Finding Penguins

Flew here to Ushuaia, the second southernmost town in the world, and I'm finally out here in the mountains staying at a real backpacking hostel!! Everyone goes out hiking every day with their giant backpacks and comes back at night to drink beer and compare pictures. It's lovely.

However, no one showers enough and these motherfuckers stink. I slept in a room with 6 beds filled with 5 smelly backpackers, telling myself that the smell is part of the experience and its fine.

Ushuaia is a touristy mountain town. Everything is much more expensive here than it was in Buenos Aires. But at least everyone speaks excellent English!

On the way to see the penguins we saw "flag trees," trees growing in the direction of the strong winds in Patagonia.

Seeing the penguins was so special, I absolutely loved it. It's spring here, and all the flowers are in bloom. The baby penguins were just starting to be born, so while I didn't see any fluff balls waddling around, I got to see glimpses of dark gray hatchlings as the parents moved around the nests.

On the tour I met a couple in their 30s who live in Cleveland Park in dc! We went to dinner and went through a bottle of wine, it was great. The sun sets at about 11 pm and rises well before 5.Read more