Today was filled with the phenomenal beauty of God's awesome creation. I woke up early to get ready for our all-day tour. When I peaked out the balcony door I gasped with delight. My eyes were met with the dazzling sight of still blue-gray water. Only tiny ripples disrupted the surface of this glassy sea as our ship glided slowly through the water slicing a sharp, clean line as we sailed. Across the bay there were huge snow capped peaks partially hidden by clouds which meandered freely through the sky. The air was quite cool and crisp but definitely not cold. I went back inside the room to get ready for the day, eager to get out and enjoy this magnificent scenery. The word Ushuaia means "bay where the sun sets" and is a perfect name for this lovely town.
Although there were Europeans who tried to settle in this area years earlier, none were successful until the British arrived in the late 1800's. The area was so far removed from other settlements that early settlers had to become self-sufficient quickly in order to survive. In addition, the native people living nearby were quite hostile so settlers had to defend themselves against frequent attacks. In the 1800's there were up to 3,000 Yamana Indians, the native inhabitants, living along the southern coast of Chile. Today there is only one person who is pureblood Yamana still alive.
The British who came to this area in the early 1900's became ranchers who introduced sheep and different types of grass to the environment so the sheep would have plenty of food on which to graze. Today the land is more important as an archeological site and tourist draw. Goods are transported from the north and by sea to the people who live here. Prisoners were crucial to the settlement of Ushuaia. From 1896-1947 the settlement of Ushuaia had a prison to house repeat and/or very dangerous criminals. As we arrived at our first stop for the day to board an antique train to take a ride through the beautiful Tierra del Fuego forest, we were informed that the prisoners were chained together and taken out of their cells each day to build the tracks on which this train would eventually operate. Although this work was extremely difficult, particularly since the men were chained together, they enjoyed it because the work allowed them to spend time outside in the fresh air. Otherwise, they spent the entire day inside their cells with no activity or window to the outside. Not being allowed to work was actually used as a punishment!
Today the town of Ushuaia is a thriving tourist town. It is known as the gateway for journeys to the Antarctic. The delightful train depot where we boarded the train had a warm and cozy alpine feel with extensive woodwork, vibrant colors, and intricately carved designs. I would have loved to have had time to sit and enjoy a cup of hot cocoa but it was time to press on.
We boarded the charming antique train, complete with steam engine. It was brimming with excited foreigners, eagerly looking forward to a relaxing ride through the "end of the world" forest. Curtains with delicate lace trim adorned the windows. Antique sconces were attached to the walls and individual seats were covered in a soft velvet materials with bright floral designs. Each car accommodated six passengers with three people on each side facing each other. The conductor went down the line, carefully closing each car door and yelled a final "all aboard." The train's whistle blew and were were off!
We passed quickly flowing rivers in the canyons below which were lined with trees and green grass. Such a peaceful, quiet environment. As we chug-chugged along the tracks, white steam was released into the air, wafting through the trees that lined the path. We continued along the tracks built by the convicts so many years ago. As we made our way deeper into the forest we passed under a canopy of beautiful green, leafy trees. These trees, most with a diameter of 6-12" had lower branches that were bare but upper branches which were green and lush. Leaves turn yellow, orange and red as the seasons change and the peat moss, which fills the forest floor, emits a fragrance similar to cinnamon.
Periodically, the train would stop and allow us to get off for a few minutes to walk around and enjoy the sights and sounds of our hauntingly beautiful surroundings. One stop was to view the "tree graveyard." This was a large area where many, many trees were cut to make the wooden railroad ties. We were told to notice the different heights of the tree stumps. The prisoners cut them down at ground level but depending on the time of year, the ground level could be quite different. Trees that were cut in summer had much shorter stumps while the ones cut during winter had taller stumps. The reason for this difference is that during the winter the snow was so high it raised the ground level. In the spring and summer the ground was accessible so the stumps were shorter.
A trip through this lovely, isolated forest at the "end of the world" reminded me of a time when life was less frantic and there was time to look around and soak in the beauty of God's perfect creation. The sun's rays filtered through the trees, creating an eerie, isolated aura to the surrounding forest. As our journey on this lovely train drew to a close we took a final look at the forest, thankful for the opportunity to learn about this unique landscape which lies just north of the Antarctic. We readied ourselves to climb onto a catamaran which was waiting for us in the harbor.
We boarded the large catamaran and began our sail down the Beagle Channel. We were fortunate, once again, to have lovely weather which allowed us to see most of the snow capped peaks around us. Glaciers moved through this area long ago creating the sharp peaks and valleys we could see as we sailed. The gray-blue water was extremely calm in the channel. Everywhere we looked there were birds resting on the water or skimming the top, scouring the water for food. Their little heads would bobble and disappear under the water and they would return with a fish - quite cute to watch. Along the rocky shore there were thousands of mussels, many eaten by the birds but such an abundant supply that they are unable to eat more than a few of them. Kelp and seaweed also floated abundantly in the water. Ducks swam happily, hopping in and out of the water. A mother and her three little ducklings paraded proudly in front of us from the shore.
We had a lovely day as we sailed along the icy cold channel looking up at the forest and mountains while sipping on hot chocolate. We stopped in front of a small rock island filled with sea lions. Most of these tan, brown and black mammals were sleeping or moving very slowly around the rocks. They would raise their heads as if to see what all the fuss was about with the cameras clicking away, then lower their heads and fall back to sleep once they determined that we weren't very interesting. There was only one of these massive creatures who seemed intent on making an impression on us. He stuck out his chest and lifted his head to the sky. He looked quite proud of his bulky, blubbery body as he struck the perfect pose for us. It was amazing to me that these enormous mammals managed to sleep perched on the sides of rocks without falling off. It looked like quite a precarious position in which many of them were sleeping peacefully.
The blue-eyed cormorants continued to fly around our boat as we sailed along the channel. These large birds are sometimes mistaken for penguins since they have large black and white chests and waddle around when they are on land. However, cormorants have large wings. They are able to dive to a depth of 80 meters to catch their prey. Quite amazing to watch as they disappear into the water for a few seconds and then reappear suddenly clutching a fish.
We neared the end of our lovely sail. As we approached the open sea we passed the lighthouse, 11 meters high, and another small rock island which was covered completely in white from all the birds flying overhead. We were thankful to have a calm day for our cruise through the channel. Evidently, the winds can reach 130 mph here and the snow falls to a depth of 3 feet. We were quite fortunate to enjoy relatively warm weather for our beautiful outing at the "end of the world." Now we're off to the Falkland Islands for more adventures and hopefully an opportunity to interact with more penguins.
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