Puerto Williams – it is a proper city with all you would expect from it. Including traffic and massive cruise ships in the port. This is because most excursions to Antarctica start from here.
It also means that especially the area around the port is crowded by rich polished american pensioners.
After two relaxed days we set off for Paso de la Oveja trail (the Sheep pass), our last Patagonian trekking. About 20 miles long circuit can be quite easily done in 2 days, but we opted for more relaxed 3 days. There are no services on the trail, so again we carried everything on our back.
1st day, Turbera Valle Andorra -> Laguna Encantada -> Upper Arroyo Grande (6.8 miles plus a side trip 3.7 miles to Laguna Encantada):
We took a taxi to the begging of the trail, from where we run up to Laguna Encantada. We left our bags in a hut by the trail, even though it seemed a little ropy. Laguna Encantada itself is rather boring, but the meadows in the Turbera Valle Andore around a small river were full of blossoming buttercups…
The next part of the trail was slowly ascending to Laguna del Caminante through lenga forest. We camped between the confluence of two streams. We enjoyed a luxury camping – water at hand, bonfire, some wine, food and good music from UE roll!
2nd day, Laguna del Caminante -> Paso de la Oveja -> Canadón de la Oveja (10.25 miles plus a side trip 2.17 miles to Laguna del Caminante):
Laguna del Caminante is incredibly blue, the sun was shining and it was so warm, that Viktor went for a quick nude dip in the water.
On Paso de la Oveja it was very windy and it cooled down, so we did not stay for long. The most striking were the colors on nearby hills – white snow on the top, then blue rock, brown mud, green moss and finally the forest. We were having trouble finding a place to camp – the one from our guide book probably does not exist anymore. So we reached almost the end of the trail and eventually camped nearby – we did not feel like coming back to the city yet. The only downside was the water – we had to climb down through 0.5 km of a steep slope with fallen branches and thick undergrowth to get to river.
3rd day, back to Ushuaia:
There were some fences to jump over by the end of the trail and a place full of very irritating dogs, one of which was slightly biting our legs – very uncomfortable. This was followed by a walk on the road to and through the town.
The last Patagonian trail was a great success. The weather was incredible and we had the trail almost to ourselves again. The views are a bit different then Dientes. We celebrated finishing our last Patagonian trek the only way possible – with a massive Argentine steak!
