I find that I really liked Ushuaia - I did everything I really wanted to, so I am ok with less time here than I had originally intended (between buses leaving a day early and me arriving a day late, I really am only here for 2 days, plus a little that first night). Besides, I still want to go to Antarctica someday, so that will probably bring me back here at some point.
The town is a really interesting hybrid. It´s not miniscule - at least 60,000, if not more, but it is also built where there wasn't room, so it´s crammed between mountains and the Channel. It is only about four streets deep (but they are very long!), yet as it is, there are staircases on the sidewalks because of the steep hills. It´s also such a vacation spot for the whole world, that it has a very cosmopolitan feel. It feels like a jumble of Tahoe (with the rusticy-resort feel), an Alaska frontier town (it is an undeniably remote and harsh place to live, so the people that do it year-round have a bit of cache for it, and they know it), and a Track & Trail catalogue (how tempted am I to go to one of the umpteen stores and buy something by Patagonia, IN PATAGONIA). So take all of that on a normal day, and ptoooy out spits a cruise ship´s bazillion passengers on shore for the day. It´s chaotic and weird, but also really lovely.
Tonight was a warm and sunny Saturday night, so the main drag (really, the only street with anything but houses on it) was packed with families, and everyone in town under the age of 20. Apparently, it is the place to be in Ushuaia, and it was kind of cool to see. Not necessarily cool to get stuck behind when you are hungry and want dinner, but whatever.
The 20 hours of sunlight is surprisingly disorienting. It never feels late until it's 1 am, and combined with the traditional Argentine tendencies towards late dinners and nightlife anyhow, and the fact that it is the summer holidays, and it´s really disorienting to see toddlers out and about at 11:45 like it´s nothing.
So, thumbs up on Ushuaia. Stop here on your next Antarctic cruise.
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3 comments:
Sounds breath taking!! Hope you're not too sore today.
Hi!, great chronicle about my city!
My friend Jasmin laughed when she discovered the brand Patagonia. Apparently in the Spanish language it has the connotation of B.F.E. Always made me want to go there, and now you have! High five!
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