U is for Ushuaia, Argentina

The city at the end of the world

Although Ushuaia sounds like a sneeze, its name actually means simply 'bay penetrating west'. A glance at a map shows the Beagle Channel doing just that, with the deep water port of Ushuaia, founded in 1884, cosily situated at the far end of a narrow tongue of water flanked by Argentinean land on one side and Chile on the other.

Tourism has sparked new life into the place. At the port at the bottom of the hill, cruise ships berth, and others depart for Antarctica. Penguins abound in the shops. Not the real ones of course, but sculpted and painted ones, drawn on mugs, laminated onto key rings, or embroidered on thick sweaters. There are mate mugs from which you can sip the astringent tea that Argentineans love, and jewellery fashioned from the local pink rhodocrosite rock.

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Tierra del Fuego. The name translates as 'land of fire', and certainly the snowy, conical peaks we can see across the border in Chile, across Lake Fagnano, look volcanic, but there were no volcanoes. Guides in the area say, "It was the smoke, from the fires of the Yemana people. Everywhere, there were fires. That's what the explorers saw."

Ushuaia_09 For those who wish to see more, and do more, tours offers 4WD treks into the hinterland and many other options. There is skiing and snow sports in winter, fishing, cycling, hiking, kayaking and sailing, even bird watching, or sled rides pulled by huskies, bred specifically for the purpose.

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The world's southernmost city has the look of a frontier town. The architecture is eclectic, with buildings in progress, some half finished, and many roads potholed, obviously damaged by the severe weather. The warmer season, roughly from November to March, seems hardly long enough to catch up on all the jobs that accumulate during those colder months when, in the depth of winter, there are only seven hours of daylight each day. Read more...

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