Are we being neurotic? The atmosphere in Ushuaia is strangely chilly in two ways. The icy wind blows continuously and the locals are just as cold. Is it because we are British? We don't know, have we just talked to the wrong people?

There is definitely a love for the Las Malvinas. Road signs proclaim them for Argentina, car stickers proclaim Ushuaia as the Capital of Las Malvinas and there are maps everywhere with the Falklands proudly called Las Malvinas and Port Stanley labeled as Puerto Argentina. In the town there is a huge display of photos of the war, one in particular struck me, a group of Argentinian soldiers standing proudly on a crashed Royal Navy plane.

On the other hand it could just be the weather that makes them a bit off. They say here that they have two seasons, winter; when it snows and winter; when it doesn't snow. Constant battering by an icy gale force wind would make you a bit miserable. I'm sure it is the weather as they only know we are British when we are in the vehicle. In the town we say we are Canadian and they are still as off. (There have been some friendly locals, but hugely outnumbered by the miserable ones!)

Additionally they live a constant lie. Every shop proclaims it's self the furthest south this or that, the end of the world this etc. The reality is that a mile or so south across the Beagle Channel is the Chilean Island of Navorina and the town of Puerto Williams which is town that is the furthest south. Although mainly a military base there are civilian bits, but it is expensive to get to, as there is no ferry from Ushuaia (political reasons?), so to get there you have to get the ferry from Puerto Natales in Chile, a few hundred miles to the north.

Anyway, rant over. We drove to the Tierra del Fuego National Park which was very pretty. Not dramatic like Torres del Paine National Park but pretty with nice little walks along the coast, around lakes and and through forests. Most of the trees were covered in lichen of different colours and the ground beneath them was carpeted in moss and fern.

Next day we visited a nearby glacier. We took a cable car (the sit on, ski lift type) and at its end started walking up the valley. We got to a point where we could see three glaciers coming down converging valleys when the weather turned into a blizzard. As we weren't really equipped for such conditions we decided discretion was the better part of valor and did a tactical retreat back down. By the time we got back down on the ski lift we looked like a pair of snowmen. It was really quite impressive but took us a couple of hours to thaw out.

The afternoon saw us taking a small plane trip to view the mountains and Beagle Channel. Great views and warm.

Tomorrow we head north to warmer weather....yipee!