February 2, 2006
Welcome to Ushuaia, Argentina
Ushuaia is sometimes considered to be the southernmost city in the world, located on the southern coast of Tierra del Fuego in Argentina, in a setting surrounded by mountains and overlooking the Beagle Channel. The city has about 50,000 inhabitants. Some say that Puerto Williams is considered to be the southernmost city as it is further south, but has much less inhabitants, thus some consider it to be a town rather than a city. The more populated Punta Arenas is also sometimes considered to be the southernmost city, but it is north of Ushuaia. The southernmost continuously inhabited settlement is Puerto Toro on Isla Navarino, however it has less than 100 people. The city was originally named by early British colonists after the name that the native Yamana people had for the area. For most of the first half of the 20th century the city was centered around a prison for serious criminals. The Argentinean government set up this prison following the example of the British in Australia: being a remote island, escape from a prison on Tierra del Fuego would have been impossible. The prisoners thus became forced colonists and spent much of their time cutting wood in the lands around the prison and building the town. Also of interest is the Tierra del Fuego National Park to see the Bahia Lapataia on to the west on the border with Chile.
We will board the Argentinean pilot near Point Moat at 6:00 am and then continue to sail the 60 nautical miles passage, via Paso Mack inlay towards Ushuaia, leaving the Atlantic and entering the scenic inside passage. We expect to start our docking procedures and be docked at 10:00 am in the center of this small town, at Muelle de la Gobernacion (Government dock). After our departure at 6:00 pm we will once again sail in the Beagle Channel down to Cape Horn.
posted by Hills @ 1:54 PM
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