Early morning found SIRENA cruising west along the Beagle Channel.
If Punta Arenas looked like Iceland (see yesterday's blog), Ushuaia looked like Norway.
Coming into the harbor, we had some puffy clouds surrounded by blue sky. As we got closer to the dock, the sky clouded over with occasional periods of rain. It seemed cruel that our entrance might have been the only opportunity to see the fantastic views. Thankfully, as the morning progressed, with increasing regularity clouds and rain were replaced with blue sky and sun.
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Today's Tour: END OF THE WORLD TRAIN & TIERRA DEL FUEGO NATIONAL PARK
Begin with a scenic drive to Central Station for an unforgettable trip on the Tierra del Fuego Southern Railway, Train to the End of the World. This railway uses the original narrow gauge line that was part of the small train for prisoners that ran until 1947.
Begin with a scenic drive to Central Station for an unforgettable trip on the Tierra del Fuego Southern Railway, Train to the End of the World. This railway uses the original narrow gauge line that was part of the small train for prisoners that ran until 1947.
Upon arrival at the Park Station, board your coach for a drive through Tierra del Fuego National Park to Lapataia Bay, marking the end of the road which is 2,010 miles from Buenos Aires. Here, a catamaran awaits you for your return to the ship via the Beagle Channel. On route, you will see the historic lighthouse, Les Eclaireurs, as well as Seal Island, Isla de los Lobos and Island of the Birds, whose names clearly express the rich wildlife you can view from the deck on your journey back to the ship.
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We
boarded a bus for the trip to the train station. Along the way we passed the Ushuaia Golf Club - the southernmost (9 hole) golf course in the world.
At the Southern Fuegian Railway station, we boarded the Ferrocarril Austral Fueguino (FCAF) or the Train of the End of the World. Each compartment on
the train held six people. It was cozy. This was due to the narrow gauge track.
Our
train was pulled by a steam locomotive purpose-built in Buenos Aires.
Rather than wood or coal, gasoline was used to create the steam.
Ushuaia was a penal colony. Conditions were so harsh that as a sentence, it ranked one step
below the death penalty. Every day the prisoners rode the train to the
forest where they cut trees into logs, riding atop those logs on the trip back
to the town at the end of the day. The work went on year-round.
Prisoners cut down trees at 'ground level' which varied depending on the
presence and depth of the snow.
Although the prison was closed in 1962, the tree stumps were still visible and intact due to the climate. The height of a stump indicated the time of year the tree was cut down.
Although the prison was closed in 1962, the tree stumps were still visible and intact due to the climate. The height of a stump indicated the time of year the tree was cut down.
The
cutting was indiscriminate in a place on earth where tree growth is so slow that it takes
over 80 years for one to achieve maturity. One large clear-cut area is
called the "tree cemetery", the stumps serving as headstones.
After
a ride of 7 kilometers, traveled at a sedate pace and with a stop along the
way, we came to the end of the line. Our bus was waiting. We road
along National Route 3 to its end and with it the southern end of the Pan-American Highway.
At the mouth of Ushuaia harbor, the skipper brought our boat close to a small rocky island so that we could all admire the colony of cormorants. While looking almost like penguins and hence more attractive than the variety that make such a mess of boats in Marion, my admiration was minimal.
We cruised a short distance further east along the Beagle Channel to the lighthouse - Les Eclaireurs - at the mouth of Ushuaia's harbor. The locals inaccurately call it "Faro del fin del mundo" (Lighthouse at the end of the world). As one of our guides said, "Everything around here is called 'the end of the world' because we Argentinians have an ego and these things are the furthest south in our country." It is accurately the furthest south on the mainland, but there is a lighthouse further east that is on an Argentine island off the tip of the continent.
NOTE: There is a rivalry among three communities about which is the furthest south. Punta Arenas in Chile claims the title with the qualifier of biggest city, having a population of well over 100,000. Ushuaia's qualifier is that it is the most southern city. Puerto Williams, with a population of less than 3,000, claims it by latitude. For some nebulous reason, I champion Ushuaia's claim.
After viewing the lighthouse, we circled an island littered with sea lions.
We tied up in front of a Russian icebreaker that was about to depart for the Antarctic with an unusual passenger manifest; runners going there to compete in a marathon as part of a quest to participate in one on all seven continents.
Without returning to our ship, Pam & I headed in town to look around.
Ushuaia being on a mountainside, it was no surprise that from the shoreline all roads inland rose at a steep angle. All the major roads we saw ran parallel to the shoreline.
We walked along the city's main street - San Martin.
In yet another "the southernmost...", we came to a Hard Rock Cafe.
I wanted a hat from there, but they had none in stock.
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| Monument to indigenous people of the region. |
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