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May 25, 2005

To the end of the earth

First of all, two quick things: If you like you can check out my super-geeky entry on the Buenos Aires subway system here along with pictures that will probably take forever to load here and here

Also, now you check in advance what circle of Dante's Inferno you're going to in advance! I personally am going to be subject to the screaming city of Dis on the 6th level of hell when I go.

How far did I go to Escape from New York (as this whole thing is called after all)? Literally to the end of the earth. Well, at least that´s what they bill Tierra del Fuego as. The main city there - Ushuaia - is very big on being the ¨Southernmost city in the world.¨ Never mind that this isn´t really true - there´s a Chilean naval settlement called Puerto Williams a bit further south, which I guess isn´t technically a ¨city.¨ It´s billed as ¨the southernmost place with a permanent population.¨ Even that´s debatable, as there´s a couple estaciones (ranches) a bit further south on the Argentine side that I think have someone living there year-round. You can pay $100 (US) for a boat down to Puerto Williams, but the cost and the time definitely wasn´t worth the bragging rights for me. I was content to do some hiking in the waterfront park - which is utterly gorgeous - and to take a little Boat Tour to see the Sea Lions - unfortunately it´s off-season for the penguinos and other assorted wildlife. On the way back from the boat I ran into the place where you can leave for Antarctica.

Ushuaia is so invested in its ¨Southernmost City¨ billing you can even go to the tourist office and get a (very touristy - I mean, it´s in English) stamp in your passport that says you´ve been there. I did it, but later learned a better plan. At the airport, after you pay departure tax they stamp your ticket with a much more official looking Ushuaia stamp - you could probably get them to do your passport also. It´s also says ¨Malvinas Argentinas.¨ If you´re not familiar with this issue, here is a quick history of the Falkland Islands - as the Malvinas are known in England - war.

They´re very big on ¨Malvinas son Argentinas¨ down in Patagonia.
How big? When we were in El Calafate - a town in the Southern Patagonian province of Santa Cruz - a few days before, a random guy came up to us and had me raise the Argentinian flag while he and some other folks sang the national anthem - he explained that foreigners can raise the flag at noon, but can´t lower it (it´s lowered at 6:00). This guy was not only wearing a huge Malvinas Argentinas shirt, he then showed up pictures of when he went to London to speak about it in (I think) Trafalger square - on stilts, so his feet wouldn´t touch British soil.

El Calafate itself isn´t that much - it basically resembles a little tourist town in the Rockies. It´s best know for being the jumping off point for the Perito Moreno glacier which is one of only two advancing glaciers in the world. This means - despite all that global warming stuff - the thing is actually getting bigger instead melting. This leads to huge chunks of ice falling off of it and into the water every few minutes. Even what appears to be a small chunk from far away makes a heck of a noise.

One final observation - even at the end of the earth they seem to be against the war in Iraq.

Posted by Moses on May 25, 2005 01:22 PM
Category: Argentina
Comments

Hi Mose- Great pictures. I am so jealous. When Ruthy and I were in SA we could not get into the port at Ushaia so we missed the wild life. If you want to see wildlife close up the Galapagos is the place. Where are you going next?

Posted by: Ethel Seid on May 29, 2005 12:00 PM

The waterfront photo is unbelievably gorgeous!

Posted by: Judy on June 1, 2005 06:40 PM
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