Ushuaia 30th January 2010

I woke up early and went on deck. It was misty and rainy but you could see the mountain peaks, snow-capped in the distance as well as the lights of Ushuaia. We approached the port slowly and berthed at the pier, the other side of which was occupied by a Maersk ship, the Maersk Funchal, loading what seemed to be empty containers.

We made an early start on our day's excursion and boarded buses which took us a few miles thought the countryside to the 'Train at the end of the World' This train, which was built in the early 1900's was originally used to service a high security prison which was established in Ushuaia in temporary buildings in 1896 with the permanent buildings being commissioned in 1920 after a building period of 18 years. The train commenced service in 1910 and the line was extended gradually until 1920. The establishment of the prison was mainly to give the area some purpose and upon the base of the prison. It was modeled on other 'escape proof prisons such as Devil's Island and Alcatraz. Ushuaia grew to a large town as it is today. The prison was in the town and the rail line was used to take the prisoners to the forests where they cut down wood for building and heating. The cruelty and rigors of being incarcerated in this part of the world and made to work under these circumstances are difficult to imagine. The prison was closed in 1947 but the rail line was preserved and re-opened as a tourist attraction in the 1990'sWe reached the station and boarded the small train (only 60 cm gauge track but pulled by a small steam engine. It was raining lightly but the scenery which is through what is now a National Park (established at least partly so as not to allow neighboring Chile to move the border between Chile and Argentina!!) was wonderful although there is ample evidence of the depredations of the prisoners with large areas of tree stumps. We crossed and re-crossed the Pipo River which is named after a convict who tried to escape from this (at the time) desolate place but whose frozen body was found later in the Beagle Channel after it was washed down the river that now bears his name. After a stop at a halfway station to see some waterfalls and get a better view of the landscape we continued on to the end of the line. Here we re-boarded the buses for a drive through the National Park. Our guide, Victoria, was extremely knowledgeable and interesting pointing out many things on the way such as:

• Beavers were introduced from Canada into the area for the fur they produce to make clothing. Unfortunately, the beavers developed hard and short fur to cope with the conditions and this was of no use for clothing so the beavers simply multiplied in the predator free environment and have caused much damage by making dams which then flood the land and kill the trees. A program to try to cull the beavers is under way.
  
• Rabbits were also introduced into the area and bred like, well…….rabbits and gave also caused many problems and are also being culled by the introduction of the grey fox which is more of a predator than the native red fox and also by chemical means. The eradication progress can hardly be described as a success as we saw many of the little devils who romped very close to the paths and roads.
  
• Various fungi and 'false mistletoe' on the trees which either lived happily with its host or not.
  
• Upland geese with young as well as steamer ducks and other bird life.
  
• She also handed around a stuffed beaver's head which was a bit gruesome!!
  

Eventually we disembarked the bus and boarded a catamaran which took us out into the Beagle Channel. We had a lunch on board and then we ventured out in the channel. We wet along the coast and close by an island colony of king cormorants, another island with a colony of sea lions and then on to the 'Lighthouse at the end of the World' (this is what the Argentines call it as Cape Horn is in Chilean territory). The trip was in great weather and was a wonderful experience with the backdrop of the Andes Mountains.

When we arrived back at the ship a new vessel was also docked at the pier, one of Swan Hellenic's ships, the 'Minerva' which goes to the Antarctic. It had had an engine failure somewhere down south and had to proceed back here at severely reduced speed. The passengers all missed their flights home and were, I assume, less than pleased.

Everyone agreed that this was a really great day out. We disembarked the catamaran and went into town for a shopping expedition. Most of the souvenirs were of penguins and other miscellanea but not of great attractiveness. However, I bought a bottle of the local 'champagne' from the end of the world!! We also bought some local cheese, crackers and sausage so that we could have a small cocktail party before dinner which we will have in Joan and Bill's stateroom as it is rather larger than mine.

We did inquire again about a trip by helicopter to Cape Horn but this is not possible. I wish now that I had tried to do this from Punta Arenas. Cape Horn is Chilean territory and the Chileans and Argentineans are not the very best of friends. You CAN go to Cape Horn from Ushuaia but first they have to go to Chile to get a Chilean Air Force officer to accompany you. The lady in Ushuaia said that the two governments don't hate one another but they don't want to make life easy for each other either!!

Ushuaia is a medium sized but smart and thriving town which compares favorably with Punta Arenas its Argentine neighbor.

I do have some good photos of the trip and I know that my traveling colleagues do too and I hope we will be able to exchange them at the end. Then, when I get home with a decent internet connection, I will load a lot of them onto the blog.

At 6 p.m. this evening we leave for Port Stanley, Falklands Islands, (which the locals and all maps here in Argentina staunchly refer to as the Malvinas). All the maps have the Falklands, South Sandwich Islands and South Georgia claimed by Argentina. I suppose there can be no further negotiation until Lady Thatcher passes on, if even then. Still borders down here are jealously kept (see above regarding the National Park), and I suppose the richness of the fishing and the potential for oil and gas are as much to blame for this as anything.