Antarctica – The Last Frontier Part 5

During this part of our Antarctic journey with Peter and Alice we visit Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. Located in a wide bay on the southern coast of the island of Tierra del Fuego, the city is bounded on the north by the Martial mountain range and on the south by the Beagle Channel.

Ushuaia (Isla Grande - Tierra del Fuego), Argentina

Pronunced - ooo-shoo-AYE-ah, the capital city's name comes from the Yahgan Indians (canoe people) meaning “a bay of penetration westward”. Tierra Del Fuego is an island meaning Land of Fire. The Andes Mountains run north – south while the city runs east-west. Chile is Ushuaia’s neighbor on the other side of the Andes Mountains. Ushuaia has the distinction of being called “Fin del Mundo” (end of the world), since this is where the Pan American highway route that begins in Alaska ends.

We took a scenic mountain bus tour of the Olivia River Valley through Carbajal Valley and climbed the Alvear Range to Garibaldi Pass. At this point we had a beautiful view of Hidden Valley Lake.

Our tour guide was ecstatic about the weather we were having during our visit. She kept on apologizing for commenting so often that it is such a beautiful sunny day with ideal temperature. The scenery was breathtaking with snow capped mountains surrounding us everywhere.

That evening when we sailed away from Ushuaia, the Beagle Channel was as smooth as glass with no wind and only soft ripples in the water. The stillness was similar to an experience we had looking over the Grand Canyon. In the background were smoky glistening mountains. As we were sitting in the Crown Grill Steakhouse having dinner, we slowly passed by huge waterfalls cascading down the huge glaciers. The views were spectacular!

Punta Arenas (Sandy Point), Chile

The city of Punta Arenas lies atop rolling hills, overlooking the Strait of Magellan. Today it remains a prosperous town due to the richness of natural resources. It is also the gateway to Chilean Patagonia with its maze of fjords, and rivers and mountains to the north. To the south lies the great frozen mass of Antarctica.

We took a city highlight tour which included a visit to the open air exhibition at the Patagonia Museum. This certainly was a different type of museum. There was very old farm equipment staged all around in an open area. In one of buildings you saw the equipment and setup used to shear sheep. Wool was really big back then, but now New Zealand and Australia dominate the wool market. Another building housed a few antique cars (Fords) including the containers of gasoline used to fuel the cars. Yet another building housed a very old dentist's office complete with his chair and equipment. Chile produces oil but does not have sufficient oil or refining capacity to make them exempt from importing additional oil. Another building was comprised of rooms seen in a typical house. The ceilings were not that high and the furniture used during that period was not elaborate nor were there many pieces. The biggest stand alone building had numerous rooms where you could look at a typical theater with movie equipment and theater seats. One room was a fully equipped dental office. The pharmacy had cabinets to the ceiling filled with the various potions of the day.

Our next stop was at the Maggiorino Borgatello Museum housed in a 19th century mansion. There is a lot of natural history to absorb. We can say that we have come away from this cruise with a better appreciation of nature with all of its differences.

We stopped at the Pioneer Cemetery with its many beautifully manicured cypress trees. Near the entrance was a mausoleum for the Grimaldi family. Prince Albert of Monaco stopped here to pay his respects to his family before he started his Antarctica expedition. Who knew this family of Monaco had roots in Chile? This cemetery is certainly different than Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aries where Evita Peron is buried. The Pioneer cemetery is segregated by nationality. Both cemeteries have mausoleums with magnificent architecture.

Instead of returning directly to the ship we had the bus driver drop us off in the center of town, since it was just a short walk back to the ship. We walked through the craft fair in the park. Many tourists were gathered around the Magellan Statue with the unknown Indian. The toe of the Indian is very shiny, since many people kiss his toe. The theory is that if you kiss the toe you will have a safe passage on your next sea journey. Imagine all of those germs?

Next: Montevideo, Uruguay