This is the "End of the World"

Okay, not really. The world is round, I'm told, so there is no beginning and there is no end. BUT, in terms of having reached the end of the road, the end of a country, the end of a continent, it definitely holds true. Ushuaia is the southernmost town in the world. Going south from here means a few Chilean islands that Argentina would like to call her own and Antarctica - quite a few people actually set sail from here. The close distance to the South Pole is felt and there are suitable souvenirs to bring home: thick fleece jackets, T-shirts and penguins in every shape, size and colour.

Sitting in a small café in the main street, I notice a large map on the wall. There is just one tiny thing wrong with it: Antarctica is actually missing. The map is old and by then it probably still needed discovering.

When we had crossed the Magellan Strait a few days earlier, some black and white dolphins swam in our bow wave accompanying us for a while. We were glad to be in Tierra del Fuego (Land of the Fire) as the monotonous Patagonian steppe was due to come to an end giving way to trees, lakes and snow-capped mountains. This made a welcome change. Unfortunately, there are lots of dead trees caused by beaver damage. Many years ago some clever clogs had the idea of introducing a couple of beavers to Tierra del Fuego in order to make it attractive for fur hunting. However, the beavers' fur changed for the worse and they started to breed uncontrollably. A single beaver fur now brings only 50 Pesos, which is little more than ten bucks. The population explosion of the beavers is only rivalled by the growth of Ushuaia itself. Some 20 years ago there were just about 10,000 inhabitants and nowadays it is pushing 100,000.

The weather is not too bad either. A little windy, though. I might just have another look at those fleece jackets.*

*I have been bad. I bought some penguins in the end ...