Ushuaia: The end of the world

After a 4 1/2-hour flight from Argentina’s capital of Buenos Aires, my plane headed for its approach into Ushuaia, the largest southernmost city in South America. Out the window, we could see the azure water of the Beagle Channel on the left and the snow-blanketed Andes Mountains on the right.

The port of Ushuaia extended to the Andes foothills. For the past century, Ushuaia has been the last destination before reaching Antarctica.

The plane tried twice to land from east to west; when it failed both times, the pilot headed for Rio Gallegos, about 200 miles away. When we landed, he apologized and told us we would have to travel to Ushuaia by bus.

When Neyton Baltodano, a doctor in Clermont, visited Ushuaia, Argentina,
he captured the city’s spectacular view of the Andes on camera. Mount Olivia,
the scalloped peak on the left, is covered with snow most of the year, as are the
Cinco Hermanos — the Five Brothers — rising off to the right. A few miles away is
Cerro Castor Ski Resort. Also close to Ushuaia is Tierra Del Fuego National Park.
The scarcity of tourists when he visited made the beauty of the wilderness even
more impressive. (COURTESY OF NEYTON BALTODANO)

After three more hours of travel, we reached Ushuaia by nightfall. On the bus ride, I had good conversations with locals, who gave me excellent information on the main places to visit. The restaurant I tried that night served excellent fish and local centolla king crab.

Early the next morning, the snow was falling. I visited some skiing areas and took boat trips to many colonies of Macaroni penguins, steamer ducks and South American sea lions.

Ushuaia has more than 40,000 residents. At many of the restaurants, the most popular dish is the traditional grilled lamb accompanied by locally brewed beer. The most impressive restaurant was Chez Manu, in the hills surrounding the city, which served a variety of entrees and local mushrooms. The restaurant has a marvelous view of Beagle Channel, named after Charles Darwin’s ship of exploration. The city has historic places such as the old jailhouse and the old train used by the prisoner to gather wood.

Ushuaia now has lost its previous designation as South America’s southernmost city, since Chile has built a new city, Puerto Williams, across the channel on Navarino Island. Puerto Williams has 3,000 residents and is slowly becoming another tourism center because of the many South American cruises around Cape Horn.

Nevertheless, for me, the visit in Ushuaia was truly a trip to the end of the world.
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SOURCE:
“Being there: Argentina — Ushuaia: The end of the world”
Mar 19, 2010
Orlando Sentinel
By Neyton Baltodano
http://www.orlandosentinel.com
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/os-being-there-argentina-032110-20100321,0,3076559.story