after planes, buses, and boats (we had to take a ferry across the strait of magellan), we've finally made it to tierra del fuego! the landscapes of its northern half were undulating and sparse, carpeted with low-lying shrubs and dotted with occasional flocks of guanaco deer, sheep, and geese. hours of tumbling down dusty dirt roads eventually brought us to the southern reaches of the island, where the sun-bleached terrain abruptly changed to reveal dark, craggy mountains and dense forests. we reached ushuaia as the sun was setting; its golden light cast pristine reflections of the surrounding mountains across the surface of the beagle channel.

ushuaia is a quaint and lively little town...so lively, in fact, that stef and i had trouble finding a hostel with a free room. we finally hunted one down and are soon heading out to roam the town in search of some tasty eats. tomorrow we plan on taking a boat tour to nearby islands to ogle penguin and sea lion colonies, and the day after that, we will leave ushuaia for parque nacional tierra del fuego, where we'll finally get to do some hiking and camping. the weather thus far has been rather pleasant, so hopefully it will keep. i'm really looking forward to getting out there...if the inspiring scenery on the way down is any indication of the beauty of the national park, we are in for an amazing hike.