Day 27, Fin del Mundo [World's End]
Ushuaia, Argentina Tierra del Fuego
Another quiet night at sea. This was
good because this turned out to be a fine day and we didn't want to
miss a thing. We had worked our way back down the Strait of Magellan,
turned left, worked down to the Beagle Channel (Darwin, 1835) and
worked our way along the Brazo Noroeste to Ushuaia, Argentina. We are
out of the Fiordos (Fjords) and working through islands now.
The remains of the last glacier are
still here. From our deck we watched as we passed the Glaciers
Espaňa,
Romanche, Alemania, Italia and Holanda. [Not having a
chart or even a good map is very bothersome. It is flying blind.]
On-board guest students/scientists provided a documentary over the PA
system as we progressed down the Channel. Now and then the rain and
clouds would obscure the mountains, glaciers and shoreline but again
that would part and a new vista appear. The ship's bow camera and
stern camera are live on our cabin TV so we have three areas covered.
Popping up topsides now and then would provide a look at what was
passing to starboard. The tables in the upper dining room (buffet)
have been appropriated for the morning by some passengers.
At 1035 we slowed to take aboard a
pilot then proceeded up the very windy channel past the city of
Ushuaia, round the rocky barrier and down to the city pier. Already
at the pier were two “Arctic expedition” cruise ships the Fram
and the Delphin. Two large fish processing boats were tied up
unloading boxes of squid and Hake into freezer containers. This pier
is people friendly so we could walk from the ship down the pier, past
a post office, gift shop, liquor store and right into downtown.
The city claims to be the most
southernmost city in the world. There are two others making the same
claim of being the furthest South, but they are smaller, one of 2,400
population and the others just settlements of less than 100 people.
In the first half of the 20th century this was a penal
colony. I digress.
We backed in and at 1350 tied up so
our cabin faces the city and the mountains. The view we get is cruise
ship next door (but smaller so we look over the top of it), the
Argentine Navy Pier with 2 small ships, part of the city and (best of
all) craggy snow-capped mountains.
Position report at 1350: 54°
48.65'S and 068°
17.79'W. Noon-1350 hrs run 291nm. Total voyage 6,943nm.
At
1400 we reported to our excursion station for the day's shore-side
adventure. (I am pleased to find that the staff is addressing the
issue of rudeness by some passengers who have been pushing into line,
the taking of 2 bus window seats of a couple making other couples
have to sit apart, putting their names on “Reserved for
Handicapped” seats, or removing “reserved for handicapped”
signs altogether and using those seats.) A biting cold wind greeted
us exiting the ship but it was only a short walk to our tour bus. We
had dressed in layers as instructed so were ready for this. A nice
ride out of the city was enhanced by some direct sunlight for a
change. By the time we passed the world's southernmost golf course
the clouds were building again. I was told the weather here changes
every 15 minutes.
We
unloaded (in a civilized manner) at the train station in the valley
and boarded a narrow gauge steam train, aka The Prisoners' Train or
El Tren del Fin del
Mundo (The Train to the End of the World.)
Ready
for this?: The southernmost railway in the world. This railway once
took prisoners from the settlement to the prison. The prison is gone
now but the railway is maintained as a popular tourist attraction.
This took us up the valley and after another short bus ride, to the
southernmost post office in the world. Soggy tourists bought stamps
and postcards and quickly returned to the bus.
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| Southernmost golf course |
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| inside southernmost post office |
 |
| southernmost post office |
 |
| seen on the street |
 |
| Dinner at Andino |
 |
| street scene |
 |
| from our deck |
 |
| pier scene |
 |
| from our deck |
Back
to the ship then a walk into town, up to main street which is lined
with shops and restaurants. Many people are shopping the clothing
stores, souvenir shops, wine shops, outfitters and so on. We made for
a restaurant. At the Andiano we had fresh crab, fried calamari,
trout, lomito (steak) and Beagle Beer.
A
cold walk back to the ship and back aboard by 2030, still in
daylight.
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