21st March – The ends of… the world and our trip
On our final day in southern Argentina, we continued the trend of 
beautiful weather and a knack for sighting some of the area’s most iconic species. We had spent a lot of time prior to our trip learning about the Antarctic ecosystems which we had already experienced up close and personal. We had also learned that some species from South America would be able to survive in a warming and changing Antarctic environment becoming non-wanted invasives. Thus, our final day at the shores of the Beagle Channel was spent 
getting to know this sub-Antarctic and cool-temperate environment and some of the changes caused by introduced species here. Our guide, Ileana, introduced us to the different habitat types found in the beautiful and diverse Tierra del Fuego National Park in the hope to teach us a little bit about the local history and its native flora and fauna. The wet and mild climate of this coastal park generates an astonishingly colourful lush landscape that everyone compared to the Scottish scenery back 
home, and a few of us even saw a bit of the North American West coast. Looking through the forest one could not help but have the urge to run around and explore. Ileana explained about the native species and the indigenous people that once had eked out a living in this harsh and challenging environment. We had the opportunity to see some amazing archaeological sites (e.g. mostly waste mounts of shells and bones from meals long gone by) left by the Yamana people who had inhabited this area for thousands 
of years. We also learned about various invasive species that had been introduced to the area from all over the world, including Canadian beavers whose behaviour and ecosystem-restructuring activities continue to damage the park’s natural forest. Once again we struck luck with rare sightings, and spotted one of the infamous (and elusive) beavers doing lapse in a pond. We also got treated to a distant view of a true local native – the Andean condor – which is the largest flying land bird in the world (the wandering 
albatross being the largest flying sea bird, so double score on our sighting lists for “the largest flying…”). In addition to learning about the area’s wildlife, we also had the opportunity to visit some tourist sites. These included the southern-most golf course (which I thought was particularly appropriate for a group of St Andrews students), historic train station, and southern-most post office, as well as the end of the famous Pan-American Highway. Tierra del Fuego’s claim to fame could not be more obvious!
Our hike came to a close as the rain started, and we stopped for a hot coffee at the Alakush Visitors Centre and museum. We then returned to our hotel to finish packing and have one final night out as a group. Over the time of the trip the Masters and Senior Honours students really bonded as a group. We all felt the weight of leaving but we managed to ignore that for a few hours to have a wonderful dinner on the main street in Ushuaia. The topic of conversation could not stray from how amazing our trip had been.
Krista (SH student)