The southernmost bar in the world

I didn’t find it. Or, so to say, it isn’t here. There are many things here that make a fuss of being “the most southern bla-bla in the world” but nothing about bars. After first having looked for it here, failed and googled a little, it was clear that the most southern bar in the world is not at all located in Ushuaia; it is on a Ukrainian research station in Antarctica. Goddamn Russians!

But anyway, I will not let some vodka-drinkers spoil my holiday. They (or at least their livers) will one day get what they deserve.

While writing the above I got to think about Douglas Adams and his “Restaurant at the end of the universe”. I feel almost like that here. The judgment day or apocalypse could come any minute and I would be able to watch it all from here. Because Ushuaia is too far away to be affected.

Here in Ushuaia it is a little bit cold. The summer is over and we are going towards autumn. I am using the very same clothes as when I was in the Caribbean and maybe they are not quite suited for an Arctic autumn. This, with the only exception of the woolen sweater that I reluctantly invested in while in Peru, the day after freezing my ass off on a hike in the mountains. I’m kind of glad for that now.

But I will not let some frosty weather spoil my holiday either. Today, for example, I managed to get out to the national park using the very cheap (irony!!) buses. And Jesus Christ it was cold out there. Just waiting for the icebergs to float by but I didn’t see any. Bet it was too cold, they went up north.

Wonder how the winter will be.

A few pictures from the beautiful national park.

I MADE IT!!!

Alternative title: The end of the world
Alternative title II: Ushuaia

I have finally made it! Whatever I spend my time doing from now until I go home, it doesn’t really matter. Because the goal is reached. The goal for many travelers and not just only me. It is the common goal for cruise ships, for backpackers, for bikers, for motorcyclists and for car drivers. It is the goal.

It has been 284 days since I landed in Los Angeles, California with the aim of going south. And south I went. All the way until today; the distant city of Ushuaia is located on the southern tip of Argentina. Just off Cape Horn. The southernmost city in the world and here it all ends; the end of the world as they call it (spanish: "Fin del Mundo"). Beyond Ushuaia there is only Antarctica but I am not going there, at least not in this trip. Because it is autumn here and Antarctica is closed.

In all excitement, I don’t think I can write more about it right now. I will instead post another entry on Ushuaia later. Now, I will go out to find the most southern bar in the world.

Comodoro Rivadavia

I know, the name of this city is a bit of a mouthful. Fortunately, it is nicknamed simply Comodoro so you don’t need to try to pronounce it all (and possibly embarrass yourself) when buying a bus ticket. That, however, leads us into the next basic question: Why would anyone like to buy a bus ticket to Comodoro Rivadavia?

The answer is that it is conveniently located and works like a transportation hub for traffic to the north, the south and to the west. I came from Bariloche and planned on just changing bus here. When getting off the bus, I found out that this was not the final stop; the bus continued south the same way as I wanted to go. Damn, if I had paid attention maybe I could have saved some pesos and missed the experience of Comodoro altogether.

And what an experience; the city is relatively new, founded only in 1901 when oil was found here. It has quickly grown into the oil industry’s nerve centre of the south and there are few sights around apart from the petroleum-museum (what did you expect?).

Lonely Planet suggests that the Cathedral is the ugliest one you are likely to ever see. And after having seen it, yes it was pretty ugly.

Another annoying thing was that the bus station didn’t have a luggage facility, which meant that I had to carry the bag around town while waiting for the next bus in the evening (no way I was going to stay the night!). I only had the energy to go short walks in the centre and didn’t attempt climbing the hill with views over the city.

I have already written more than the city deserves. Was a short stay and I am never coming back. So long suckers.

Bariloche

Touristy and hippy, Bariloche is a happy place with a lakeside location. Now, we are back in Argentina by the way, Chile is a mere memory. Here, hoards of backpackers and tourists pass by, summer as winter because of its gorgeous setting and its many cool restaurants and bars. But of course, tourists also come due to its proximity to Chile (one of the few convenient border crossings) and its nearby national park, which offers a range of activities.

I did not stay long enough to enjoy the national park but I liked the town itself, which has interesting boutiques and a strong German influence (from German settlers). German beer is easy to find but I rather avoid it, this close to travelling to Europe. I don’t know why I enjoyed the boutiques because I didn’t do any shopping but the place has something special. And unfortunately I could not afford all the chocolate that is for sale here.

Valdivia

Sometimes you want to travel somewhere but it is too far to make in one go to be convenient. And sometimes you just don’t know which of the intermediate places to chose for a pit stop.
This time I had exactly that problem; I could just as well have rolled the dice because I was totally clueless. I picked a city out of the blue and the choice fell on Valdivia. And how did it go? Well, just as one could imagine: it was quite dull. The only consolation is that I think that whichever other place I had chosen of the alternatives, it would be the same or worse. At least I want to think that.

Valparaiso and Viña del Mar

The city of Valparaiso grew into an important stopover for vessels that sailed around Cape Horn but it drastically declined in importance when the Panama Canal opened in 1914. Today, it is famous for its elevators, connecting suburbs on the hill with the lower downtown, and its picturesque architecture.

The nearby Viña del Mar (only a couple of stops on the commuter train) is a nice mix between a city and a beach resort, often called the Garden City, referring to its many parks, trees and flowers. The Fonck museum features an original moai (enormous stone sculpture from Easter Island) together with some less interesting stuff like local birds and insects.

Pictures: 1) Valparaiso elevator; 2) Valparaiso; 3) Viña del Mar; 4) Viña del Mar