It Gets Messy!

I drag myself out of the tent for a tour that starts at 09:30. For the short drive in and out of the National Park I try desperately to grab more Zs. I need to start going to bed earlier! The first stop is outside the Isla Redonda on the Beagle Canal. A beautiful spot complete with a little hut and an old man - who, for a small fee (3.50 pesos or 60p) will give your passport a full page stamp (complete with penguin sticker) from The End of the World! I chose to have mine on page 1! We were taken to see a few other sights, strolling around well trodden paths. We saw the end of the Pan-American highway (Route 3), a beaver dam, a nasty looking spider with lots of eyes and some beautiful spots in general. Though I'll remember it most for picking up some Spanish phrases from the guide - my favourite being "Buenos Gambos!" or "Nice Tits!".

The afternoon I spend wandering the streets of Ushuaia looking for a place to stay, for my truck trip is officially over. I find a Posada (Posada Fueguina) for 380 pesos a night with a 10% discount for cash (equals £55) which I book myself in for 3 nights. I figure that'll give me time to sort some of my gear out before moving into a shared room in hostel.

Ushuaia looks and feels like an out of season ski resort (it does have the 1 piste in winter!) with fresh cold air. The fact it's the End of the World gives it an added sense of adventure. It's a bit of a boom town with concrete & scaffolding set amongst palace hotels and wooden sheds. Cool graffiti litter the walls - a place not just for the old. It feels raw. I love it!

I head back to the campsite for dinner, they're having a steak BBQ which I can buy into. The BBQ is so big it wouldn't even it into Ian Summers's house (sorry Ian, it's true!) and it's choc full of chunky sizzling meat. It's so worth the wait for it has to be THE best steak I've ever had - it simply melts in the mouth like ice cream, cooked to medium rare perfection! Some greedy gits (mentioning no names, Nick) even have 2!

Isi and I head into town so I may shower and change at my newly acquired place and wait for the others to turn up at the Irish bar. But not before Mr Sit-on-the-fence, not-wanting-to-rock-the-boat, straight laced, innocent Dauk steals Michelle's teddy in a frog suit from her tent and backhands it to Isi and me! We naturally take a couple of hostage photos straight away!

Tonight is also the night the new members of the truck turn up for the next leg of the journey. (Think of the truck as a bus, constantly circulating South America with people hopping on and off in different countries). They're all boring and stay in for an early night. Forgive me for judging by first appearances (because I'm usually wrong) but I swear most of them are diesel dykes!

Anyhow in the Irish bar I discover the expensive (14 pesos a pint) yet beautiful Beagle Stout. Isi orders a Cape Cod which happens to come with extra sugar dissolving at the bottom!? A few of the others turn up and drag us over to the other Irish bar (Dublin) for a round of B52s. From there we head to the Nautica Night Club and join more of the truck - the place doesn't really kick off until 02:00. By which time we're all half way to being mullered and all pile onto the dance floor to shake off some stress.

I think we've all been cooped up in the little truck on too many long drive days, for tonight is the night everyone lets go! Excess drinking followed by excess dancing followed by more excess drinking. We all had a need to get battered! It was an awesome night out with a couple of, um, new relationships formed! It got very messy, or as Isi puts it, "It was a gong show!" (?)

Isi and I leave at 06:00.

Posted by Steve Eynon