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Showing posts from December 19, 2008

Country #78: Ushuaia: the end of the world

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The fourth port of call, our first in Argentina (country #78) was at the end of the world, or at least that is what the tourist office is eager to get across. Most maps simply refer to it as " Ushuaia ". Either way, it is the southernmost city in the world. Or not. Chileans will tell you that Punta Arenas, which is further north but has a population of 130,000 is the southernmost city while Ushuaia , with its measly 60,000 inhabitants, is merely a very southern town. Seeing as we hit both places, I can confidently say that I have been in the southernmost city and leave it at that. Prior to the cruise, I had made reservations for a boat ride across the Beagle Channel on a vessel named the M/N Barracuda . Therefore, it struck me as peculiar when we were disembarking from the cruise ship and I saw a docked boat that appeared to have been brought over by Magellan himself, looking as if it was about to sink any minute and bearing the name Barracuda. I rationalized that this m