From the Coast to the Clouds

Tierra del Fuego

In 1520 the explorer Hernando de Magallenes became the first man to discover that the Pacific and Atlantic were linked when he navigated a 350 mile channel between the two oceans. It came to be known as the Magellan Straits. He observed that the natives of the land to the south kept fires constantly burning and so he named the land Tierra del Fuego (Fireland). it was not until 1826 that the Englishman, Fitz Roy, discovered a second channel to the South. On his second voyage here aboard the Beagle, Fitz Roy was accompanied by the naturalist Charles Darwin, and so the Beagle channel was named. Tierra del Fuego was thus confirmed as an island.

We flew here from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, a distance of 3040km. LAN had rescheduled our flight to 4.45am and so we managed only 3 hours sleep, rather than the more leisurely day I had planned following our late return from Uruguay. However this proved to be a blessing in disguise as we were able to enjoy a full extra day in this stunning location.

After checking in to our hotel we took a taxi to the chairlift at the base of the Martial Glacier. From the top chairlift station there is a choice of 5 walks, one easy, one moderate and three difficult. We chose the difficult walk... no, rephrase that.... climb... to the base of the glacier,a height gain of 900ft. The weather was perfect and we were rewarded with amazing views of the glacier in one direction, and back down the valley to the Beagle Channel in the other.

We retraced our steps and then tackled the moderate walk, a mere 200ft height gain, to the panoramic viewpoint over the Beagle Channel. Once again the views were stunning. In all we spent over 4 hours on the mountain. The advice to layer up and be prepared for the constant biting wind seemed utterly superfluous as conditions could not have been more perfect.

The incredible beauty of the landscape seemed to have completely dispelled all feelings of tiredness, and so, affixed with a burning desire to see more, we took a taxi to the Ushuaia prison museum.

Ushuaia was first settled by the Argentines in 1902 as a penal colony with the building of the octopus-shaped prison. Security was minimal as if prisoners escaped they had nowhere to go, and after a few days on the run they were usually very pleased to be recaptured. Prisoners built the first roads, houses and bridges in Ushuaia, and in their workshops they provided all the basic services and supplies for the colony. The prison is now a museum. All 5 wings, which radiate from a central hub like the spokes of a wheel, can be explored. Some have been restored and furnished with interesting exhibitions; others have been left as they were - row upon row of crumbling cell blocks and austere walls. We could understand why prisoners volunteered for hard labour outside of the prison walls.

We needed a quick sugar boost in the prison cafeteria, and then we walked for an hour along the bay and past the cruise ships back to our hotel.

It's hard to believe that not much more than 24 hours ago we were sunbathing in Uruguay, and now, with our walk to the glacier, we truly have journeyed from the coast to the clouds!