Day 27: May 23 I finally get to see Ushuaia

Saturday, May 23, 2009
Ushuaia, Patagonia, Argentina
From early childhood, I remember my memories of twisting the globe around with my father.  I was fascinated by places such as the southern tip of South American and southern tip of South Africa. Like a normal young boy of 5 or 6, I assumed that the further south, the more hot it was.  Living in Florida, I said, "how hot is it down there?"  My father explained that it gets colder the further south you go below the equator.  This did not make sense to me and I had trouble visualizing this southern place as anything but a warm beach.  He continued to tell me about the strong winds at the southern tip of South America and the strong tides.  Anything in which nature exhibits exceptionally strong forces has always interest me.  I would have dreams about this place, but always wonder what it was really like.  For this reason, I added this remote place to my journey around the world and although we will only spend a couple day here, a few minutes of time will be more than I ever expected.  

We depart of Ushuaia early and after only a couple hours of sleep.  We are both sick and feel horrible.  We sleep on the flight taking lots of medication.  We stop into a oil town Rio Gallegos or something like that and pick up people from this primarily petro section of the country. 

The flight into Ushuaia was amazing. Snow capped mountain glaciers that are huge.  I snap pictures out the plane window in awe.  This is already amazing.  It looks a little like Alaska.  I am in awe. 

Arriving in Ushuaia, the swine flu police are out in full force.  Steve and I are once again singled out as we sniffle and sneeze every couple seconds.  They take down our hotel information and where we have traveled and check up on us every day we stay in Ushuaia.  The town has great fresh air, it is chilly, but not bad as the sun is still shining bright.  The high altitude mountains have snow, but green sections cover the lower sections.  We have not hotel, but I had talked to a person at the barber shop that told me where to stay, a hotel called Los Naranjos, which means the Oranges. We leave the airport and get a taxi to the hotel and check in. It is kind of dumpy, but will do the trick for a couple days.  

We walk the streets in Ushuaia.  It is cool with lots of little shops, not tons of restaurants, but lots of charm.  It reminds me of Alaska. We get a bite to eat just before 5 and when we come out, the sun has gone down and this town is freezing cold.  It is amazing how cold it is after being somewhat comfortable before.  We rush to our room and fall asleep sick.  

 

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