RAMBLINGS OF A TRAVELER IN CHILE & ARGENTINA: Terro del Fugo & Cape Horn

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The history of the southernmost point of the AMERICAN continent has always been linked to seamen and adventurers, frontiersmen and mythical native inhabitants such as the Patagones or “Patagonian Giants”.

The Portuguese seaman Hernando de Magallanes (Ferdinand Magellan) arrived at the area in 1520 and baptized it with the name Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire), after observing the bonfires the Onas or Selknam natives kept burning in their canoes to navigate by night and keep themselves warm. I also think the sunsets may have lead in part to the Land of Fire idea.

This is an area of vast indomitable landscapes, islands and channels.

 

Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the south of South America, separated from the mainland by the Magellan Strait. The eastern part of the island belongs to Argentina (the Territory of Tierra del Fuego) and its main towns are Rio Grande and Ushuaia. The western part belongs to Chile (Magallanes province) and its main towns are Porvenirand Puerto Williams. Cape Horn is at the southernmost part of the archipelago, in Chilean land (Wikepedia).

USHUAIA

Ushuaia Argentina is the tourist center of Tierra del Fuego, and base for most excursions, treks and trips to Antarctica. Ushuaia is the most southerly city in the world.

Ushuaia itself is a cute town, but for backpackers, it is very touristy. Many boat and cruise ships dock here from Chile, other parts of Argentina, and many, if not most, cruises to Antarctica leave from there.

 

There are a few museums town. One that’s pretty cool, literally speaking, is the Prison Museum of Antarctica. I can’t believe they really needed a prison for bad boys – it seemed like the good guys could just load up the bad boys and take them on a short boat ride over to Antarctica in the winter, not give the prisoners any down coats, UGGS, food or shelter. That would probably be all that was necessary to cool down the bad boys – you’d think!

Anyway, the Prison Museum was pretty interesting. In 1896 the prison received its first inmates, mainly re-offenders and dangerous prisoners transferred from Buenos Aires, but also some political prisoners. During the first half of the 20th century, the city centered around the prison built by the Argentine government to increase the Argentine population and to ensure Argentine sovereignty over Tierra del Fuego. The prison was intended for repeat offenders and serious criminals, following the example of the British in Tasmania and the French in Devil’s Island.

Escape from Tierra del Fuego was difficult, although two prisoners managed to escape into the surrounding area for a few weeks. The prison population became forced colonists and spent much of their time building the town with timber from the forest around the prison (Wikipedia). They also built a railway to the settlement, now a major, stunning, and not-to-be-missed tourist attraction known as the End of the World Train(Tren del Fin del Mundo), the southernmost railway in the world.

The prison operated until 1947, when President Juan Perón closed it by executive order in response to the many reports of abuse and unsafe practices. Most of the guards stayed in Ushuaia, while the prisoners were relocated to other jails farther north.

Much of the early history of the city and its hinterland is described in Lucas Bridges’s book Uttermost Part of the Earth (1948). I recommend this book if you are going to the end of the earth or are hoping too.

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