Ushuaia lists one of its main
industries as ‘logistics’. This is because many Antarctic cruises start and end
here, with the consequent demand for supplies. It is an attractive (in a Scandinavian
way) port on the Beagle channel, surrounded by many dramatic peaks. There are glaciers,
as well as snow and ice, on the highest ones.
The geography of this area is complex.
There are many islands as well as fjords, so it is often difficult to work out
what is mainland, what is Tierra del Fuego (Land of fire, so named because the
early European settlers on the mainland saw the fires of the original people
each night. No-one has told TSH and Diva what the original name was) and what
is an island. The Andes run from west to east here, forced out of their normal
north-south alignment by the action of the Scotia tectonic plate.
The excursion used three modes of
transport. The ‘steam train at the end of the world’ is a reconstruction of a
convict train from when the area was a penal colony. Road transport was used to
take guests to the end of the Pan-American highway, which links the whole of
the American continent from Alaska in the north to the Beagle channel in the
south. There have been sightings and uses of this highway throughout the voyage
so far, as it mostly runs near the west coast in South America. TSH and Diva
then boarded a catamaran which cruised the Beagle channel, allowing time to
observe the dramatic scenery, the sealions and the huge colonies of cormorants.
The captain has warned of rough weather
on the way to the Falklands but at the time of writing this has not caused a
problem for TSH and Diva. They are dosed up on Stugeron, wearing their wrist
bands and staying on the more stable lower decks. Favourite breakfast of grilled
peach with honey.
