A few kilometres outside of Ushuaia, on the side of a large hill lies the Hotel Arakur Resort and Spa. A few years ago, RATW finished at this hotel. We thought we would give it a look since the top of the hill had great views of Ushuaia and the Beagle Channel and there are some nice walks up there. A short taxi ride and we were at the front door of the hotel being greeted from our beaten up Skoda by a man in a very smart uniform. We were tempted to say we were part of the race around the world competition but were running a bit late, but instead asked if we could have a look around and go to the top of the hill. We were given directions, up the lift, down the corridor and out of the door which we followed to the letter and out of the door we went. As the fire door closed behind us (with no handle to get back in), we realised we were on the emergency stairs which led to the bins. Also there was an unattractive smell of gas and a number of signs expressing the idea that this wasn’t a place for the general public. We pressed on around the side of the building and surprisingly we picked up the route to the top of the hill, then more routes further on. It was like being in a national park. After an hour or so we went back to the hotel, through the front door again and had a drink at the bar. Probably about a tenner a pint in there but they gave us some free snacks which calmed us down a bit. We checked and it’s about £400 a night to stay so it was back to our apartment in another beat up UBER.
