From Top to Bottom of the Americas!

I'm sure you all can recall the adventures we had driving to Tuktoyaktuk and swimming in the Arctic Ocean at the northernmost point in North America. If not, the highlights were 800 km dirt roads, lots of dust, flat tires and NO moose! You can read more in our previous post titled "The Dempster Highway to Tuktoyaktuk NWT - We did it!!" One of the reasons that we opted to take that chilly dip at the northern tip of North America was that we would be travelling to Ushuaia, known as the end of the world in Argentina. They call it the end of the world because it is the furthest city south you can drive in South America. Mark, being the retired geography teacher that he is, thought it would be fun to swim at both ends of the Americas, the VERY cold ends. Yeah... totally fun! Well, I can report that we did just that today!

Ushuaia’s climate is a stark contrast to Rio’s. We had to dig out pants, socks, puffer jackets, hats, mittens, and our hiking boots. Many of you likely know the Patagonia clothing brand...well, we are now in the mountainous region that inspired its name. It’s stunning here: beautiful, windy, and undeniably chilly! Although when I say chilly, I mean about 9 degrees, still not as cold as it’s been at home! But I bet none of you are polar dipping in Lake Erie just so you can say you have done it, are you!!!

Us before our Polar Plunge!

We bundled up for a sailing trip through the Beagle Channel to H Island for our first adventure in Ushuaia. We saw lots of wildlife en route, including King cormorants, Skuas, a whale, and two different types of sea lions. I was thrilled to see Magellenic penguins swimming alongside the sailboat, but we only managed to capture a photo of one. The cormorants here look almost like penguins in their markings, and we visited a South American tern rookery, which was similar to the Arctic tern we see at home.

The locals say they have not had much of a summer this year, but thankfully, we have been blessed with a few days of milder and sunnier weather. We headed to the Tierra Del Fuego National Park for some hiking, and that is where we took our second chilly dip - in the Southern Ocean this time. Actually, it was the Beagle Channel that leads to the Southern Ocean, but close enough! Our friends Mark and Sharon have joined us travelling and (little) Mark was also keen to take a polar plunge with us. We couldn't talk Sharon into it. I have very smart and sensible friends... so she was our videographer! I would like you to take note of how we were dressed immediately prior to our swimming adventure. It had been raining, and we were already chilled to the bone. The wind was whistling, and there were white caps on the water. I suggested maybe we wait for a warmer day to take a polar plunge. Nope, Mark wasn't buying that stall tactic at all. He thought we should complete the challenge today, who knows what the weather holds for the next few days? (Might I add that as I edit this post two days after our polar plunge, it is warm and sunny and a balmy 15 degrees!😏 Of course!) 

Little Mark was stoked and ran headlong into the icy cold water. He stayed there far longer than I thought he should have without turning blue. A few spectators were watching our shenanigans from shore, wondering what on earth we were up to. My Mark was next in, then, very reluctantly, in I went. It was COLD... the waves were crashing, and I am sure that I did turn blue. I ask myself why... why am I doing this? My very smart and sensible friend Sharon is warm and dry on shore, yet here I am forming the biggest goose bumps possible in places I didn't even know you could have goose bumps! But... I can say I have swum at both ends of the Americas, now. Thank goodness for that; you never know when that accomplishment will come in handy. We told Mark and Sharon that their next trip had to be up the Dempster so they could also claim the same accolades as us. They were not too keen on driving the 800 km gravel road, I have no idea why! Oh yes I do... I have SMART and SENSIBLE friends!

Our dip in the Beagle Channel, Ushuaia, Argentina!

The top two photos are of us in Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, and the bottom two are of us in Ushuai, Argentina. 

We still have a few more days in the Patagonia region, which we will fill with some more hiking and exploring before we start heading north to El Calafate. I'm fairly confident there will be no more icy plunges, though.