Ushuaia – As Far as You Can Go

                        Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world.

                        There are a few “settlements” that are a little further south, but that is really all that they are. That is what Gaby, our wonderful Tours by Locals Guide, informed us and she hadn’t led us astray at any point, so I believe her (plus I checked our map!).

                        It is also a part of Argentina, not Chile.

                        I told you that I have this mental block on the pronunciation to the point where my Fellow Traveler is ready to throw me over an Andean cliff. Thankfully Gaby realized that that would be bad for business and quickly came to my rescue with a lesson on how not to put a sh sound into what was quite obvious to me as being needed (according to the spelling!) Plus, we need to add a random Emotional Support W thrown in just in case.

                        So, here is the Official Pronunciation:

                        Ooo – swyi – a

                        Not…. You–shoe-aye-ee–aah (or something just as tongue twisting.)

                        Now that we can walk the streets and not sound like a fool, we’re ready for our Tour of the area. I asked Gaby to get us out of town and see the back areas of this extraordinary region, and that she did! Everywhere you turn here is another incredible scene laid out before you to the point where my photos all looked the same because every time we rounded a bend or stopped the car the scene in front of us was really beautiful.

                        We were told that we were lucky that the weather was so nice. I guess that the weather down here resembles England or some other place that conjures up visions of dreary wetness. You will be able to see all of this in the photos as cloudy would be an understatement, but rainy it was not, hence the thankfulness! But unfortunately for Mr. Pixel Light Sensor in my camera it was an issue as gray skies and gray mountains are challenge for him (sigh). These are the kinds of issues that make me want to make return trips to places when the weather is just a little more cooperative because I just know that as majestical as these mountains are now, can you even imagine what they would look like on a bluebird-sky day? Well, you will have to because I’m not sure that a return trip down here is in the offing anytime soon…… unless……. 😊

                        Off we went up and into the center of the Andes that hover over this entire area. We are down at the tip of South America and as such the landmass gets narrower and narrower, but the mountains keep coming, consequently their domination of the region.

                        Ushuaia is the jumping off spot for may an expedition to Antarctica as its proximity to that continent makes it logistically and strategically easier. From major scientific expeditions down to adventure-seeking specialist voyages, Ushuaia has everything that you would need to outfit these. There are major outdoor retailers in town, gear stores, and great guide services.

But it’s not just Antarctica that draws people down here, the place is jam-packed with incredible trekking, hiking, and high elevation climbing, and it is easy to see why. Equipped with a new modern airport and of course a great maritime presence, it is not difficult to get here. We were thinking of driving the Motorhome down here until we saw the Pan-American highway winding its way through the Andes,,,,,, 0ops! No thank you!

                        We had a great time with Gaby learning about her life down here, Argentina’s pluses and minuses and she in turn asked great questions about life in the States. You would be surprised at how much other populations follow what goes on back home, or maybe you wouldn’t…… considering our habit of making a daily news cycle! This is just one of the reasons that we like this way of traveling, there is no better way to get a quick snapshot of an area than a one-on-one, several hours long, getting-to-know-you experience.

                        I will leave you with a photo of what the townspeople get to stare at every day as it is directly across the Beagle Channel from them. Aren’t they lucky? 😊