Monday the 31th of March 2003- Day 41- Contd.
As mentioned in the last post, my flight was at 9.10am. I got to the airport around 8.00am. First impressions’ normal sea port down but great mountain background. No fishing done here. Tourism is the key to the towns success’ the town at the end of the World. It is the start of Autumn here and the snow will stay here from May until September. They are then captives.
Ushuaia, capital of Tierra del Fuego Province, Antarctica and South Atlantic islands in Argentina, it is located on shore of Beagle Channel and surrounded by Martial Mountain. City shows in its urban plan and in its architectural designs a strong connection with its past. The environs landscape is very attractive, where we can find sea, forests, glaciers and mountains; offering a singular landscape in Argentina. As it is the southern city in the world it has an average temperature during the year of 5,4C (41.7 F) which fluctuate from 29 C (84.2 F) maximum to -21C (-6 F) minimum. Lowest temperatures are registered by the end of July and beginning of August
The sky is great, crystal blue. I spent a few hours walking around, but is it easy as it is such a small town full of tourist orientated shops and restaurants. I spent the afternoon at the prison museum (built in 1902) … tourist rate is 13 P. You could easily spend 3 to 4 hours here. There are exhibitions on the Falklands (maldivas) War (because they are part of this region), Prison life, famous prisoners (some from Ireland) and the Antarctic. After the museum, I went to the supermarket and ate at the hostel. About a dozen of us in the hostel watched Moulin Rouge in English on the TV between 7.00pm and 9.00pm. Ok film. I have it on DVD from last year. I went to bed early. As it is low season, there are only 3 or 4 people in each of the 8 bedroom dorms. The email address for the hostel is xdelsur@yahoo.com and web is here.
Ushuaia (31-03-2003) ‘ Ushuaia Map´
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Ushuaia Jail – Ushuaia – Argentina
Taken on the 31st of March 2003
A 16 year old jail bird who killed 8 small kids (18 months to 2 years) in the early 20 century. They thought his big ears were to blame so they cut them off. Reportly, they grew back.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
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Ushuaia Jail – Ushuaia – Argentina
Taken on the 31st of March 2003
Ushuaia Jail interior. There are five of these corridors. The jail could hold up to 300, but more than 600 were imprisoned there at times.The idea was to colonise the area with convicts, as when they were released the convicts were meant to spend an equal amount of time in the town They also build the town, the roads, bridges and created the electrical, phone, fire stations etc.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
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Ushuaia Jail – Ushuaia – Argentina
Taken on the 31st of March 2003
The city was originally named by early British colonists after the name that the native Yamana people had for the area. For most of the first half of the 20th century the city was centered around a prison for serious criminals. The Argentinean government set up this prison following the example of the British in Australia: being an island, escape from a prison on Tierra del Fuego would have been impossible. The prisoners thus became forced colonists and spent much of their time cutting wood in the lands around the prison and building the town.
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Tuesday the 1st of April 2003 – Day 42
Got up at 9.30am. It was cold. Had already decided to do nothing today. Spent an hour watching BBC World News. Spent 2 hours on the web downloading photo’s etc and spent the walking around. I actually visited a video arcade and became a member. They give you a credit card that you can charge up and play pool, bowling games etc. The average price for the games was .32P. Went to Rumbo Sur (san Martin 342) to book a tour. Booked a multi activity walking, mountain biking and canoeing tour. Expensive at 120P. (36 EURO) but as time is constraining, would take me three days to cover similar ground.
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Ushuaia – Argentina
Taken on the 1st of April 2003
Ushuaia Political Office. Bought and read the Buenos Aires Herald which had alot of information of the presential elections on April 27th, where Menem is a front runner. Former President Menem was released from house arrest last year after the Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors had failed to prove that he and his former brother-in-law were involved in a conspiracy to smuggle arms to Croatia and Ecuador between 1991 and 1995. See the following article on Menem. The picture is a political office for his campaign in Ushuaia….
Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Tierra del Fuego (Spanish: land of fire) is an archipelago at the southernmost tip of South America. In 1881 it was divided between Argentina and Chile. The archipelago consists of a main island (Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, often called Tierra del Fuego as well), and a group of smaller islands. It is separated from the continent by the Strait of Magellan. The southern point of the archipelago, in Chile, forms Cape Horn.
The main industries are oil, natural gas, sheep farming and ecotourism. The largest island is Tierra del Fuego, or Isla Grande, with an area of 48,100 km². Half of this island, and the islands west and south of it, are part of the Magallanes Region of Chile, the capital and chief town of which is Punta Arenas, situated on the mainland across the strait. The biggest Chilean towns are Porvenir, on the main island, and Puerto Williams, on Navarino Island. Puerto Williams is the most southerly town on the planet, unless you count Antarctic stations.
The eastern part of the archipelago belongs to Argentina, forming the federal district of Tierra del Fuego; its capital, Ushuaia, is Argentina’s most southerly city, the other important town being Rio Grande, near the Atlantic coast.
Its name comes from the many fires (fuego in Spanish) of the Amerindians, which were visible from the sea. It was named by Ferdinand Magellan, who was the first European to pass it in 1520.
Four native Fuegians, including “Jemmy Button” (Orundellico), were brought from Tierra del Fuego by Robert Fitzroy on the first voyage of the Beagle in 1830. They were taken to meet the King and Queen in London and were to an extent celebrities. The surviving three returned to Tierra del Fuego with the Beagle with Charles Darwin, who made extensive notes about his visit to the islands.