El Fin del Mundo - beavers and murderers

Fernanda and I had enjoyed our train ride so much that on Easter Monday we took a bus tour. We explored a little more of Tierra del Fuego and admired the fall colours. With all the fall colours, I kept feeling that it was a Thanksgiving drive. We passed beech trees (they have smooth silver bark) and beaver ponds, and it felt almost like home. Then I began to see more beaver ponds ... and more beaver ponds ... all filled with dead beech trees.

The beavers had been invited down from Canada 70 years ago, and had made themselves a little too much at home. Now their great-great grandchildren are killing the forests of Tierra del Fuego, and nobody seems able to get rid of them. When I get home, I'm going to send Fernanda some recipes for beaver!





Fernanda and I shared some mates near the border with Chile. Then we drove way up into the mountains, where the snow sparkled on the peaks. We passed all sorts of lakes and rivers: this one is called Hidden Lake.

Because of all the wildnerness, the government once built a jail in Ushuaia. They thought that even if the prisoners escaped, they couldn't go very far. A long time ago they closed the jail and turned it into a museum, so we bought a ticket and went to visit the "prisoners".

First we said hello to Ricardo Rojas, who was sent to prison in 1934 because the government didn't like the books he wrote.

Then we met Cayetano Santos, the "big-eared midget". Now he was scary. He seemed to have spent a lot of time killing children and animals. They say that he cut off his ears to disguise himself, but they grew back bigger than ever.

I knew he wasn't real, but he scared me so much that I asked Fernanda if we could visit a different prisoner. So we did, but then Fernanda got so scared herself that we decided it was time to leave.

We shared some Easter candy beside a garden of lupins, and soon I felt better again.

Speaking of picnics and food, how do you like this kettle behind me? Isn't it enormous? It sits beside the firepit all day. This is also where they roast the meat for a traditional Argentine barbecue, called an asado. I loved the smoky taste of that mutton ... mmmmm!

When we weren't eating asado or spider crabs, we just made our own lunches. Here are some of the groceries we brought back from the store. Can you recognize any of the labels?
You know, every place I've visited has been beautiful; but I think that Tierra del Fuego tops them all. They say here that if you eat calafate berries you will return. As you can guess, I ate quite a few.

I want to be sure that sometime, somehow, I will see the Southern Cross again in the skies above Ushuaia!

besos,
Sally