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| Ushuaia would have to be Argentina's southern
most town, located on the northern side of the Beagle Channel - the
last 4 hours of calm water before ships enter the Drake Passage...
In a perverse twist of geography, Chile claims the southern part of
the Beagle Channel, and recently, 'jealous' of the success of Ushuaia,
they too have built a town that is now even further south. |
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Aerial view of Ushuaia
Coming into land
Ushuaia is nestled in the Patagonia mountains. Generally, flights
down from Buenos Aires are cloud free - until the plane suddenly
banks westward and starts to come down the Beagle Channel to Ushuaia....
Clouds build up along the mountains and frequently, cover Ushuaia.
With the tall peaks to the north, the plane may have to make several
passes before finding a break in the clouds.
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Curb crawling
Main street, Ushuaia
There is one main street in Ushuaia and during the morning and
evening, it's pot-holed roads are filled with crawling beat-up old
cars, coloufully attired natives, scrawny but loved dogs and gortex-clad
hikers and Antarctic-bound tourists...
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Departure point
The jetty where Antarctic-bound cruise ships depart from
On this clear, but cool sunny day, there were five ships docked,
all bound in one direction or another for the Antarctic Peninsula.
The Orlova, an ice-strengthened vessel, is the big dark blue
and white vehicle to the right in this photograph.
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