The End of the World Train

Today I went into the Tierra del Fuego National Park ,where I rode on the end of the world train
I thought this was a gimmick for tourists ...However ,it has historical significance....as it was used to take.Convicts to a prison in the national park where they endured hard manual.labour and seems also physical abuse. It was active in the early 1900's till 1940
So ,during my Dad's time in Argentina !. In the.station there were lots of artefacts inc a picture from the National Railway Museum in York !!
The.ride was an enjoyable 7mile journey.There.were many dead trees and stumps.The convicts job was to.chop the trees down and the height of the residual stump indicates the time of year,as if.there.was deep snow then the trees would be cut shorter
Next we went to Lake Roca,where the guide provided refreshments
The lake reminded me of Lake loiuse in Canada
Our next stop included seeing the world's most southerly post office ....I'd heard its possible to post a card here that does actually reach home.....but it was Shut !! Gutted !! ..The pier it's on needs repairs ...that haven't been done
We moved on to another point ,where the Beagle channel meets the river that the 1st settlers in.Ushuia used ..Port Arias..before returning to Ushuia

In the afternoon ,I enjoyed a helicopter flight...Have to say its the smallest heli ive been in ....!
I got the front seat again...as in canada and greenland
It was windy ...it was very noticeable in this toy size heli!
The pilot went round the mountains rather than over the tops which was bit disappointing ...but into a huge valley.
He landed the heli and we had a glass of prosecco
At the heliport,there is the 1st plane to fly to Antartica ,at the entrance.
On my return to Ushuia ,i visited the Prison that is now a museum
Each wing has been repurposed...to an art gallery with pictures in each cell,a maritime museum.a renovated block of cells with the prison story and ,one block kept in original condition....This block was grim and v .cold .There was only a corrugated sheet roof .
It was a really interesting place.
One prisoner short with big ears had serious arsonist tendancies from childhood ,but was convicted as unable to testify due to insanity...Hed also stabbed someone through the head.
It was 7p m sh when I returned to the hotel..I got into conversation with a guy from Dorset,who turned out to be a heli pilot for Quark Expeditions ..This was the company I went to Greenland with....The same ship,is due into Ushuai tomorrow...We chatted for about an hour and when it was time to go for dinner ,he ended the conversation ,so we sat separately for dinner,which I was disappointed about
A busy but enjoyable day...Certainly the prison wasnt something I knew about before I came...but glad I found out in time .Læs mere