Lighthouse, penguins and king crabs | Peace and bustle at the end of the world: Ushuaia

··· Argentina Travel Notes 2 · The tranquility and hustle and bustle at the end of the world ···

The southernmost point of South America is Ushuaia, Argentina, and the northernmost point of North America is Barrow, Alaska. At the end of summer vacation, I almost got on a plane to Alaska. In less than a week, I will be in Ushuaia. All roads southward end there, across the Drake Passage and the choppy westerlies, to the South Pole. I thought about a hundred scenarios of getting there, but none of them were like this.

The river pours down, and time is gone forever. Bucket lists were being discussed in a dusty van on the savannah of Kenya’s Masai Mara a few years ago. I thought about it carefully for a long time, but I didn't know what should be on my bucket list, except for the sentence "We don't know what will happen tomorrow, so what we want to do must be done today."

——A circle of friends before departure for South America (2018)

Almost since I could look at a map, I have heard of Ushuaia - the southernmost continent, the end of the world, and the only way to Antarctica. This small city is famous for its unique geographical location. . When planning this trip to South America, Ushuaia was also one of the “must visit” cities.

Argentina's long and narrow territory creates a completely different climate and geographical environment. The day before, we were sweating profusely in the subtropical jungle of Iguazu Falls. After just over three hours of flight, we arrived in the frigid zone just a few hundred kilometers away from the Antarctic continent.

After getting off the plane, I quickly took out thick clothes from my suitcase and put them on. The airport in Ushuaia is very small. It looks like an enlarged version of a log cabin from the outside. There are local taxi drivers soliciting business at the entrance of the airport. Our first stop in Ushuaia was Tierra del Fuego National Park. We chartered a car from the airport, including a driver and commentary along the way. The driver offered a price of US$100. We didn’t bargain too much, got in the car and set off.

The first stop in Tierra del Fuego National Park is the World's End Post Office, run by an old grandfather alone. Although it is already the "end of the world," the map outside the door claims that this is the north-south center point of Argentina's geography. Of course, this is just self-deception - the map claims that the sector from the Antarctic Peninsula to the South Pole belongs to Argentina, and the 1961 Antarctic Treaty has frozen all countries' territorial claims south of 60 degrees south latitude. Another very interesting point is that although the 1982 Falklands Naval War ended in Argentina’s defeat, the location of the Malvinas Islands is specifically marked on all maps of Argentina, with the words “Malvinas” written in bold. The islands belong to Argentina”. Probably this sense of national honor for disputed territories exists in every country.

The old man in the post office has worked here for many years, and the walls are covered with photos and postcards from various periods. For a few dollars, you can get a commemorative stamp from the "Post Office at the End of the World" in your passport. The grandfather's stamping action was neat and standard, even a little exaggerated, full of pride in his identity. The behavior of stamping commemorative stamps on passports is not worth advocating, but my passport has been stamped with stamps of many tourist attractions from various countries, and I have never encountered any trouble at customs. I don’t know whether it is because the number of Chinese tourists has increased dramatically in recent years, or because the national leader has just paid a goodwill visit to Argentina. The Chinese flag in the post office is hung together with the Argentine flag and placed in a conspicuous position at the entrance.

Tierra del Fuego is not actually a small island, but the collective name for a group of islands in the southernmost part of Patagonia. In 1520, Magellan sailed to this time and saw many fireworks set off by the Indians on the island, so he named the archipelago Tierra del Fuego. The Tierra del Fuego National Park we went to is located near the city of Ushuaia and on the border with Chile.

Tierra del Fuego offers a variety of outdoor activities. You can camp, hike, ride horses, and climb mountains in the mountains. You can ski in the winter on the top of the snow-capped mountains. La Pattaya Bay is a good place for kayaking.

La Pataya Bay is the starting point of the Pan-American Highway (Argentina Route 3), and the sign indicates that you can drive all the way to Alaska from here. To be precise, the Pan American Highway is interrupted in Panama, so there is no complete road that can go all the way from south to north to the Arctic Ocean. But humans may have a soft spot for road trips all the way north, so let’s ignore these less-than-perfect details for now.

After finishing our visit to Tierra del Fuego, it was just after noon. We spent the rest of the day wandering around the city of Ushuaia. The city motto of Ushuaia is Fin del Mundo, which is emblazoned on every corner of the city and can be found on almost every souvenir.

Most cruise ships heading to Antarctica depart from the port of Ushuaia, making it a base camp for Antarctic exploration. December is the beginning of the Antarctic tourist season, and Ushuaia is less cold and lonely at the end of the world and more lively. There are many shops selling outdoor products on the street, but in fact you don’t need high-end equipment to travel to Antarctica: most people nowadays take a luxury cruise to Antarctica, which has all the facilities on board and is even more comfortable than ordinary travel. . In the past, travelers on a budget would stay in Ushuaia and wait for discounted last-minute cruise tickets from cruise companies, but this seems to be no longer popular.

HMS Justice, also known as Saint Christopher, ran aground on the beach. It was built in the United States, later served in the British Royal Navy, and returned to the United States after World War II. It was sold for commercial use in 1946 and was eventually stranded on the beach of Ushuaia. The experience can be considered a legendary twist.

The portrait of the Penguin Squad on the wall of the town is a famous photo spot, but it is not so easy to find.

If you were to say what to eat in Ushuaia, it would be king crab. King crab is a special dish in Ushuaia and even the entire coastal area of ​​Patagonia, but it is not easy to eat a complete king crab with shell and meat. Our first lunch in Ushuaia was at the wrong place, it cost a lot of money, and we only had peeled crab meat, and we didn’t know it was king crab unless we told it.

Fortunately, the guy who booked our boat tickets next to the port told us the right place to go: if you want to eat a complete king crab, there is only one restaurant in Ushuaia called El Viejo Marino. This restaurant has its own fishing boat that will go out to sea to catch complete king crabs. The guy also reminded us to queue up early before the restaurant opened.

We didn't dare to neglect and went to line up more than half an hour before the restaurant opened for dinner. When we arrived at the entrance of the restaurant, there were already several tourists waiting in front of us. When the restaurant opened, all the empty seats were filled instantly. The water tank in the restaurant facing the street is filled with vigorous and fresh king crabs, two of which will soon become our meals.

We placed our order immediately after we sat down, and the freshly baked king crab was the second in the store to be served, which immediately attracted the attention of other customers. In their eager eyes, we cut the crab into pieces. In the blink of an eye, more king crabs were brought to the table, and the only thing left in the small room was the tangy aroma of crab meat and the sound of eating.

King crabs cost approximately RMB 150 per piece, and the size is about the same. The three of us ordered two, and the guy next door killed one each. When we were full and full, we looked out the window and saw that the people lining up had already turned the corner. We could only secretly rejoice that it was a wise choice to queue up early.

After a hearty meal, we headed out for a walk along Ushuaia’s coastline back to the hotel. Good things come one after another, and a double rainbow hangs on the sky.

In summer at high latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, the sun does not set until very late.

Early the next morning, we took a boat out to sea. There are two itineraries for going to sea in Ushuaia: the lighthouse, Bird Island and Sea Lion Island are relatively close and are basically included, while Penguin Island is further away and the ferry ticket will be slightly more expensive than the ordinary itinerary and will take longer. If you are interested, you can also go to Penguin Island and have close contact with the penguins. However, only the Piratours family are eligible to go to the island. The places are in hot demand and have been booked a few months ago. We finally chose to take a boat trip to see Penguin Island.

Bird Island is actually a lot of rocks occupied by cormorants. When cormorants lay eggs, they build nests on the rocks, lay eggs, and raise their offspring.

Sea lions lie lazily on the rocks enjoying the sun.

Sea lion on the reef.

It's midsummer, and the snow on the snow-capped mountains is gradually melting.

The World's End Lighthouse is a symbol of Ushuaia. I can't recall the first time I heard its name. I only know that "Happy Together" added a bit of sadness to it:

"I heard that there is a lighthouse at the end of the world. People who are lovelorn like to go there, saying that they leave behind the unhappy things."

The day I went, I could barely be considered in a "lovelorn" state, but I liked another sentence better:

"I finally understood why he was so happy walking around outside, because he knew he had a place for him to go back to."

The lighthouse faded away behind me, and the open sea lay ahead. If you keep sailing south, the next continent that appears in front of you is Antarctica. I wonder what the explorers of the past would think here as they watch human civilization gradually fade away, facing endless unknowns.

Before arriving at Penguin Island, we passed Puerto Williams in Chile, which is further south than Ushuaia. Although more qualified to be called "the end of the world," Puerto Williams is too underpopulated to qualify as a "city." In order to attract tourists, Puerto Williams was ingenious and set its motto as Más allá del Fin del Mundo, which in English is Beyond the End of the World, which means further than the end of the world.

In fact, I don't like the term "the end of the world" that much: the earth is round, the universe is infinite, and there is no end. What has an end is short-sightedness and narrow-mindedness. Further south of Ushuaia is Puerto Williams, and further south of Puerto Williams is Cape Horn - That is the true southernmost point of the South American continent. And passing by and Cape En all the way south, even the South Pole now has a scientific research station permanently stationed by humans. As long as they have enough money, ordinary people can fly to the South Pole, touch the magnetic poles of the earth, and see emperor penguins. The golden age of exploration has passed, and most of the land on the earth has long been touched by humans. If there is any meaning to travel, then this meaning is not to discover the unknown, but to explore yourself.

After sailing past the lighthouse and continuing sailing for less than an hour, we arrived at Penguin Island. The cruise ship will beach its bow on the shore so that it can get as close as possible to the penguins without landing on the island.

Most of the people on the island are Magellanic penguins, and occasionally gentoo penguins and king penguins appear. Unfortunately, we did not see them that day.

On the way back, I ordered a bottle of cold beer, leaned against the porthole and watched the city gradually come back into view. That afternoon, before we had time to feast on king crab, we took a flight and left Ushuaia.

Ushuaia, with its charming tranquility and bustle, I knew before I left that we would meet again one day. Maybe before setting foot on the Antarctic continent, maybe earlier, maybe later. But one day, we will meet again.