Ushuaia - at the end of the world

The buses only run half hourly here so we decided to walk to town to visit the Tourist office for maps, advice etc.

Not a good impression; graffiti, rubbish everywhere, abandoned broken cars, shabby houses and huge potholes even in major roads. Tonight I popped to the supermarket - a 10 minute walk, the wind had got up and I had to walk through a dust storm.

Also there are these signs with the sentiment officially endorsed on all buses too;

Then we came across a huge memorial for those lost in the battle for the Falklands. We discovered later that there is a channel on TV which broadcasts live CCTV of the memorial with accompanying sentimental music. I started to feel a bit uncomfortable and wondered how we would be received in the town remembering the Top Gear debacle. Little did I know it wouldn't be the people I needed to worry about.

We walked along the front and I saw my first albatross. Incredible wingspan. They were swooping over the water and over us too. I have never been this far south before - the souvenir shops make a big thing about the 'end of the world' claim to fame.

I came across a year old article in the Economist which described how the Argentinian government were worried in the 1970s about Chile building up military bases on the western side of Tierra Del Fuego. They decided to encourage people to migrate down here with tax exemptions and they gave companies incentives too. The population increased five fold but gave rise to haphazard building in the town. Things have gone a bit pear shaped in the last few years with the economy and the withdrawal of some incentives - maybe this goes some way to explain why the town is like it is. It does have a beautiful setting though.

We continued our walk along the front then turned uphill through a residential area to make our way back. A dog came out of nowhere and started barking at me. We've had this before but this bl**dy dog bit down on my foot and would not let go. I had my lightweight walking boots on and I could feel the pressure of it's teeth. No amount of shouting or kicking out made it stop. It was terrible. In the end Martin got a plank of wood and whacked the dog. I've got a hole in my boot - hopefully the dog has a really sore backside. I'm just lucky my boots protected my skin.