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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