WorldTravelReynolds

We finally made it to the “City at the End of the World”‘, Ushuaia, Argentina. It is pronounced “oo-shway-ah”‘,the “oo” is like the “ou” in “you”. The name comes from the native Yaghan language and means “deep bay”, which works for this city’s beautiful location on the Beagle Channel that has forests, mountains, and sea all within sight. We are in the southernmost city in the world and inside the capital of Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and Southern Atlantic Islands Province. What amazing beauty we had in store for us.

Tierra del Fuego means “Land of Fire’, so named because of all the smoke the first European explorers saw rising from the land, not realizing it came from the native’s fires. The Martial Mountains rise behind Ushuaia, unique in that unlike the rest of the Andes, these run east/west rather than north/south. So much to learn here in regards navigation.

Just an fyi, the channel here was named for the same ship Darwin sailed on, The Beagle, which explored the area in the 1830s.
The Yaghan, or Yámana, were the native people who inhabited the area along the shores of the Beagle Channel to Cabo de Horos, traveling and hunting in family-size canoes made of tree bark. Inside one you’d find Dad with his harpoon in hand, Mom doing the paddling and the kids taking care of the fire that was always burning in the boat on a base of earth and stones, I know, it seems counterintuitive to have flames going in a wooden boat, but they had to keep warm somehow. From what we hear, there are still descendants of the Yaghan who live in Ushuaia today.

This area was known to British and French pirates during the early 1800s when they used it as a hiding place, or a way to escape the Spanish fleet after a ship raid. The first European settlement was begun by English missionary Wasti Stirling in 1870, an Argentine navel base was established in 1884, and Ushuaia was finally made an official village in 1893 when the archipelago was partitioned between Argentina and Chile.

1902 saw the opening of a penal colony here where some of the country’s worst criminals were sent. After they arrived they had to build their own prison and a railway to get the lumber for it into town. It’s been called the “Siberia of Argentina”. The prison was closed in 1947 after reports of inhumane living conditions and abuse, however the murderers and thugs were replaced clandestinely in the late 1950s by political adversaries of then President Arturo Frondizi, whose military coup had overthrown Juan Peron. The inmates remained here until another coup overthrew Frondizi in 1961.

Fifty years ago there was hardly even a town here but in the 1970s the Argentine government decided to expand the port and create manufacturing industries to entice people to come here for jobs, they were motivated to get people moved to the area to keep Chile from making a land grab.

Today the economy is based on lumber and construction, sheep farming, fishing, fur-trapping, and tourism.

We took two tours today. One on land and one on a boat. Our land tour took us through some beautiful countryside with snow capped mountains as far as you can see. A beautiful place for sure. We were headed to Terre del Fuego National Park. As soon as we entered those gates, our interest shut off! This is how rural this place can be. We stopped at a post office on the water to mail some post cards from the end of the world and view the lake that’s part of the beagle channel. They say the post cards take about 21 days to reach their destination. After all they are coming from the end of the world! With the long line and not a lot of time we decided not to send one.

Other stops along the way were more lakes and gorgeous mountain scenery. There were several lookout points created and built by the City of Ushuaia for the tourists. They were great to get that beautiful view.

Not only are there dogs and cats roaming freely around town, there are horses that are let out during the day by their owners to graze and then are put back up at night. No fencing that I could see. I guess they know where their home is.

On our last stop, the tour guide gave us some Argentinian chocolates and some had a shot of the local liqueur. We passed this time on the alcohol but the chocolates were so amazing we bought some at the local store on the way back to our ship.

Once back in the city, we walked over to the small boat dock and boarded a small vessel for 30 people, and not one more could fit. This included the crew. The young men were all so nice and really good at what they are doing.

During the boat trip to the channel we saw sea lions galore! Boy did they smell. But watching them interact with each other was interesting to watch. Also a good resting and nesting spot for some birds. We believe we saw Rock Cormorant’s. They look almost like penguins but the difference is the birds can fly. We also saw a beautiful Upland goose. The sea lions were called 1 hair and 2 hair. Never heard that before but it was very easy to pick out the king of the kingdom here. He had recently been in a fight and blood running from his gashes. He was huge and you can tell why they are called Lions by their necks. They have a mane like a lion.

Our tour of the Beagle Channel took us to Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse which also goes by the names of San Juan de Salvamento Lighthouse, the Lighthouse at the End of the World, and Faro del Fin del Mondo, take your pick. It was built in 1884 and you can only reach it by boat.

We stopped for a small hike to see some flowers, plants and of course more views of the mountains. We found some flowers and trees along the way. One was the Firebush. Very pretty red flowers. While walking we saw an orange round squishy thing on the ground. Not wanting to touch it, our friend Jane picked it up with two sticks to ask the guide. It was fruit from the tree. Totally edible, although we didn’t taste it, called Indian bread. The most important plant to their eco system was the Bolax gummifera. They are green mounds on the ground and are very hardy. You aren’t supposed to step on the small ones as they are still growing. So we tiptoed around them, trying not to fall on the sometimes very rugged terrain. But crossing over them and getting to the top of this ridge, the view was spectacular. This would be a great place for people that love to hike and camp and stay in the outdoors. The only thing you must like is cold weather. Leaves me out!

After the boat ride we decided to stop for some of the famous King Crab that caught fresh here in Ushuaia. One crab fed two people. It was so delicious but such a pain to eat and quite messy. Our friend Jane wasn’t too keen on us “murdering” the crab. I think the better term was we “slaughtered” it as there wasn’t any meat left on those crab bones!

What a fun night day and evening with friends!

Tomorrow we have another day albeit short in Ushuaia then we are off to Punta Arenas Chile.

May God bless you always.

Chuck & Lea Ann