Cruise with Silversea to Ushuia, Argentina

THE Argentinian city of Ushuaia has been famous for many things, not least as the southernmost outpost of the Earth, writes Brad Crouch.

Shops selling outdoor wear line Ushuaia's main street. Picture: Brad Crouch.

USHUAIA is not the end of the world but you can catch a train to it from here.

Tren del Fin del Mundo - The End of the World Train - pretty much sums up the drawing power of Ushuaia (pronounced Oosh-wire).

It is the sort of place people visit to say they have been there, done that, rather than investing in timeshare apartments for repeat visits.

Perched on the storm-tossed bottom tip of South America, this Argentinian outpost of 65,000 people is the southernmost city on Earth.

It is the main city on Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire) looking out to Cape Horn, the fearsome point where the Atlantic meets the Pacific, where many sailors perished.

As an epic location it has had epic visitors - Ferdinand Magellan, Sir Francis Drake, Charles Darwin aboard the HMAS Beagle are remembered in geographical names.

In the 1800s English missionaries worked among the indigenous tribes but it was a largely forgotten outpost until a short-lived gold rush in the 1880s - which largely decimated the indigenous tribes. Argentina built a prison for their worst offenders as a land claim against rival intentions from neighbouring Chile, and the prisoners built a railway into the forest to collect wood for their settlement.

In 1970, Ushuaia (civic motto: End of the World, Beginning of Everything) was given a tax exemption for factories, and its population jumped from 5000 to 65,000.

Shops selling outdoor wear line Ushuaia's main street. Picture: Brad Crouch.

Today Ushuaia thrives on seafarers who eagerly pay good money to take to these seas, for today it is a key departure point for pleasure cruises to Antarctica. It is the closest jumping-off point to head across the notorious Drake Passage to the Antarctic Peninsula, a much shorter trip to the White Continent than from Australia or New Zealand.

My own cruise will be with the ultra-luxury Silversea line, where even their expedition ship Silver Explorer has a butler for each suite as well as a steward, the drinks are complimentary and the cruising is easy. It is not exactly the tough life polar pioneers faced, but for people a little past their polar pioneering prime, the ship's comforts, from gourmet meals to pampering spa treatments, jacuzzis on the sun deck to watch glaciers and even a pillow menu, are a welcome retreat after a day in Zodiacs landing at pristine outposts to marvel at the wildlife, landscapes and sheer isolation.

With a couple of days before we cruise I am doing what hundreds do each year when they land in Ushuaia before their cruise - explore.

Among the things to enjoy:

TRAIN

The route where prisoners once hauled logs is now a 40-minute tourist train trip into the nearby Tierra del Fuego National Park.

Tren del Fin del Mundo gives an insight into the Magellanic subpolar forests surrounding Ushuaia without going to the most scenic parts of the park.

LANDSCAPES

Set between the snow-capped Martial Mountains and the deepwater Beagle Channel, the town has spread around the waterfront in a somewhat haphazard way. The nearby forests of Tierra del Fuego National Park, the Martial Glacier and nearby ski fields are drawcards. The water keeps temperatures relatively mild despite the location, generally varying from 0C to 10C. Skiing the world's most southerly ski fields and playing the world's most southerly golf course are part of the fun.

MUSEUMS

The town has several museums showing the influence of indigenous, English and Spanish cultures, including one housed in the notorious prison, which opened in 1896 and closed in 1947. Naturally there is an End of the World Museum.

MAIN DRAG

Parallel one-way streets - one around the waterfront and one a block back - are full of shops selling outdoor wear, reflecting the town's role as a tourist centre. It looks and feels like a ski town, with plenty of chalet- style buildings. Further out the houses are colourful and cute in a gingerbread cottage sort of way.

The street signs have the latitude and longitude, emphasising this is the Deep South. The town has several hotels, a couple of casinos and the world's southernmost Irish pub.

RESTAURANTS

Fans of a Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe will be interested in a restaurant at the end of the world. As a tourist town there are quite a few along the waterfront.

Tia Elvira is a reasonable choice, with a good seafood selection including some excellent king crab. Like Ushuaia itself, it is worth experiencing without troubling the staff for a regular booking.

The writer was a guest of Silversea.

Interesting sculptures like this one can be found in Ushuaia. Picture: Brad Crouch.

GO2 ARGENTINA

Sailing there

Silver Explorer will be in Antarctica from November until March next year. The Classic Antarctica 10-day sailing round-trip Ushuaia, on December 2 this year is priced from $11,500 a person, twin share. The package includes return charter flights Buenos Aires/Ushuaia.

The same trip on February 10 next year is priced from $12,101 a person, twin share. The first trip next year with good availability is on February 10, with the same details as above, and is priced at $A12,010 a person.

Ph 1300 306 872 or see silversea.com/expeditions

Staying there

Hotel Albatros is on the waterfront within an easy walk of the main departure points of cruise ships.

Tip: Don't mention the Falklands. Signs in English stress Argentina's claims to what they call the Malvinas and say the British "illegally occupy" the islands.

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