


	03/05/2001

	Ushuaia - Tierra del Fuego

	S 54°48 W 68°18

	+ 83

The Car@van is in Ushuaia !

After a seemingly endless wait at Trelew airport, we took off with 8 hours of delay: destination the End of the World !

No more jumbo jets, we're traveling in a small plane of only 50 seats and it seems to have many a problem facing the great southern winds. The ride resembles a helter-skelter and several passengers vomit because of the air pockets. The boys of the Team are looked after by a dazzlingly beautiful air hostess: "Probably the most beautiful Argentine since our arrival here" confess both Theo and Aleko (experts in this domain).

After landing, the captain welcomes us to Ushuaia before telling us the local temperature: +4°C. Even if we're the only ones in shorts and t-shirts, our happiness to be at last here makes us forget the cold.

We spend our first night at Serena's, a warm but very chatty woman from Buenos Aires.

The next day, we start exploring the Tierra del Fuego, the most extreme part of South America. The Team is initially disappointed. We were expecting Ushuaia to be a small village lost in the wilderness but we discover a very efficient town of 50.000 inhabitants. Ushuaia is a melting-pot of explorers, scientists, tourists, artists and locals... all walking down the main avenue of San Martin.

We stuff ourselves with centollas (a local crab) before heading of towards the mountains close to the seaside.

We feel strangely energized. Is this because of the air, people or simply the beauty of the countryside ?

Ushuaia may be described as the end of the world but we feel that this is the beginning of something new !

Click on the second photo to discover this magical place with Ithaca, our latest virtual traveller turned real.

Ushuaia is the most southern town of the World, at 3.000 km from Buenos Aires. It lies surrounded by the Beagle channel, the Martial glacier and the National Park of the Tierra del Fuego. It has everything: mountains, forests, sea... all of which are breathtakingly beautiful.

This mythical place, once homeland of the now inexistent Onas Indians, is the starting point of a large amount of scientific expeditions to Antarctica, only 1000 km away. Ushuaia is not only surrounded by scientific and military bases: 17 species of penguins, birds and a unique marine flora live in harmony.

Walking around downtown Ushuaia, the Team attempts to unveil Ushuaia's true nature. From a handful of pastel colored houses, Ushuaia has become a true modern city - with a pollution rate close to 0% The increasing waves of tourists and governmental grants have provided the town with many a internet cafes, shops (you can find here Chanel n°5 !), more than 30 hotels and factories. Ushuaia maybe at the end of the world, but now it is also at its very center.

Silence, respect and curiosity describe in a nutshell Ushuaia, a simple but modern town that stands alone against the mighty ices of Antarctica. I immediately felt euphoric and revived after several breaths of this pollution free but icy air. So many people flock to this place described as being at the end of the world. We all seem to be drawn here by its inexplicable energy. Everything here seems to be over-exaggerated: mountain tops covered with snow, the mighty sea in turmoil with rocks as sharps as razor blades... and last but not least... far away on the horizon... the looming shapes of the treacherous ice-bergs. Welcome to Ushuaia, land of extremes ! Nicole.

Tierra del Fuego: The famous Magellan is said to be at the origin of such a description. On his arrival (back in 1520), he described the coastline as being sprinkled with fires. In fact, these were lit by the Yamanas Indians, who lived naked. These hearths were tended to on a permanent basis and were necessary to the Indians survival. The first inhabitants arrived on the island - Isla Grande del Fuego- 10.000 years ago and were constituted of various tribes known as the Ohnas, Selknams, Yamanas, Haushs (sea-weed eaters) and Yaghans (water nomads). Darwin too left his print behind: the Beagle channel is named after his boat and the end of the Cordillera Andes is known as the Darwin Cordillera.


Over the last days, the recent server switch-over has caused many a disruption: the Chat has stopped working and the voting page seems to be blocked. This is altogether very frustrating for you all virtual travelers and for us ! We're so sorry ! In the meantime, we'll try to be as faithful as possible to your decisions and have decided to go-ahead in the making of some of the options. Tomorrow, we'll go and trek in the National Park and try to reach the light-house. We've emailed our technicians back in Italy and hope to be on track !


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