We docked at Ushuaia, the southern most city in the world or "El Fin Del Mundo" the end of the world, population 50,000+. This port is on the famed Beagle Channel where Magellan first cruised through in search of an easier route to the Spice Islands of Asia around 1550. It is also the jumping off point for the Antarctica (just in case anyone is eager to grab a seat sale and explore).
The snow in the back of the picture is the Martial range, first cousin to the Andes (please don't get me started).
Ushuaia is known for being windy, cold, and desolate. There is a small village further south across from this city called Puerto William where about 2,500 people live. But Ushuaia is getting all the 'end of the world' tourist traffic (there were at least 4 of us here today)!
Some history- Ushuaia was started by British missionaries, then as a prison for really, really bad guys by the Argentine government and this was about all it had at the turn of the century. The city itself was built up around it. The prison was closed in 1947 and is now a tourist site.
The Tierra Del Fuego National Park, just above the town (and a bit smaller than our Algonquin Park) has trees and greenery not found anywhere else in the world. With Ushuaia being the last habitat before crossing down to the Antartica, you can appreciate that this place is very, very cold.
I'm so excited about this stop I have to go back to the boat and rest.
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