Cold Day Exploring Ushuaia

With our flight to Buenos Aires scheduled for 6:15p, we had plenty of time to kill in Ushuaia.

Our original plan was to throw our luggage in a rental car and drive out to Tierra del Fuego National Park to do some hiking. However, checking the forecast a few days ago, the weather looked less than ideal for spending time outdoors. So, we canceled the rental and came up with a new plan that involved visiting the old Presidio; sipping hot beverages at a café; sating our tummies at a nice restaurant; and treating ourselves to ice cream at Almendra.

The new plan required that we find luggage storage somewhere in town … a problem that was resolved when EL Sara announced that we could leave our bags at the Oceanwide-contracted storage location until 2:00p.

It turned out to be a typical Ushuaia-weather-day … with everything from sleet to rain, to overcast skies; to the sun peeking out at times. Rinse and repeat. And strong, cold wind gusts as we walked down the pier after disembarking Ortelius.

Once off the pier, the wind wasn’t too bad, so we followed the waterfront to take photos of Ortelius and today’s batch of expedition vessels that would be heading south before the end of the day. Along the way, gulls and southern lapwings provided entertainment.

Leaving the waterfront, we walked up to the Presidio next. I had a hunch that we were probably going to be too early. But what the heck! A little uphill walking never hurt anyone. I was right. The doors would be opening at 10:00a. That was 45 minutes away.

To kill time, we walked over to Avenida San Martín in search of hot beverages. We found what we were looking for at Ana y Juana. The place turned out to be a good choice and we whiled away more time than we intended as I took advantage of the good wi-fi to upload all of my draft FP footprints.

By the time we returned to the Presidio — officially the Cárcel del Fin del Mundo (the End of the World Prison) — it was getting on towards 11:00a. We purchased our admission and went in for a whirlwind look-see.

The prison dates back to when Ushuaia was a penal colony. Operating between 1902 to 1947, it consisted of five wings radiating from a central hall … with 386 cells housing roughly 600 inmates at its peak. Today, it houses a collection of museums under the auspices of Museo Marítimo y del Presidio de Ushuaia. As such, it is one of the a major tourist draws for anyone who spends any appreciable time in the city.

We started out by checking out the artifacts scattered around the courtyards … such as an engine and train car from back in the day when they were used to transport prisoners to Tierra del Fuego to chop down trees; and a replica of an old lighthouse that was built in 1884 … operated through 1992.

Inside, skipping the Maritime Museum, which we explored in-depth in 2007, we wandered through the Prison Museum … some of the wings restored; others still pending renovation. The Antarctica Museum was seemingly missing a number of the exhibits we saw in 2007. The Art Museum had several new exhibits, and some of the prison cells were painted with murals depicting historic scenes from the early days of the penal colony. Unfortunately, the Art Gallery was closed until 3:00p, so we did not get to see that part of the museum.

We left the museum around noon for our 12:30p lunch reservation at Maria Lola at 12:30p. We arrived 15 minutes ahead of schedule, so we waited a bit, wandering the grounds and taking photos of the view of the city while we waited for the restaurant to open.

By 12:35p, there was still no sign of activity … nor a sign to explain why the restaurant wasn’t opening. Bearing in mind the luggage pick up deadline of 2:00p, we gave up on Maria Lola. Doña Lupita, the empanada place where we had lunch pre-expedition, was not far. So, we headed there instead. Soon enough, we were ordering our empanadas … fried please … though my choclo [corn] empanada was baked. Good, simple food.

Next up … sweet treats at Almendra, the ice cream shop … and then a quick stop at La Anonima for a couple of bottles of water. It was now 1:30p … time to head to the storage place and collect our luggage.Leggi altro