Tierra Del Fuego did not disappoint this morning. Fog hung in the Fuegan Andes peaks, making the scene “other worldly”.
Our collective objective for the day was to head down most of the length of the Beagle Channel to see sea lions, penguins, Porto Williams, and the first estancia in the region. The docked passenger and Antarctic ships continued to tug at my conscience… could I really afford to wait ten days for a once in a lifetime trip to Antarctica?
Leaving Ushuaia behind via tour boat gave the first panoramic views of the Beagle Channel setting.
Our first stop was a rock outcropping covered in sea lions and gulls.
This was followed by a quick skip over to the channel lighthouse…
… with more sea lions standing guard.
It is easy to see how some early sailors called these sea lions "sea dogs".
Leaving the lighthouse behind, even a wide-angle lens could only capture a fraction of the mirador.
The apparent wind blowing over the deck pushed passengers into the comforts of the cabins, but Marijn stood fast to enjoy the views.
Next, on the tour plan, was a view of Puerto Williams which is actually in Chile. It holds claim to the title of "southernmost town/village" and is home to the last native Yagan speaker. Despite the close proximity, if you would like to make the short trip, and actually land, it will cost you approximately $140 USD. The trip is a good example of supply and demand, combined with international territorial tensions.
Penguins are always a sight for tourists and tour companies claim to be ecologically friendly, which apparently includes beaching “tons of boat” on penguin habitat, along with bathing them in diesel exhaust.
Selfishly, from a tourist’s perspective, you just can’t get a better vantage point.
Waiting for our turn to invade the penguin’s territory, it seemed like a good time for a “Stephie picture”, one of our two new German additions.
These ambiguous creatures can capture both aspects of their existence in a single group shot. The avian genetic profile seems pretty clear when perched on the rocky shore, but their warm-blooded disposition seems to be captured in bipedal walking. Either bird or mammal, these naturally tuxedo wearing creatures are awesome to watch.
Anthropomorphication is easy to slip into… “Hey, weren't you guys going swimming too?”
It sucks to be a teenager in any species. And here you thought "teen acne" was an obvious embarrassment, imagine having to molt in front of everyone.
I loved this guy. He was of a different breed, from the others, with his yellow feet and dominant white chest. He strutted the length of the beach, squawking.
Flexibility is key and penguins can actually answer the question for themselves of “does this make my butt look big?”
The primary "land stop" of the day was Estancia Harberton, founded by Thomas Bridges in 1866. Bridges left the Ushuaia area Anglican mission to settle here. The defining difference between the previous missionary and Thomas was his ability to learn and speak the native language, Yamana, which allowed him to gain their trust. Eventually, Bridges published the first and likely only English/Yamana dictionary.
The farm was passed generationally from one family member to the next and was a serviceable sheep ranch until a particularly difficult winter in the 1990’s killed all but three of the livestock.
At that point, the family decided to shift economic models to tourism, allowing hundreds of strangers to gain a view into their collective family history, including the moss covered cemetery plot.
The family farm is one of several ecological preserves, where native species flourish. In the past, wind bent trees were harvested for their innate strength and shape, for boat building.
Anthropologists also use part of the estancia to excavate indigenous sites and to test native structure techniques. This family shelter has stood for more than five years without further alteration. Anthropologists are finding that primitive design can also be durable and strong against the elements.
This “cow tongue” fungus only grows on specific trees in Tierra del Fuego, serving as a food source for native families. (No thanks, I'll stick to the more traditional variety.)
Andrea, the second of our recent group addition, is a "former East German" enigma, from Dresden. She can be interesting and friendly but at a well conservative distance. She hates taking or having posed pictures taken. So with permission for an impromptu shot, the luck of the drawl fell into my lens.
Estancia Haberton was filled with so many interesting shapes and withering artifacts that it was hard to have photographic constraint.
When our tour made its way to the boat workshop, we finally found out how the bent trees were used in boat building. The thwarts that hold the gunnel's rigidity in place are carved from a single piece of wood. In this way, there was no need to “steam bend” or shape boards, providing for naturally stronger construction. (The natural wood color pieces are there to demonstrate pre-finishing design.)
After all the effort of construction, it was a little taunting to see several hand crafted boats dry rotting on the estancia front lawn.
The extended Haberton family still lives in the traditional, but expanded household, covered in the favored South American siding of corrugated steel.
We drove back to Ushaia, instead of returning by boat. This provided broad vision of surrounding fields and hills. Tierra del Fuego is riddled with wind bend arbors, so much so that this particular tree is an iconic symbol.
The tour stopped at vistas along the way and the impact of this particular one was not in the expanse, in the opposite direction of this shot, but in the retaining wall for the road. Finally, for once in a very long time the “anti” sentiment was not directed at the U.S.
Every tour has requisite stops, with which tourists grow to hate or be annoyed. This may have been the exception. Instead of a typical “trinkets and trash” store stop, we were directed to a "sled dog" training facility and restaurant.
The dogs were beautiful, but it didn’t take long for me to echo the sentiment of this particular animal.
Almost on quay, a fox wandered by to break the monotony. Here they are called “Zorro” and are known for their cunning. Unfortunately, fox are so plentiful and tourist so interested in feeding them sugar filled garbage that many of the foxes have developed untreatable cavities.
Speaking of food (Sorry Althea), we were starving and quite proud of ourselves to produce pizza and two awesomely fresh salads. The most fun was in the team cooking... and the mixed drinks weren't bad either.
Of course, the evening's festivities just wouldn't have been complete without uncontrollable European "gang signing" to help prove that being "drastically white" truly is an international phenomenon. (The self-incriminating addition to this scene has been hidden for posterity... haaa.)
03.15.08 - Ushuaia
03.14.08 - Ushuaia
Oh Well… Maybe Next Time
Ushuaia is situated next to the Beagle Channel, which separates Chilean territories from Argentinean.
Surrounded by the Fuegan Andes Mountains, the port of Ushuaia climbs from the low water front up the rising slopes.
Ushuaia has come into its own, as of late, with the tourist trade driving the economy, especially down the main street. There are so many little “trinkets and trash” shops that this location could easily be swapped with any other tourist mountain town worldwide.
The main purpose of the morning was to find a ship to Antarctica with one extra berth available. The internet mentioned at least three boats leaving this week, which the posted schedule confirmed, but there wasn’t a single spot available for over ten days. This was simply far too long to hang around town, to then start an eleven-day tour. That kind of time expense would put a serious crimp in the rest of the South American trip. Oh well, such is life… perhaps there will be a separate trip to Antarctica sometime in the future?
After this disappointment, it was nice to run into a couple of French tour guides, who had taken the bus from Punta Arenas the day before. So we scouted out lunch places for their tour group, who would arrive the following day, and I tried a gorgonzola Antarctic cod entrée.
The afternoon was spent searching for the Museo del Fin del Mundo, which promised a little history of the region. An easy way to find the museum is to look for the city slogan painted on the street median, “Ushuaia, end of the world, beginning of everything.”
Ushuaia first gained its western recognition as a sea port, for those attempting to make the dangerous trip around Cape Horn.
But, soon, the isolated location was ideal for a penal colony. There wasn’t much of anywhere for anyone to "escape to" and the often dangerously cold weather didn’t lend itself to venturing an escape for most of the year.
The museum boasted prisoner stories. This young guy was sent to Ushuaia for setting fires to several houses in Buenos Aires, at the age of 12. The really interesting part of the story is that prison officials thought that his protruding ears were the source of his deviance, so had them later surgically altered to lay backwards. Needless to say this didn’t help much and he died in a prison altercation.
The remainder of the "Museum of the End of the World" is dedicated to the history of the now virtually extinct native peoples. There are only four known remaining indigenous people and since they are all related the last vestiges of native culture will soon fade. The native peoples faced the same murder by Western ranching interests, backed by government forces, that American Indians and Australian Aboriginals somehow survived. To put a timeline on things, this is not colonial history, but late 19th and early 20th century genocide. In 1880 there were 3,000 known Yamana people in the area and twenty years later less than 100 survived.
There were two main groups of native peoples near Ushuaia. One, the Yamana people who settled here over 10,000 years ago, was land based, living in pole huts…
… and the other housed almost exclusively on water, in family sized canoes. The floating families would only land if someone were seriously ill (bad luck to have them around) or during childbirth. Their sea faring life style over the generations created offspring with oversize torsos (from paddling, hauling seals and fish), compared to diminished lower bodies.
The native ceremonial dress was really interesting. My favorite was this guy from the Kotaix tribe, who appears to be balancing a log on his head.
Others included “the original cone head”…
… and “rocket man”. Actually, not much is known about the inspiration for these body painting costumes, except that there is a deeply embedded belief in the spirits of the forest.
In the late afternoon light, the bordering mountains jutted clearly into the sky to the north of town.
Looking across to the wharf area, Antarctica still pulled at my wishful heart… so close, but yet so far.
The trip to Ushuaia was definitely not a waste, as this little city definitely provides beautiful vistas and other activities to occupy the day.
For dinner, our revised crew, with the addition of Stephie and Andrea walked a block from the hostel for a collective fish dinner. We had a great time with the local staff, who were energetic and very friendly. The waiter even brought Marijn a portion and a half of fish, given his large frame. The locals seem to be very curious to interact with a Dutchman of Marijn’s stature, combined with his own easy going and welcoming disposition.
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