I arrived two days before the Explorer’s scheduled departure from Ushuaia. Located on the Beagle Channel and billed as the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia, Argentina, 2,000 miles south of Buenos Aires, is the capital of Tierra del Fuego.
Ushuaia was originally established as a penal colony by Argentina modeled after the British and French examples of Australia and Devil’s Island. In 1882 the president was fearful that neighboring Chile would contest sovereignty of Tierra del Fuego so ordered the establishment of a penal colony. From 1902 to 1947 the Bahia Golondrina (now a museum) held the most hardened criminals in South America.
On the first day in Ushuaia I toured the downtown first taking in the End of the World Museum. The display that caught my attention was of the indigenous people of Tierra del Fuego. After viewing the images of the indigenous people I began to understand the origin of the name, Land of Fire. Ferdinand Magellan named the place for all the fires he saw from his ship, thinking they were the Indians waiting to ambush him.
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October 17th, 2008
1 Comment at "Ushuaia"
150,000 beavers, and no Yahgan left! What does that tell us? Beavers have more sense than people? Could be; at least the beavers have the sense to wear fur.
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