A Visit to Tierra del Fuego National Park

 

A lovely white, wild horse in the Tierra del Fuego National Park

Tuesday, October 31 - Tierra del Fuego National Park, Ushuaia

Our bus ride to the Tierra del Fuego National Park was accompanied by a knowledgable guide.  The park is about 10 km west of the airport and the road followed the Rio Pipo and the railway built by prisoners that ends in the park.  We were traveling on Argentina Highway #3 - which is the terminus of the Pan American Highway.

Entrance to Tierra del Fuego National Park

Typical new growth forest of the national park

Bogs were a prevalent feature along the drive

We entered the park and learned that an important goal is to preserve the ravaged and rapidly disappearing unique Tierra del Fuego forest. The park was  established in 1960 and includes 240 square miles with waterfalls, forests, mountains, glaciers and shoreline. The forest consists of 4 species of native trees, including the lenga and nire, in the beech family, and the guindo and Winter’s Bark evergreens. Colonizers introduced a number of non-native mammals which have been harsh on the ecosystem, including the North American beaver, European rabbit and muskrats.  The timber from the forest was systematically removed by the prison workforce in the 1900 - 1940 era. The color of the vegetation is a pleasing grayish green, with an undergrowth of shrubs, ferns, moss and other plants. We also passed some peat bogs, that were just starting to green up from their resting fall rust colors. The park is home to many native species of birds, including the Andean condor, the crested caracara and a number of species of geese.

Patagonian wild horses are called baguales

A beautiful view of Mount Condor, which is just across the border in Chile.

We stopped at the Alakush Visitor Center - the native language name for a highly valued local duck - and took photos of the wetlands, birds and feral horses. Across a small pond, looking west into Chile is the impressive Mount Condor. We were told to watch for the Andean Condor, which can be seen soaring around the slopes, but no such luck. We did see a number of small wild horses - which are found in various locations in Patagonia and are called baguales. I also saw a number of crested caracara, which is the size and approximate shape of a large goshawk.

The Alakush Visitor Center had a small museum and a restaurant

Lago Acigami

We drove to a second parking area, on a beach at Lago Acigami (Lago Roca), where we had a different view of Mount Condor and some of the higher Chilean peaks beyond. We also saw a pair of  Upland Geese on the beach - an attractive, dimorphic pair, with pretty white and brown feathers of the male and a buff and brown female.

A different view of Mount Condor, with a pair of Upland Geese

The terminus of the Pan American Highway (which begins in Alaska)

Next, we headed down to the end of the PanAmerican Highway - the terminus of the road and the location where we would pick up our catamaran for our lunch and cruise. A pretty walkway led us to the boat dock on the Bahia Lapataia - which is at the end of the only fjord located in Argentina (although, of course, Chile has many).

A panoramic view of Lapataia Bay

Our catamaran - for lunch and a tour of the Beagle Channel

Lunch was already set up when we boarded the boat. And we stayed docked while we ate our lunch - which I understood later, once we were underway, as it was quite choppy.  Michael and I went to sit up at the top deck, and were joined by David and Kathy, a couple who lived in Chicago and near Scottsdale AZ.  We had a mixed salad, some kind of chicken fricassee for an entree and a creme brûlée for desert, served with a nice local Malbec wine.  Once underway, we saw lots of birds.  

Mountain peaks line the Beagle Channel

By around 3 PM, we left fjord and entered Beagle Channel, with much more rough seas! I went out a few times to take photos of the beautiful mountains, but the wind was rugged! So I mostly enjoyed watching the scenery go by from the warmth of the cabin.  As we got closer to Ushuaia and the airport, we circled around the Isla de los Pajaros (Bird Island), which supported a huge colony of nesting cormorants (Imperial Shag or King Cormorant).

Nesting cormorants on Bird Island