Ushuaia - January 1

1/1/08
This morning we made land at the southernmost city in the world - Ushuaia. It lies on the southern coast of the island Tierra Del Fuego surrounded by mountains and overlooking the Beagle Channel. To give you an idea of how remote Ushuaia is -- for the first half of the 20th century the city housed a prison for serious dangerous criminals, since it was so remote that escape would be impossible. Today, Ushuaia is a thriving gateway for Antarctica and Patagonian tourism.

We enjoyed a full day tour of greater Ushuaia. The highlight was a visit to a training school for husky dogs (the kind that pull the sleds.) It is the largest sled dog training center in So America. Here's a photo of Allie holding a newborn husky pup. soooo cute!

We also took a catamaran cruise in the Beagle Channel and came across this lighthouse. It is the southernmost lighhouse in the world. There are a lot of southernmost places here. We drove by the southernmost golf course in the world!

The third picture is of Magellanic Penguins kissing. These are Argentine penguins -- very plentiful and very attractive. We did not know that there were penguins outside of Antarctica -- but here they are!

That's it for today. We are still having a ball - and enjoying every minute. Tomorrow we head back to Santiago for an overnight and then we head home. As I mentioned, I will be making some final postings when I get home and the internet is better. Stay tuned.

LOVE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!