Ushuaia (Oosh-WHY-uh) - Fin del Mundo! The end of the world! The southernmost city in the Americas - unless you ask Puerto Williams, Chile. The places are about 50 km (about 30 miles) apart by ferry. That's mostly east to west. North to south? More like 20 km (12 miles). Ushuaia is on the northern shore of the Beagle Channel. Puerto Williams is on the southern shore of the Beagle Channel. So why does Ushuaia (population about 75,000) get to call itself Fin del Mundo? Population. The argument is that Puerto Williams (population about 3000) isn't big enough to be called city! Puerto Williams is trying to catch up, though, so this could change in another century or so! Stay tuned for more things I probably will not be updating in future!
Don't let the population fool you. Once you've strolled San Martin and Maipu streets, you've pretty much seen the town. There are lots of hikes, but I'm not much of a trekker, so... I wanted to ride the dog sleds, but they only do that in southern hemisphere winter (northern hemisphere summer), so that was out.
So, I spent the first day getting settled in and hanging with friends from the cruise that were waiting for their flights out. The next day, I strolled through town and made arrangements for my bus to El Calafate.
The walk along Maipu is chocked full of statuary, monuments, and parks. Definitely intended for the tourists. Many of them are applicable to Argentina as a whole, such as General San Martin, whose statue also stands in multiple places in Buenos Aires.
Some are very local, such as this statute memorializing Gunther Pluschow, the first person to fly an airplane into Ushuaia, on December 3, 1928.
There is what seems to be the obligatory monument to the Malvinas. I was a bit of a jerk while taking this one. I was waiting on the other corner to take this shot while a guy was taking a number of selfies in the area. I had no problem with it, as I tend to take a lot of shots myself. Since most people just take one or two and move along, if I see someone waiting, I'll usually step out of the way and come back when they're finished. This guy looked at me, seeing me standing waiting, and kept on taking his shots, moving to different places in the frame. I stood and waited for over five minutes. When he finally finished and moved out of the frame, I got a few shots from across the street and moved in for the closer ones. He crossed the street to where I was. Almost immediately upon getting to the spot, he yelled over asking me to move out of the way. Of course, given the fact that he didn't clear for me, that meant I had to stay there for the rest of my life!
Ushuaia's monument to the Malvinas isn't just a statue or a plaque. It is a whole park with multiple statuary and monuments to the islands. Since Ushuaia is the capital of the island of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica (the part claimed by Argentina, but not controlled because of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959), and the South Atlantic Islands, Ushuaia is also considered by Argentina to be the capital of Las Malvinas. Obviously, the British and most of the rest of the world don't see it quite the same. This is a monument to those who lost their lives in the 1982 conflict. The fire continued burning even during the rain.
I don't have a clue what this head represents. It reminds me of Easter Island, but Easter Island is part of Chile, and as far as I can tell, there is no claim to the island by Argentina. It is lovely, though, especially with all the tulips in bloom and the harbor in the background!
Notice the map of Las Malvinas (the Falkland Islands) to the right of the letters.
This is the side and top of the Secretariate of Women. I frequently saw children playing on this building when the sun was out. It's hard to see in the picture, but atop the building is a relief of Eva Peron.
In the bay is the remains of the San Cristobal, which ran aground in 1957. She was built in the US, bought by Great Britain, and used in World War II before being sold and used for commercial purposes.
I do love the bright colors on the beaks and feet of the gulls here!
While you can find travel agents for excursions all along Avenida San Martin and others, just past the port is a whole little village area where the agencies have their own little shelters. It is here, also, that you find the moderately famous "End of the World" sign.
While most of the buildings are typical South American construction and design, there is a definite, clear German influence on many.
My day taking pictures of town was great because it there were no ships scheduled to dock or disembark that day, so I was able to take pictures without the crowds of people that come here for the Antarctic cruises. For my last day in town, I had difficulty deciding between the Martial Glacier, Lago Esmerelda, or Tierra del Fuego National Park with the train. (The penguin and sea lion trips just didn't excite after the awesomeness that I experienced in Antarctica.) Knowing that my next stop included the Perito Moreno Glacier, this one lost. I have heard very wonderful things about Lago Esmerelda, but ultimately, I chose the train. I had to go to Western Union first, so I wasn't able to catch the first train. I got the noon train into the park.
Like a hop-on/hop-off bus, the train had an audio component that talked about the history and landscape of the city and the park. The city was settled as a prison colony. This was based largely on European penal colonies, except the prisoners that were sent actually continued to be incarcerated upon arrival to the colony. We had "prisoners" along our voyage for pictures. I would have loved to have purchased mine, as it was a very good shot of me holding one by the shirt front and him leaning back while the other was trying to snatch my bag with my fist doubled up ready to smash into his face. I really liked it, but they only offered it in print, not digital, and I know it would be destroyed by the time I got home.
The trains run on steam, but they do not use coal to heat it. They use some type of combustible liquid, which they did not name. It is supposedly ecologically friendly. Here is a video of a train coming back while my train was also stopped for a bit.
There were wild horses in the park. The train didn't phase them any little bit.
The prison labor was used for services, initially for cutting firewood and later exploited by a lumber company. The prisoners would be transported by this train into the valleys to chop down trees without any concern for the environment or the health/safety of the prisoners. Hardened criminals, such as mass murderers, were chained along with petty criminals. Children were cautioned not to go close to their incarcerated parents because of who might be chained next to them, so they would wave from afar. While it's difficult to see from this picture, this is part of what is called the "tree graveyard". You can tell what season each tree was felled based on the size of the stump. The taller the stump, the higher the snow was. Those cut at ground level were cut in the southern hemisphere summer. Sometimes, the prisoners were required to remain overnight in the forests, and would often have to climb trees in the winter while still chained together. The prison was finally closed by Juan Peron because of severe human rights abuses.
At the end of the line, you have an option to either remain on the train and go back to the station or get off the train and spend some time in the park. The last train back to the station leaves at 4:00 p.m. I decided to explore the park a bit since it was only 1:00. So I walked a bit until I found a road and sign that told me the visitor's center was approximately 6 km away from the sign. At this point, I felt like I could go to the visitor's center and take a taxi back. There was a lake at the visitor's center and an interactive area along with a restaurant. So I headed out. It was a lovely walk, and the lake was beautiful, but this was a mistake. Once you got to the visitor's center, the interactive area was up a long staircase, which my legs just weren't going to handle after that 3-mile hike. And there was no taxi stand. There was an information desk, so I inquired about a taxi there. The man at the desk told me that he would be happy to call me a taxi. It would be 7000 pesos to take me to my hotel in Ushuaia. I asked him how much it would cost for the taxi to take me to the train station in the park. He said that would also cost 7000 pesos, and the taxi would wait for me at the other station and take me to my hotel in Ushuaia. I asked him how much it would cost for the taxi to take me to the train station in the park and not meet me at the station at the other end to take me back to Ushuaia because I could get a taxi to Ushuaia for 1300 pesos. He said that would also cost 7000 pesos. So basically, if you find yourself at the visitor's center without time or energy to walk back to the train, it will cost you 7000 pesos to get out. Be forewarned. Other than that, it's a lovely ride and a nice history lesson, and I would recommend it. You can get off the train and take some of the short hikes in the area so long as you have the time and energy to get back to the train station by 4:00 for the last train out of the park. The food in the restaurant looked and smelled delicious, but I couldn't eat at that time, having just walked about 3 miles. They did have grapefruit juice and water. My water was running low, so I got one of each and rehydrated. My taxi arrived just as I was getting recharged, so I went home and had a sandwich from the cold cuts I had gotten from the mercado on the corner.
This fungus is very prevalent on the trees in the forest on the mountains.
Many of the views are breathtaking, especially with those clouds hanging heavy.
This is the lake at the visitor's center.
My overpriced taxi driver was kind enough to almost stop at this roundabout so I could get this picture.
I slept well that night. I woke the next morning and showered, packed, and made some cheese sandwiches to eat on my way to my next destination - El Calaphate and hiking on the Perito Moreno Glacier!
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