Argentina: The End of the World

We didn't get enough of Patagonia on our last trip, so we headed back, this time to the southernmost city in the world (also known as "The End of the World" as a catchy marketing scheme to attract tourists): Ushuaia.

Situated just 1000 kilometers from Antarctica, this is the port from which ships heading to Antarctica most often depart. It is also a popular stop for cruise ships traveling around South America. It was visited by Charles Darwin himself back in the day, and the body of water on the city's southern limit was named the "Beagle Channel" after the ship he traveled on: the HMS Beagle.

The Andes mountain range borders the city in all directions before sinking below the sea where it continues into Antarctica. These mountains are home to all sorts of winter activities, including cross-country and downhill skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, dogsledding, and ice skating. We took a go at cross-country skiing at the base of Cerro Castor.

Speaking of Castor, the Spanish word for "beaver," we learned that once upon a time 50 beavers were brought to Ushuaia to "see how they would fare," and there are now over 100,000 in the area. They have no natural predators and are now doing nothing but ruining native forests. We didn't see any while we were there (they are nocturnal, after all), but we did see foxes, many species of birds, and sea lions. Penguins can be seen on a nearby island mainly in the summer months when they are nesting. They are harder to find during the winter, we were told.

During this time of year, the sun rises around 10 a.m. and sets just after 5 p.m. We enjoyed watching the sunrise during our breakfast hour between 9-10. The name "Ushuaia" means "bay that penetrates the sunset" in the Yamana language. During the longest days of summer, there are days when the sun never completely vanishes from the horizon.

Nomadic Yamana and Ona indigenous people, European explorers, Anglican and Salesian missionaries, and Argentina's worst criminals have all played a part in Ushuaia's history. The Argentinian version of Alcatraz was established there in the early 1900s and led to the creation of the "Train of the End of the World" which the prisoners would use to go from the prison to the forest where they would chop wood to bring back to heat the prison. A simulation of this train is now a big tourist attraction in the Tierra del Fuego National Park. 

Click here to see our full collection of photos from our trip to the End of the World.