 |
| Ushuaia Lighthouse in Beagle Channel, it's base rock covered with guano from the hundreds of sea birds nesting here |
 |
| Los Cinquo Hermanos, the Five Brothers, Ushuaia's signature crest |
 |
| Souvenir carving on local tree species |
 |
| The three Ushuaia CLaims to fame apart from being so far south: Penguins, Prisoners and Canadian Beavers... |
 |
| A loooong story behind this - Great Britain and Argentina disputing over the Malvinas/Falkland Islands |
Now we are really in the southernmost town on our Globe –
Ushuaia. Situated on the Island of Tierra del Fuego at the Beagle Channel, with
a backdrop of the extreme of the Andes and Mount Cinquo Hermanos as the
signature peak, it covers the lower slopes surrounding Ushuaia Bay.
We docked – no tendering today. Several Antarctic Explorer
ships and a couple of supply ships shared the town dock with us.
I had booked a drive to Lago Escondido, a sweet water lake
inland and across Garibaldi Pass, along the one and only road connecting
mainland Argentina and continental South America.
 |
| Beech Tree leafs, smaller than our northern version |
 |
| Nordic Skiing and Downhill Skiing are popular winter sports here. Dog Sledding finds ideal conditions, and these pooches are working summer and winter either on wheeled sleds or the real thing, depending on season |
 |
| Mid summer in Ushuaia, which is relatively mild due to the influence of the sea |
 |
| Lupins thrive here, and many local gardens and parks are filled with them. |
The ‘hinterland’ of Ushuaia is a lonely place with hardly
any human habitation. High mountains and glacier covered high plateaus surround
beech covered valleys. Many peat bogs and wet lands form the base of these
valleys. Canadian Beaver, imported many years ago to start a pelt industry,
have bred themselves into pest status, and with their dams have not only killed
many of the trees through flooding, but also have changed the land scape
significantly. Attempts are underway to curtail their spread, and – with luck –
eliminate them altogether.
However, Argentina has imported various species of trout,
and stocked local sweet water lakes with them to encourage sport fishing
(income through licenses) and commercial fishing.
I saw the odd broom plants speckling the land scape with
their distinct yellow blossoms and hope, that this bush does not outgrow local
flora.
Lake Escondido is indeed quite hidden (Escondido). A fish
hatchery and a few fishing cabins lined the shore, and one could marvel at the ‘old’
winding gravel road, which used to be the only overland way across Tierra del
Fuego. The now paved road is kept passable throughout the year, to ensure
uninterrupted supply of food and other necessities for the small town.
 |
| Beaver Dam and dead tree trunks |
 |
| Lake Escondido |
 |
| The Old Gravel Road winding its way across mountain passes and valleys |
 |
| Ushuaia Backyard with Lupins |
Back in town I headed for a ‘mariscos’ (seafood) restaurant,
as there is nothing better than fresh fish from the cold Antarctic waters. I
finished up in Restaurant Villagio. Villagio was the name of Ushuaia’s first
neighbourhood, built in 1948 by Italian immigrants who had arrived on October
28th aboard the steamer Genova.
 |
| Giant Centollas (crab) await their fate in Restaurant Villagio |
 |
| 1948 - Italian Immigrants in Ushuaia, then called Villagio |
 |
| Penguins everywhere....souvenirs of any size, kind, material, and for any pocketbook |
Those Italian men and women worked for the Bolognese
construction firm Carlos Borsari, which had been engaged by the Argentinian
Government to carry out a number of public works in the region, one of which
may have been the maximum security prison – now a museum and art gallery.
Italian influence was deliciously evident in the Spaguetti
con Crema de Cebolla, in plain English: just prepared fresh pasta unlike any
spaghetti I have ever tasted buried in solid chunks of crab, green onions, and
barely seared cherry tomatoes. You know it is good, when one has to search for
the pasta amongst the heaps of solid crab…a culinary delight.
Embarking to head for Antarctica across Drake Passage
tonight….
