Tierra del Fuego

Today was our fourth time in Ushuaia, the city that bills itself as the southernmost city in the world due to its location below 54° South. When we first visited in 2006, it had the tagline “End of the World … Beginning of Everything.” This was once painted on a wall overlooking the bay … now that same wall proclaims Ushuaia as the capital of Islas Malvinas … aka the Falkland Islands.

(Puerto Williams, Chile — closer to 55° South — also claims to be the southernmost city. But it’s population is too small to officially be categorized as a city. At least that’s the Ushuaians’ story and they are sticking to it.)

Two of our visits here were multi-day stays that preceded expedition voyages to Antarctica, and two of them were single-day ports of call. Each time, we found new things to do that we combined with old haunts and favorite restaurants to make a fulfilling visit.

The plan for today was to go hiking. Either up to the much-receded Martial Glacier … or as close to it as we could get. Or over in Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego.

But then, Mui broke a tooth and we figured that an oft-visited city was a good place to get it repaired. So, off he went to the dentist, arranged through the port agent with a referral from the ship’s medical center.

I suppose I could have found a way to get to the national park and go hiking anyway. Or I could have booked myself on a Beagle Channel cruise. But the changeable weather today — best described as cold, drizzly, windy … in other words yucky — made either an unpleasant prospect. Especially since I’d done both on previous trips.

Instead, I decided to go for a “reminiscing stroll” during which I could duck into a shop, gallery, or café when I wanted a break from the weather … and if I could get into a salon, I could get a haircut too. I could even have lunch at El Turco (the Turk) … our favorite empanada place in Ushuaia. ✔️ ✔️ ✔️. (By the way, we’ve been trying to uncover the source of the restaurant’s name since the first time we ate here in 2006. No one seems to know.)

As luck would have it, Mui finished at the dentist before El Turco closed and was able to join me for a quick bite. Then, we wandered over to Laguna Negra, our favorite artesanal chocolate shop for dessert. Okay, that’s another ✔️. Mui even managed to get into have his hair cut, too … by Fernando, who cut his hair when we were here in 2015.

While, I wouldn’t say that this was our best visit to Ushuaia, we managed to make it a fun and productive one anyway.

Now we head further south … from the “furious 50s to the screaming 60s.” Fingers crossed that Mother Nature treats us gently!

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P.S. one of the collages posted here shows the detail of the stained glass window in honor of Monte Cervantes together with a photo of the tug, St Christopher. The story is too long to relate here, but the tug was involved in the salvage operation for Monte Cervantes. You can search the internet for the sinking of this passenger ship … sometimes referred to as the Titanic of the South.Read more