I wasn`t sure what to do on my last day in Ushuaia. I was tempted to take it easy and relax before my journey, but I had to get out and explore. Of all of the options available, many said that the 4×4 trip to the Lago Escondido was a fun trip so I signed up.

Huskie Training

Alejandro, our guide, picked us all up in the morning. He was a talkative, fun, and knowledgeable guide who added much to the experience of the trip. He passionately hated those “fucking beavers”, as he like to call them, and made sure to point out all of the beaver dams along the way. We drove from Ushuaia though the mountains and towards the other side of the island.

Along the way we stopped at a huskie training center which turned out to be a highlight of this day trip. We were invited in by the owners, had some mate, and they spoke a little about the dogs and the training. They had 25 years of experience and 147 dogs on the site. They had two types of huskies, Siberian and Alaskan. They train the dogs all year round and when there is no snow they have a wheeled sled which they use for training. I got to chatting with one of the owners and she brought me out to the back to see the huskie puppies. They were maybe four months old so cute. Sadly, the dogs were all tied up and you could tell that they wanted to run around all day. That being said, they had a lovely temperament and you could walk right up to them and snuggle up. They really enjoyed the attention.

Lago Escondido

After the huskie training center we drove towards Lago Escondido (The Hidden Lake). As we drove through the mountains it did pup up out of nowhere. We stopped at a lookout point and got incredible views of the lake and the surrounding mountains. After the lookout point we went off-road and drove down to the lake. The road was rocky, twisty and often quite muddy… it was sweet. We got to the base of the lake and it was so clear you could see right to the bottom for meters on end. The water was pretty calm and you could see the reflection of the mountains on the surface… it was very pretty.

Lago Fagnano

To end the trip we drove to Lago Fagnano, a 116kn freshwater lake which is part in Argentina (about 100km) and part in Chile. It’s a very big lake and the conditions there were much windier than just a little further down the road at Lago Escondido. We had some time to walk along the shore and explore before lunch. Lunch, I must say, was a feast! There were two giant BBQs set up, each full of meat. Argentinians sure know how to eat, and I was impressed with the food since the day I got here. We drank wine, ate salad, had sausage sandwiches (delicious!), and piece after piece of meat. I was totally stuffed at the end of it all. The group was from all over the world and the conversation was vibrant… we talked about those “fucking beavers” the US election of President Trump, travel, etc… The lunch was punctuated by a visit from a fox, no doubt drawn inn by the small of all of that meat we were cooking.

We left Lago Fagnano back towards Ushuaia. The dive was fantastic. It was a great day and a nice exploration of the island before leaving the following day towards my true destination… Antarctica!!!