Day 13 – Cerro Sombrero to Ushuaia

Reaching Land’s End

Before I recount what we have seen today, I have to tell you that the Internet gods are smiling down on me today: I am sitting in an Irish Pub in Ushuaia, Argentina, connected to a wireless internet connection, drinking a nice Argentine beer, sitting next to my fellow translator and traveling companion Rob Croese, as we both update our blogs. We thought we would duck into this pub to type out our day’s report, and lo and behold I discovered that there was a wireless network, so here we are, at the southern end of the world, literally, yet in terms of communication no more distant from our friends and family than we normally are. I am chatting online with a friend who has been watching my dog while I am gone, as if I were at home in Pittsburgh. Modern technology is truly amazing. Now on to my thoughts on today’s travels:

What a land of contrasts! As we crossed the border into the Argentine side of the island of Tierra del Fuego, the dry, scrub-brush-like vegetation returned, the estancias became more separated and isolated, and the road again became smooth, well-paved, and wide.

There was a palpable change in the air. As flat highway gave way to distant mountains, and ultimately to verdant slopes capped by snow and dark, foreboding rocky outcrops, my anticipation built. As we stopped at the high mountain pass called Paso Garibaldi (“high” in this case was 1800 feet, not much by most people’s standards, but clearly the highest pass on this island), hail pelted our windshield and a frigid wind assailed any exposed skin, though the air temperature was only 38° Fahrenheit.

The winding descent from this pass brought us through more dense evergreen forests, and within 30 miles to the city of Ushuaia, Argentina. Home to 120,000 residents, well, human residents, and many varieties of wildlife, this seaside enclave seems locked in a nearly perpetual freeze. Though these are the waning days of summer, the temperature barely reached 40° F today. The city has its own charm, though one must look for them a bit amidst the glitz of souvenir-laden shops trying to attract every tourist dollar.

The busy waterfront of this bustling city boasts ships of all varieties, from small fishing trawlers, to cruise ships and trans-Atlantic container ships. The diversity of the people here is amazing as well: Germans, French, native Argentines as well as other Latin Americans, British, Scandinavians and many others, most ostensibly passing through and pausing to admire the local natural beauty. Even the snow-dusted peaks can be seen from the main thoroughfare through the commercial district.

Night life in Argentina really is geared toward the late end of the spectrum. Dinner starts at 9 p.m., so when we arrived at a restaurant at our designated meeting time of 8:15, we were the only ones in the establishment. As various dishes were served to our table, the restaurant quickly filled up, and the night was in full swing.

Here is a little tidbit about life in Latin America: Throughout most of the countries here, you see many small roadside shrines. At first I thought these were devoted to saints, but while traveling in Peru several years ago, I learned that these shrines mark the spot where a person died, usually in an automobile accident. When you see a small cluster of shrines all together, it probably means that a bus went over a cliff, or had a particularly sudden accident.

Now that we are in the pub and having a couple of drinks, I think we will return to our hotel just at the entrance of town before long, to rest up for a full day of activities tomorrow.

Ciao,
- Bob

PS: Here's a little funny aside: In talking to people from here, most will ask where I am from. When I say that I am from Pennsylvania, I have had at least 6 or 7 people say, "Oh, Dracula land!" No, that is TRANSylvania. Never before has anyone ever said this to me, but now it has just happened again with the bartender in the "Southernmost Irish Pub in the World," as the menu proudly proclaims.

PPS: Never one to pass up the opportunity to share a few laughs, here is a picture of my friend Rob Croese, while getting hosed down after a particularly muddy section of dirt roads yesterday. Cars, motorcycles and riders were all squeaky clean after this pit stop.