Day 10 - The Defender

Third tour in Ushuaia with Tours by Design.  Today we head out for a 4x4 tour of I don’t know where.  I can’t keep track of where we are or where we are going anymore, but I expect it will be fun!  We were picked up by a Land Rover Defender and it was already full so Damon and I got the seats in the far back row, which were built for people 5’5” or shorter.  We are not 5’5” or shorter.

We picked up a second truck and drove about an hour to the off-road section of a forest to give the Defenders a run for their money.  Thankfully, the two short women in the middle row felt bad for us and swapped places before we went off-road.  Damon would likely have had a concussion as his head was already hitting the roof without any bumps. 

On the way, we stopped at a few amazing viewpoints.

For the first time, we were the only non-Spanish speaking people on the tour, so we were left out of most of the conversation.  Our amazing guides spoke fluent English and tried to translate when they could, but sometimes you’re just the odd Americans out.

We went off-roading through a forest.  The roads were built for a 4x4 – imagine black diamond sized moguls made of dirt of varying shapes and sizes and that is what we drove on.  There were points where I think we were at a 45-degree angle.  To say that it was a kidney dropper would be an understatement.  

At one point, our driver left the car in gear and got out – the ruts were so deep that the car literally drove itself.

The forest was amazing – hard to describe but I will try.  The trees in the forest can take up to 400 years to grow; however, as the soil layer is shallow, the root system on the trees does not go deep, so in a heavy wind, the trees topple easily.  We were told that it can take up to 400 years for the trees to naturally decompose, so the forests are filled with toppled trees that have had the bark stripped by nature for decades and are bleached white and twisted all around other toppled trees.

Add to that the fact that the locally despised beaver population builds dams that flood areas change the natural ecosystem further killing trees that remain upright, and what you get are these beautiful yet somewhat eerie forests full of live and trees tangled around each other all over the forest floor.  They also have occasional bush fires – this landscape shot, we were told, resulted from a bush fire more than 50 years ago.

We stopped at a beaver dam for a cup of tea (and the opportunity to stand on top of the Defender because we are so cool) 

and then continued the tour which took us along the shore of a lake, and IN the lake which had huge rocks lining the lake floor that we drove over.  Okay, we get it, Defenders are kick-ass trucks.

On the way back, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant that offered “all-you-can-eat” lamb.  Once again, it was basically meat on a plate – a small salad bar but no other sides.  I’ve learned that in Ushuaia, it is very difficult to get vegetables in general because of availability due to the short growing season and the spoilage in trying to get fresh veges from Buenos Aires. 

Now if you think that Americans can eat, you have never seen an Argentine tourist eat unlimited lamb.  It was a sight to behold. The restaurant basically took a lamb, flavored it, cooked it, and then used a giant machete to chop it up and then piled it onto a sizzling platter.  Each platter could have easily served 3-4 people.  Damon and I had our share and then finished with part of all three platters remaining.  The remaining 9 people in our group (I believe 7 women), managed to finish 5 heaping platters.  I don’t mean to obsess, but even Damon was shocked.  We asked our tour guide about it later and he said that Lamb from Tierra del Fuego is a well-known treat and people take advantage when they can. 

We got back to town around 4-5 pm, met Martin for a quick coffee and snack, and did our usual hotel chill before dinner.  I learned a little more about the dogs that roam the streets of Ushuaia in that apparently some of the dogs that I assumed were feral have owners.  The dogs may be let out to roam, or they may jump their gates, or they may just be with/near their owners who are in stores or restaurants and let the dogs wander the streets while they are gone.  We saw this cute pup waiting outside a coffee shop for at least 20-30 minutes (no collar no leash) but then lept up to leave with his owner when she left the shop. 

And another one that was staring and salivating at a restaurant that cooked meat in the front window. 

2 Days and Counting