The End of the World

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"I'm the last of the Wollastan race. There were five Yahgon tribes, each from a different place, but they owned the same word. Before I could walk, I had travelled with my mother all the way up to Cape Horn, tied to her back. She used to take me uphill to camp and eat some birds that fly over the sea and answer from their nests on land whenever someone whistles."

(Rosa Yagan - the last link. The story of a Native American woman from the End of the World; Patricia Stamuk.)

I've reached the end of the world, Ushuaia. The most southerly city in the world. It was only officially founded in 1884. There was an indigenous population in the area before the Spanish arrived. They've been all but wiped out.

Ushuaia is now a tourist trap with a resident population of 40000. Although for all that, I like the place. It´s a beautiful location dominated by the snow capped Andes mountains. It´s high summer here, so it´s light till very late. Despite the very long days in Ushuaia, you wouldn't want to spend too much time sunbathing here!

For many years though, it wasn't much more than a glorified penal colony. In 1896 President Julio A. Rosa signed a decree to establish a prison in Ushuaia. The prison was closed in 1947, at which time the city only had a population of 2182.

Over the years the prison in Ushuaia held many political prisoners, including Ricardo Rojas an Argentinian writer and historian.

The anarchist Simon Radowitzky also spent 21 years in the prison in Ushuaia, 10 of those in solitary. He was involved in a spectacular escape attempt. He escaped wearing a prison guards uniform with the help of a well known pirate and smuggler known as Pascualin. Radowitzky was captured 23 days after his escape a few km away from Punta Arenas. Radowitsky was pardoned by the president in 1930, but was forced to leave Argentina. He ended up fighting Franco in the Spanish Civil War and then left Spain for Mexico, where he died in 1956.

So, I've been in Argentina a few days. I flew into Beunos Aires on the 7th of January 2006. I spent a couple of days enjoying the fine food and the endless opportunities for window shopping in the city.

Then I flew the 3000 odd km down to Ushuaia. I arrived in the city at 8.30pm. It was very late to arrive but it was still broad daylight. I had made no plans for where I was staying. So I asked a taxi driver to suggest somewhere. I ended up somewhere much more expensive than I wanted, in the Lennox Hotel which set me back $US130. The compensation for the price (which hurt) was the stunning view from my hotel room balcony. The hotel was also brand spanking new and it had a Jacuzzi in the bathroom.

First thing the next morning I moved to the Hostal Malvinas with a tariff of $US50. A very comfortable place but without the splendid view or a Jacuzzi! That afternoon, the 10th of January I went on a four hour boat cruise around the islands of the Beagle Channel. The photos of that trip are on this blog.

Today, the 11th of January 2006 I visited the museums in the city, which includes the old prison. Tomorrow, the 12th I´ll be starting out on a 10 day trip to the Antarctic. Ushuaia port is the starting point for the cruise ships that visit the frozen continent.

The next blog will be about Antarctica.

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Photos

The End of the World
Ushuaia

A room with a view
Ushuaia

Estacion Retiro
Beunos Aires

Born to shop
Beunos Aires

Prison and Maritime Museum, Ushuaia
These wax dummies are all that is left of the local Native American population

Ricardo Rojas
Prison and Maritime museum, Ushuaia