Cloudy, sleeting, howling wind on my arrival into Ushuaia. Caught a ‘sight seeing bus’ around town. A brief history of the township (pop 80,000):

The Selk’nam Indians also called the Ona, first arrived in Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire) about 10,000 years ago. The southern group of the Selk’nam, the Yaghan (also known as Yámana), occupied what is now Ushuaia, living in continual conflict with the northern inhabitants of the island.

A Portuguese expedition led by Magellan in 1580 ended in an armed confrontation with the Selk’nam, the beginning of a complex relationship between indigenous people and Europeans until colonization practically exterminated them. 

Ushuaia was founded informally by British missionaries, long before Argentine nationals or government representatives arrived on a permanent basis. The British ship HMS Beagle, under the command of Captain Robert FitzRoy, first reached the channel in 1833.

The Argentinians claimed claim In 1872, with the hoisting of the flag on the arrival of Commodore Augusto Laserre, commander of the expeditionary division of the Argentinian Navy to the South Atlantic. In 1885, Ushuaia became the capital and seat of the Government of Tierra del Fuego. 

In an effort to attract permanent residents from Argentina to settle in this remote area,  a penal colony was established, modelled on Tasmania’s! In 1896 the prison received its first inmates, mainly re-offenders and dangerous prisoners transferred from Buenos Aires, but also some political prisoners. They became forced colonists and spent much of their time building the town from timber from the forest and a railway to the settlement (the “End of the World” train).

Today, there is a base for the Argentinian navy; population growth has been encouraged by declaring Tierra del Fuego a tax free zone. Ushuaia has developed  infrastructure for both residents and tourists including a fully functional hospital, international airport, educational institutions and a public transport system. The cost of living however, is relatively high, as all goods have to be transported long distances, usually by container ship.

Checked out Trip Advisor re places for dinner and was very glad I selected “Kaupe”, and had a delicious King Crab cooked in a cream, onion, tomato, mustard and pepper sauce. Yummo!! And it’s location is on a hill, with sweeping views over the Beagle channel. Looking forward to catching up with sailing chums tomorrow – we rendezvous at the airport before being taken out for a catamaran lunch on said channel. Then its off to Antartica! Woo hoo!