The Land of Fire and a Channel named for a Beagle

Tierra Del Fuego gets its name from campfires that once burned as Magellan passed by not knowing he was seeing evidence of a people that would be extinct before the 20th century. THe campfires were those of the Yaghan peoples - a civilization that had no written language, very few tools, no artwork and no clothing and yet somehow managed to survive over 7000 years in lower Patagonia where everyone else manages to nearly freeze to death or is wrecked on rocks. We made it to Ushuaia today - a beautiful city called "San Francisco south" as it lays at the same latitude, frames a beautiful bay and crawls up and down steep hills very similar to the California city. Of course, there are critical differences - Ushuaia is the furthest south city in the world, it is Spanish and 95% catholic and icebergs drift by during many parts of the year. The city is located on the Argentine half of the island of Tierra del Fuego. The climate here is all about the wind. There are fewer than 30 days a year where it is clear, calm and sunny and we had one of them today - it was great - 22 degrees and nearly windless. The reminders of the great role of wind in this part of the world are all around you though - shipwrecks, huges waves on rocks and very stunted trees that lean in unison away from the wind and crouch behind cover. The trees refuse to rise above their sheltering land masses and are amazing sculptures of nature. We rode a catamarran out in the Beagle Channel (so named for Fitzroy and Darwin's geographical ship) and were treated to scenes of roosting cormorants and snoozing seals as well as the curious Steamer ducks - a flightless bird that rushes off madly, feet and wings plowing the water like a paddlewheel steamer - hence the name. We had our first chance to set feet on land in more than 6 days and strolled around Ushuaia and did a little shopping. Like any port city they see the big boats coming and raise the prices accordingly but we poked around and found some neat places. I was particularly charmed by a bookshop with great selection in several languages but the prospect of hauling any of it home in my suitcase actually kept me from buying anything beyond a few postcards. Apparently it IS possible for me to go into a bookstore and come out without a book - who knew?? We are now back afloat in the Beagle Channel headed for the Strait of Magellan and Punta Arenas, Chile where we set anchor and take smaller boats ashore to see what Chile has to wow us with. The Beagle channel is more characterized today by ongoing hostilities between Argentina and CHile over who owns what. There is a distince armed presence everywhere you look and a tentative deal over where exactly the line lies was brokered by the Catholic Church. For the time being the split is down the center of the Beagle Channel. It was evidenced today as we never left the Argentine side of the Channel as we explored in the catamarran. This is a place of great beauty and wonder and should be characterized by the towering mountain peaks, the lingering glaciers, the windswept trees and the remains of an astonishing civilization - but that is humankind for you, I suppose.

I shall take my photos and my memories and delete much of the ugliness in favour of the splendour. it deserves at least that much.

From El fin del mundo (the end of the world)

Dale and Marsha