The first European to "discover" Tierra del Fuego in 1520 was Ferdinand Magellan who gave the island this name because, as the legend goes, he thought he was seeing many fires lit by indigenous Fuegians and was scared that they want to attack his fleet. Later on, however, all the locals - Alacaluf, Yamana, Ona and other tribes - disappeared due to the illnesses and the last remaining Yamana now lives in Navarino island, south of the Isla Grande.



Like most remote islands or even continents in the world Tierra del Fuego was originally a prison and some well-known Argentinian political prisoners that opposed military rule were held here.



From Ushuaia I set out in the oldest boat carrying tourists in these waters - Baracuda - to explore the Beagle Channel. The channel is so named after capitain Robert FitzRoy's ship that surveyed the coasts of Tierra del Fuego archipelago in early 19th century. Actually, the ship also had Charles Darwin onboard. And he did have what to admire here... Two days among sea lions, cormorans, penguins and albatrosses... I hadn't known that out of 21 species of albatrosses, these amazing seabirds that can travel for miles on end without landing, 19 species are near extinction and that is a lot due to long-line fishing... http://www.savethealbatross.net/ Unfortunately, I did not see any orcas or whales, but they are out in the open Atlantic waters at this time of year. The wind was freezing, but with a group of Italians I had to endure that outside as the inside cabin was full of sick people... the waves rocked the boat for hours. The place is of severe beauty...











Ships from here to Antarctida cost from two to five thousand dollars for a ten day trip. Not that far and not so impossible:)