Ushuia, Argentina - Tierra del Fuego

Ushuia, on the island of Tierra del Fuego, bills itself alternatively as the "Southernmost City in the World" (Geographically Inaccurarate) and the "Ass of the World" (Anatomically Inaccurate and Exceedingly Self-Depricating). It´s situated on the Beagle Channel, and I´ve absorbed more Darwin history in the past 48 hours than in the rest of my life combined. Need to do some more investigating, but was shocked to know that the HMS Beagle originally sailed with half a mind to validate the Christian Genesis story, and that it´s pivotal role in Darwin´s development of the most heretical scientific theory of all time drove the ship´s captain, Robert Fitzroy, to eventually do himself in.

Took a boat into the channel the other day and climbed to the top of an island where it was possible to see both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Then took a walk down the harbor and found a bar named after John Lennon. Then stood in the middle of an intersection with jagged, snow-capped mountains down one street and the the rough blue sea down the other.

I like this place.

There are two Irish bars and no Irish people. The prices (now that we´re back in Argentina) are much nicer than in Chile, where I was absolutely scandelized by the $17 I paid nightly for the hostel in Punta Arenas.

(Incidentally, on my last day in Punta Arenas I stopped on the sidewalk for 10 minutes to watch a small, wiry man mop his brow with a handkerchief in between brief sessions of attempting to break up the concrete in his driveway with furious swipes of a woodaxe while his daughter practiced doing handstands a few feet away. He seemed slightly perturbed and confounded by the task, but not the least bit discouraged.)

Have met several people here on the way to Antarctica, one of whom was going to attempt to retrace Shackleton´s embattled route across South Georgia Island.

Rented a car yesterday with Alex and Fiona (Aussie couple), The Duchess, and Pedro the Columbian Lion, whose driving was absolutely fearsome. We took gravel roads over mountain passes at speeds I wouldn´t have thought possible even on a flat grade in such a vehicle (VW Golf knockoff) and saw more of the island in 12 hours than most people probably see in a week.

Pedro really wanted to see penguins, and when it became apparent that our day was going to end without having seen any penguins he got angry in a way that I can only describe as "Columbian." It was at this point that the driving became particularly acrobatic.

The electricity went out in our hostel today and I didn´t even notice it for two hours. I´m not exactly sure what the significance of this is, but it struck me as being somehow poignant and a good sign.