Landing in Ushuaia was quite breathtaking with snow capped
mountains on one side and the Beagle Channel on the other, and we straight away
knew that the year of winter had properly started.
We only spent 2 ½ days in Ushuaia but we loved this cute little town with the most incredible surroundings! The first
night I enjoyed an all-you-can-eat asado with the most amazing flame grilled
lamb, beef and chicken. Rich just had a plate of pasta and he had to watch me
eat for quite a while since I made sure that I ate all I could – and a little
more... The meat in Argentina definitely is amazing!
The next day we got up at sunrise (9.30am!) and went on a
little boat trip around the Beagle Channel where we got to admire sea lions,
fur seals, cormorans and a whole lot of other sea birds. Since I’m a big
penguin fan, Rich had arranged for three penguins to swim by and say hello.
Unfortunately the rest of their gang had already travelled up to Brazil for a
nice warm winter holiday (Rich was considering swimming up with the three
penguins but then he decided to give winter another chance)... We also walked
around one of the smaller islands of Tierra del Fuego and learnt about how the
indigenous Yaghan people lived in this hostile environment. To our surprise
they did not wear any clothes but just covered their bodies in grease from sea
animals and gathered around fires. So when the first boats arrived from Europe
they saw lots of fires on the islands and therefore gave Tierra del Fuego/Land
of Fires/Feuerland its name. But it’s really hard to understand how anyone
could survive at these temperatures without many layers of clothes and central
heating, and the poor Yaghan women even had to swim in the freezing water to dive
for shells and fish! Unfortunately now only one Yaghan woman is left. I’m sure
she would have some incredible stories to tell. ..
In the afternoon we went to the Ushuaia Prison, which is now
a museum filled with displays and information about Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica,
expeditions, the Yaghan people and the prison history. Seems like the convicts
who got sent to Australia back in the 18th
/19th century got a great deal compared to what was waiting for prisoners
who got sent to Ushuaia between 1904-1947. One part of the prison hasn’t been
renovated and still looks the way it did when it was in use. Again we where
astonished how anyone could have survived in these temperatures... and it’s
only the beginning of winter right now...
The next day we went to the Tierra del Fuego National Park
to go on a little hike in preparation of what was going to follow. The colours
down here are beautiful at the moment and this is definitely one of the many
advantages of travelling through Patagonia in autumn/winter.
You’ll find about the other advantages in the next post...
More photos of Ushuaia here: https://picasaweb.google.com/109362659982164453049/UshuaiaBest_of?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCL3Bm9Ch88qE4gE&feat=directlink
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