Home»Antarctica 2006: Views from the End of the Earth»Tierra Del Fuego

The beginning of everything? Ushuaia, the southernmost city on earth, declares in large letters on a wall visible from its harbor "The End of the World, the Beginning of Everything." It could easily be a Southeast Alaskan fishing town like Ketchikan, similarly transformed to welcome cruise ship tourists, with a colorful mix of old and new buildings, tucked between the Beagle Channel and the mountains of Patagonia. The terrain in Tierra Del Fuego National Park looks a lot like Alaska at similar latitude in the north, surrounded by rocky peaks still painted with the remnants of last winter's snow. And in fact, the park marks the southern terminus of the Pan American Highway - Route 3 - the northern end of which passes by Denali National Park on its way to the Alaskan coastal plain and the Arctic Ocean … over 14,000 miles to the north. So, two days of anticipation, meeting fellow travelers (some nervously awaiting delayed luggage) and warming up the photographic eye with Patagonian wildlife before boarding the Akademik Sergei Vavilov and sailing eastward, away from the setting sun and into the South Atlantic …

On the first day at sea I tried Dramamine, ginger pills, and an electronic watch with which I nearly defibrillated myself … and succumbed to the patch …