IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT…

After our extended stay in Chile, we were quite sad to be leaving such a great country with its diverse scenery and friendly people, but we were consoled by the fact that we were heading to Argentina with its diverse scenery, friendly people AND a staple diet of steak and red wine. As we crossed the border at a windswept checkpoint in the middle of nowhere in countryside populated only by sheep, the first sign that we saw in Argentina was a massive poster at the border point proclaiming that 'Las Malvinas son Argentinas'. We took a photo thinking that this would be a rare demonstration of delusional patriotism at the border given that the Falklands War was over 25 years ago and that the rest of Argentina would have moved on since then. But no, Argentina still claims the Falkland Islands (Las Malvinas as it calls them) as its own and the people of Ushuaia, our base for the next few days, proudly displayed these car stickers wherever possible. In case there was any doubt about who they think is the rightful owner, one of the main streets is called Avenida Malvinas Argentinas, and there is a large memorial in the town which declares that Las Malvinas were, are and always will be Argentine. Given that we were Brits, we decided to keep a low-ish profile just in case the war was still fresh in the minds of the locals.

Ushuaia is situated on the island of Tierra del Fuego and its main claim to fame is that it is the most southerly city in the world. Everywhere you go in the city you are reminded that you are at 'the end of the world' eating in the most southerly restaurant or drinking the most southerly beer in the most southerly pub in the most southerly city in the world. It is probably best not to mention to the people of Ushuaia that Puerto Williams, across the Beagle Channel in Chile, is actually the most southerly town in the world. It also struck us that advertising yourself as 'the end of the world' is possibly not the most sensible way of attracting tourists but it worked for us so there must be something going for it.

Now, we've been to the end of the world and can confirm that it is indeed a small place. We were sat minding our own business having had a delicious meal in the most southerly fish restaurant in the world (amazingly we can report that they do serve food other than steak in Argentina) and headed across the road to the most southerly Irish pub in the world, when in walked Chris (and his mate Graham) who, like Duncan, was one of the ushers at Dave's wedding last year. Was this the most southerly random encounter in the world? Once he'd seen through the beard disguise and realised who Duncan was, we had a few beers and chatted about the chances of meeting so far from home. The following evening we met up with them again for an all-you-can-eat meat grill on their recommendation and a bottle of wine… that's more like it - true Argentine living.

Our journey is quite a big adventure for us, but pales into insignificance compared to the chap we met on the ferry who was driving from Alaska to Cape Horn, and the bloke we met in Ushuaia who had just been on a 9 week journey across the Atlantic from Cape Town in a tall ship.

One of the highlights of our time in Ushuaia, and of South America in general, was walking with penguins. This was, admittedly, a budget-busting extravagance, but well worth it. An hour in a minibus and fifteen minutes in a speedboat took us to a small island, where two different species of penguin are breeding, observed by scientists. The speedboat beached itself on the shore and as we got off we could see all the penguins right there waddling around the beach. We were able to walk really close to them - although of course there were some idiots who wanted to get closer than we were supposed to - while they were just hanging out, tending their nests or keeping their eggs warm. It was amazing to be able to get so close to them and it is an experience that will stay with us for a long time. The trip to see the penguins came on the eve of the first anniversary of our wedding and was a perfect way to celebrate our first year together as a married couple.