I got up this morning around 7:00am so that I could get breakfast and then head out for the bus/catamaran tour of Ushuaia, Argentina (pronounced either "ooshwayuh" or "uhshoyuh" by the local guides). We left the ship at 8:30am, and got on busses that drove us through town to the Tierra del Fuego National Park, surrounding Lapataia Bay. The entrance to the park was full of tree stumps, among the standing trees that made up the forest. When asked why the trees had been cut down, we were told that the area had been used for lumbering from the early 1900s through the early 1940s, and that the men who cut down the trees were prisoners at the Argentinian prison at Ushuaia. The wood was used to heat the prison and the other buildings in town.
We went first to Ensenada Beach, where we saw the forest and a small cleared-away area forming a beach. There was a short pier there, high above the water, but it was old and most of the planks that made up the deck were warped, loose, or missing. I doubt it's used anymore. We were told by our guide, Paola, that Ushuaia had been hit by the red tide during the past two years, and that the muscles metabolize the algae and maufacture a substance that is toxic to humans. She said that eating such a muscle would cause a person to become paralyzed in a matter of minutes.
Near the beach, we saw our first glipse of the Linga tree, an evergreen beech. Later, we saw other varieties of beeches, including the high deciduous beech and a low decidious beech. Paola said that there are actually five different types of beeches in the park, and that they make up the most common varieties of trees in Tierra del Fuego.
Throughout the park, we saw a great deal of mistletoe hanging in the tops of trees, particularly in the tall beech trees. The mistletoe is a parasite that takes water from the tree (and presumably sunlight as well). It looks like tumblewoods caught in the branches, but it is smaller (about a foot around and a foot and a half tall) and there are more branches, and of course the odd little buds. The people here call mistletoe "Chinese Lanterns". We were also told about the "Indian Bread" parasite that grows on the Beech trees, which the native people used to eat. These round white mushroom-like parasites grow around the branch of a tree. Eventually, the tree reacts by growing a scar-like spiked growth through the branch, making it look like a flower when the parasite drops off.
Further into the park, we visited a glacial lake (freshwater!) nestled between the mountains. Very spectacular panorama! The green water in the lake was very agitated by the high winds, and the waves were about two feet high. They broke against the shore violently. There was a very narrow (three feet at most) steep beach made of charcoal-colored sand and smooth, flat, round stones. Not as dark as volcanic rock usually appears, but similar in appearance.
On our way (walking) to a small campground and coffee shop, we saw a large red-headed woodpecker. It had a large black body and a very red head. It was pecking away at a tree, then at a fallen log on the ground. We also saw two very large rabbits hopping around.
I took a picture of Laguna Verde, the Green Lagoon, with mountains in the background. Truly a beautiful place.
Paola spoke to us about the introduction of the beaver to Tierra del Feugo. They were brought here from Canada with the intention to start a fur industry here. When the project didn't pan out, the beavers were left free. Now, their dams are killing large portions of the forests in this park, and elsewhere. We saw swampy-like areas with whitened, dead trees, drowned in the excess water above the dams. There are no natural predators for the beavers, such as the lynx.
Paola also told us about the Germena (sp?) Indians, the native tribes of this area which were here up to 6,000 years before the Europeans came. They lived without clothes, using animal fats to oil their bodies and always having a fire nearby, even on their canoes, which they lived on in a nomadic fashion.
Some of the indians had tents on the hills surrounding Lapataia Bay, and we can still see the pole holes they left behind, as well as the circular raised rings around each tent site which were created over a period of years by their garbage (shells, bones, etc.). It looks like a series of raised rings all over the hilltops, with pole holes around the inner edges of each ring. These are surely still being studied for archaeological evidence.
At Lapataia Bay, just before these hilltops and the catamaran landing, we found the very end of the national road through Argentina, which starts in Buenos Aries, over 6,000 miles away.
On the catamaran, we saw many islands and much of the coastline surrounding Ushuaia. The U shaped valleys created by galciers were much more evident from the channel, since it gives a better perspective on the overall shape of the mountains. When in the valleys, it is often difficult to ignore the local perturbations in the terrain and see the overall U-shaped nature of things.
We went by several of the very small, rocky islands in the Beagle Channel, where we saw the colonies of the South American Sea Lion, the South American Imperial Cormorant, and Fur Seals. I took plenty of pictures of these. It was amazing actually seeing these animals in their natural habitat, where they really live, and not in a zoo or on T.V. Truly wonderful to be going to them, instead of bringing them to us. I was also amazed at how the Seals and Sea Lions just lay there on the rocks. They don't do much except cuddle up to each other, wash their faces with their flippers and scratch themselves, shake their heads at each other, and sleep. I didn't see any of them in the water or moving around much. (Some of them were changing location, but only to get better sun or a more comfortable spot on the rocks.)
Each colony of Sea Lions and Seals was also infested with (shared an island with might be a better way to put it) huge rookeries of cormorants. We saw mostly Imperial Cormorants, which are black and white. From a distance, they looked like penguin rookeries.
We were here during the breeding season, so we were fortunate enough to see a single family of Sea Lions (mother, father, and new pup) on the far side of the seal colony's island.
Throughout these islands, and mostly in the wake of the islands, we saw lots of kelp growing up from the bottom of the channel. Our guide said that kelp beds are a sure sign of shallow water.
We also saw several black-browed Albatross, some of them up close. They have very long, thin wings, and seldom flap theeir wings. They mostly glide along like a flying wing.
On the way back, we passed by the Les Eclaireurs lighthouse, which marks the edge of the archipelago.
When we got back to the dock, Marty and I left the catamaran and went directly to the city. We walked along the edge of the city (by the water) and looked for a place to eat, a post office, and the museum (the "Museum at the End of the World", it's called). We found the museum, but it was closed for Siesta. Everything seems to close at noon and reopen at 3:30pm on weekdays, and 4:00pm on Saturdays. Today is Saturday, and we were there around 2:45.
We found a restaurant called "Restaurant Mustacchio", which had several local people dining there. We both had tenderloin steak with mushrooms, and it was fantastic! Some of the best beef I've ever eaten, I'm sure. Argentinian beef is definitely not to be missed. The Argentinian peso is tied to the value of the dollar now, so we were able to use American money with no exchange. I paid with my MasterCard just in case... No one there spoke English, but we managed to communicate the necessities anyway.
After that, we went to a photographic shop (one that was mentioned by Nigel Sitwell yesterday morning) that had film (which I stocked up on) and tons of photographic postcards of Ushuaia and Argentina. I didn't get any postcards, but I did buy enough stamps to mail my postcards from Punta Arenas. Again, no English-speakers, but we were able to communicate our needs and prices without any trouble.
I returned to the ship then, and Marty went off to see the museum. I decided that I wasn't that interested in the museum after all, so I came back to mail the postcards and flesh out these notes.
On my way from the ship to the post office with the postcards, I dropped them all, and had to go running around the pier catching them. One flew off the pier and fell into the water, unrecoverably. I believe that it was the one for Grandpa Homer, so I'll have to make sure I mail him one at McMurdo Station or Christchurch. (I'm mailing Mike one from Christchurch as well.) I just remembered that I never finished Grandma and Grandpa Liming's address either before I mailed it. Shoot! That may mean two unsent postcards instead of one. Again, I'll have to mail them later in the trip. I expect to send mail to everyone from McMurdo, and maybe some from Christchurch also.
Grandma has taken the afternoon bus tour instead of the extra catamaran tour, so she won't be back until this evening.
This is it! We're on our way to Antarctica proper now. Our next port of call will be in the Antarctic Peninsula, and there's no avoiding it, short of a near-death experience that requires the helicopter. The excitement is definitely building again now.
When we left dock, I watched Ushuaia slip into the distance, and I felt a small pang of something like regret or loss, as if just the one day there had caused me to grow slightly attached to the place. It was like leaving behind a new friend, even though I didn't really make any friends from there. I guess it was just that we were leaving a place I'd just begun to get to know, and I would have liked a little longer to enjoy it. But that's the way trips like these are, I guess. Especially when the ultimate destination is still yet to come.
Just before we left, a beautiful full-arch rainbow appeared toward the entrance to the bay (over the channel). I take this as an excellent omen for the rest of our trip.
Our conversation this evening was very animated. Some times we all discussed the same topic, laughing together and making jokes, and some times the younger set (myself, Susan, Marty, and Ethan) carried on one conversation while Grandma and Dana talked about something else. Our conversations ranged from the Superbowl to philosophies on travel and travel stories to how Dana could manage to get moved into a cabin with a double bed to much racier topics...
Dana said that she enjoyed our table quite a lot, and might stay there instead of moving again, but I believe that she was simply being charming. She's a lot of fun -- and she certainly knows how to ignite a conversation, and whoever does manage to attract her attention for a while will have a wonderful time, I'm sure.
It's now midnight, and we're entering the Drake Passage, I'm sure. At least, we're leaving the Beagle Channel. The ship is beginning to rock more, mostly side to side, but not entirely (some forward/backward circular motion as well). It's not much different yet from what it was when we had during the evening before the Beagle Channel.
Ethan and Dana have clearly been telling us over dinner that it will be very different. Much more motion, and we'll definitely need Dramamine. Dana says that she isn't affected much, but needs some anyway, and Ethan implies that even with it he has trouble. I'm thinking that this is going to be extremely exciting. I don't know what to expect, though I'll bet it won't be as bad as Ethan expects, and that it will be worse than I expect. At least I know that the Marco Polo will be more comfortable than a Spanish Galleon or a yaght!
Time for a Dramamine and bed...