Our final stop on the boat trip was a quick stop on an island to look at a clearing that would have housed a Yamana hut and a sprint through the snow as it was bloody cold. We then returned to the boat and travelled back to Ushuaia.
We went with Patagonian Adventure Explorer but there are so many companies that are probably equally as good.
Frank and I succumbed to the pull of the touristy boat trip into the Beagle Channel (named after the ship that Darwin was on). We visited the famous lighthouse that could possibly have been the inspiration for Jules Verne’s Lighthouse at the end of the world. Our guide suggested it was more likely to be one the lighthouses further south but who knows.
We then visited the Isla de Lobos (Island of Sealions) that had two types of sea-lions (the single fur and double fur) who could be differentiated by their different noses. They were stinky but languorously reclining in a manner that suggested a renaissance painting.
Next we got close to two different cormorant islands which housed two different species. All I knew is that this was starting to become the bad smell tour.
Our tour operator had an excellent grasp on the English language as well as much knowledge of the area and history. This helped us to enjoy the trip to the full extent.
Ushuaia’s claim to fame is that it is the Fin del Mundo or end of the world. It claims to be the most southern city in the world, although if you look at a map, Puerto Williams (just across the Beagle channel) is actually more south. Apparently that doesn’t count because it is mostly a naval base with hotels and restaurants. Ah, those two neighbours are always squabbling!
In fact, although Puerto Williams is only about 20 kilometres down the channel, there is no ferry linking the two. It has been said that this is conciously done so that Ushuaia doesn’t lose any of the tourism money (not that it doesn’t have enough to go around).
It is a very expensive town and like Pucon and El Calafate, it seems you cannot fully enjoy it without wads of cash.
Surprisingly, I spotted a sign suggesting that the Malvinas (the Falklands to the Poms) were within the Tierra del Fuego jurisdiction. This, combined with the recent ad for the Olympics, suggest there may still be tension as to the ownership of the islands.
It’s so cold in Ushuaia, that there are actually two full sized dogs in this tiny kennel.
We stayed at a place that had three border collies (a mum, a dad and a naughty son) and there we met an American/Australian pair. We went out to dinner with them (it coincided with the 6 year anniversary of Trank or Fril) and probably ear bashed them for hours. It was great.
Ami has a blog in which she follows her New Year’s resolution of trying something new everyday. You can look at it here.
When we reached the border of Chile/Argentina on Tierre del Fuego, we came up against a problem. If you have a Chilean vehicle, your compulsory insurance is only valid inside Chile, so to go anywhere else you have to purchase additional insurance. When you cross the border, the Argentine officials check to make sure you have complied.
We did not have any and where hoping they would sell some nearby. Nope. Luckily for us, Frank used his cute face and the lovely Chilean border officials allowed him to use their internet to purchase insurance, instead of us having to drive back 500 kms to Punta Arenas. Yay.
After crossing, we contined south until we reached Ushuaia. On the way we were stopped by an official who didn’t want to let us through because we didn’t have a 4wd or studded tyres. He made us produce our chains and actually opened the box and pulled them out.
He told us to be very careful as it was very slippery. How novel. Chile didn’t really care about what you had. They put a sign up and if you didn’t use chains, well, then you had an accident.
The roads to Ushuaia were actually quite good and we didn’t use the chains once.
By the time we reached the island, it was getting dark and a fog was decending. It was very flat and treeless so the headlights of cars driving appeared as ships passing in the night.
We stopped at Cerro Sombrero which is a company town half an hour from the ferry landing. We had read that the huge hosteria was quite expensive so we drove the streets until we found a cheaper hostal which again was like staying in someone’s spare room.
Kitchen usage was not included in the price so we went out into the cold in search for some dinner. We came across a government office cafe that was still opened and we asked the owner whether there was somewhere for dinner nearby. He made a phone call and then told us to get into his car. He drove us a couple of blocks and we were greated by the owner of a small empty restaurant.
She told us the set menu would be a little while so we watched the tv (everywhere in Chile has a tv) and suddenly we realised that the room was now full of tired looking men. I think this was maybe part of the deal for working for the company, that you could get a meal if you did not have someone to cook for you.
Our meal came out and was Valdivian soup for entree, Fried meat empanadas for main and coffee flan (which is the typical dessert in fixed menu meals in Chile - sort of like a creme caramel). The only part I didn’t like was the accompanying beverage - a cordial that was very similar to watermelon hubba bubba flavour. Ick.
Although the menu was incredibly light on the vegetable side, it was only $7 each and we were soon snug in bed trying to find something to watch on the twenty channels of cable rubbish.
The next day we drove further south toward the border. Tierra del Fuego is divided in half, and the north belongs to Chile while the South belongs to Argentina. There has been much past bickering about who owns what land in the south, with some decisions being finalised by the English or the Pope.
It is called Land of Fire as Magellan noticed smoke coming from many fires as he passed the land in his ship. Unbeknowst to him, it belonged to one of three original peoples, the Yaghan or Yamana who lived mostly naked and therefore often had fire nearby. They would grease their skin with sealion fat to repel water and had the added bonus of a higher body temperature than the average person (it is thought to be because of the amount of sealion meat ingested.) They even had a way of keeping a fire in their boats so that they would not grow cold while fishing.
When the missionaries came to save these ‘wretched souls’, they were given clothing which became wet quickly and many died from pneumonia. Most of the others perished from white man diseases.
There is still one Yamana woman who is 84 and can speak the original language, although since her sister died, she has no one to speak it with.
We left Punta Arenas and headed north and then east toward the top boat crossing to Tierra del Fuego. The roads were very good as it had been raining and all the snow and ice had melted. There was little to see apart from two shipwrecks opposite a large run down estancia.
