4 x 4 x 7

 We started the morning climbing into a 4 x 4, which for me was a challenge. Fortunately Dennis got in first, so there are no pics! With the driver there were 7 of us. Dennis who was in the middle had the most uncomfortable seat. Alfredo the father of the family with us was in the front passenger seat. He was over 6 feet tall. In the middle back seat was Eugenia, his wife, and behind us sat Miguel, their son-in-law and their daughter Michaela. What a wonderful family. The next time I was to clamber in, Christian our driver and guide showed me how to do it and it worked perfectly. We were going off road to spend the day near two lakes, Escondido and Fagnano, crossing the Andes with the lakes separated by lunch.

A coffee break

After our coffee break we continued through the pass to the other side of the Andes to the site where Christian would prepare lunch for us. I suppose I am not a very competent blogger, as I prefer photos to my words. Describing the Andes as stark above the tree line or majestic seems inadequate. I prefer to show you. Lake Escondido was found at the bottom of the twisting road we traveled, bouncing all the way. Christian is a wonderful driver, avoiding huge potholes and mud holes as much as he could.

We traveled on through the pass to our next  destination, where our lunch was cooked by Christian at a small building sheltered by towering trees. Once the fire was started we left to go to Lake Fagnano.

Lake Fagnano was beautiful though I didn’t venture too far down the trail to the shore. The wind was fierce. So I stayed at the top of the trail and took photos. It is a beautiful lake very long and deep. 

Back at the shelter, Christian completed lunch preparations and served us a remarkable lunch of chorizo, steak (cooked perfectly to medium rare), carrot salad, and Malbec. Everything was prepared on site. He shredded the carrots there, seasoned the meat, chopped tomatoes to add to the salad and dressed it beautifully. He didn’t bring anything even partially prepared, It was all done fresh. He refused any help and at the finish of the meal, he only allowed us to bring him the dirty dishes. 

After that we returned to Ushuaia with most of us nodding off on the journey back. Disfrutamos pasando el dia en maravillosa compañia,

El señor Dennis dice…

A few sentences about Ushuaia—I don’t know if we’re in the actual “last town in South America” before leaving this continent and heading to Antarctic but if it isn’t, it’s pretty damn close. There are a few other contenders claiming this distinction.

Weather here has been wonderful as it’s summer. Temps in the high 50’s to mid 60’s and thus far, rain gear has stayed packed in our back packs.

We’ve taken a few day trips in the five days we’ve spent here, the most exciting being 4 wheeling in the mountains. Including our driver Christian, there were seven of us packed in the jeep like sardines. We hit the off road portion of our tour about an hour outside of Ushuaia. Immediately after we left the pavement, the trail led down at 45 degrees with water filled ruts up to the floorboards. Good news? It was water tight! Holy s—t!! I think we were all in each other’s laps more than in our spots, except for Christian, thankfully. 🙂 We banged up and down the mountains for the better part of two hours, with a couple of breaks along the way. 

I woke up the next morning with aching joints I never knew I had. Worth it? You bet! What a memory. (For Jerry, I’ll compare it to Paco and Cyprus when I get back home.) Today’s a day of rest, heading to a museum and then packing for the flight tomorrow. ✈️