The end of the earth....
Town Motto:
"Ushuaia, fin del mundo, principio de todo"
"Ushuaia, end of the world, beginning of everything"
There is a real sense that this is a frontier town. The houses are mainly constructed from fairly basic materials with 'tin' roofs but, occasionally, a beautifully constructed home sprouts up in an otherwise unremarkable street.
You get the sense that life might be hard here but successful businesses abound. The government's tax breaks help keep businesses working and wages relatively high, attracting workers.
Not sure about social life down here but young guys in old cars with lowered front suspension cruise through the centre of town in the early evening with the shades on, music blaring through open windows.
Fascinating Place.
On the Falklands (Islas Malvinas) issue (port entrance notice) :
Official sign outside the port:
Murals celerbrating the indigenous people who inhabited southern Patagonia prior to European intervention:
The tourist economy... Cruise ships feed the expensive shops in the main street.
We sailed the Beagle Channel (which links the Pacific and Atlantic oceans) on a trip of 140km, seeing seals, seabirds and penguins.
While on this trip we stop to photograph penguins - but look what we find: they look like King Penguins to me:
A reminder that the channel presents some hazards for shipping:
More info: Wikipedia Link
Off to sample more local cuisine... then off to Buenos Aires tomorrow, so the trip takes on a very different feel from now on.
Town Motto:
"Ushuaia, fin del mundo, principio de todo"
"Ushuaia, end of the world, beginning of everything"
There is a real sense that this is a frontier town. The houses are mainly constructed from fairly basic materials with 'tin' roofs but, occasionally, a beautifully constructed home sprouts up in an otherwise unremarkable street.
You get the sense that life might be hard here but successful businesses abound. The government's tax breaks help keep businesses working and wages relatively high, attracting workers.
Not sure about social life down here but young guys in old cars with lowered front suspension cruise through the centre of town in the early evening with the shades on, music blaring through open windows.
Fascinating Place.
On the Falklands (Islas Malvinas) issue (port entrance notice) :
Official sign outside the port:
Have to say, we've found the locals helpful and cheerful though our limited contacts.... apart from the truly awful service in the hotel bar and restaurant, that is.... and other groups seem to get OK service... maybe we're all getting paranoid. Great receptionists though.
The main street, San Martin
Murals celerbrating the indigenous people who inhabited southern Patagonia prior to European intervention:
The local college...
The tourist economy... Cruise ships feed the expensive shops in the main street.
The railway originally laid to transport materials to build the prison as part of the penal colony is now used for tourism access into the National Park. Beautifully restored steam engines operate the line.
We sailed the Beagle Channel (which links the Pacific and Atlantic oceans) on a trip of 140km, seeing seals, seabirds and penguins.
While on this trip we stop to photograph penguins - but look what we find: they look like King Penguins to me:
A reminder that the channel presents some hazards for shipping:
More info: Wikipedia Link
Off to sample more local cuisine... then off to Buenos Aires tomorrow, so the trip takes on a very different feel from now on.
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