“To fall in love with Ushuaia at first sight, you need to fly there by plane,” I read once. As a matter of fact, this is how it turned out.
Before that, we just went to the track to Mount Fitzroy and watched the stunningly beautiful Perito Moreno Glacier near El Calafate. Ushuaia has always been a dream - inaccessible, as far as possible from everything where we have been before and practically inaccessible. And now we are close, on the map some couple of centimeters separate us from the dream, but it’s hard to get there by crossing the border of Chile, but we don’t have a visa. To make her at the consulate in Buenos Aires, you need so many documents, as if I'm going to permanent residence in America, by God. Therefore, almost at the last moment we decide to fly. By the way, given the price of bus tickets, a flight is not always the most expensive option. Ours cost about $ 100 one way.
Aerolines Argentinas are very pleased - everything is fast, clear and without delays, and snacks are given out in such nice boxes. dedicated to different cities of Argentina.
If you look at the map of South America, then at the bottom of Argentina is Tierra del Fuego. It would seem that the very south, but nature and climate are very harsh, cold winds blow in summer, and the temperature does not rise above 15 degrees. And in winter, in general, daylight hours are reduced almost to a couple of hours, and the rest of the time everything around is plunged into darkness. So, at the very tip of Tierra del Fuego, the small town of Ushuaia was lost. The end of the world, Fin del mundo, then only Antarctica, just some 1000 km, and to Kiev as many as 14800, can you imagine? When I used to watch programs about her, I didn’t even think that one day we would get this far.
We flew to Ushuaia for 4 days. What for? I think the halo of mystery that surrounds her is to blame. Plus, the title of End of the World and the opportunity to visit there did not give rest. And from the porthole window, when the plane landed right above the Beagle Channel, we realized that we were flying for good reason. Well, to receive a marriage proposal at the end of the world was also a very good idea. Remembering this now, it seems to me that Ushuaia is the most suitable and unusual place that Anton could choose for this event. All other options look very commonplace. Although, when we flew there, I did not suspect anything at all and just, like all travelers, dreamed of Fin del mundo.
The airport is located just 4 km from the city. It seems to me that we loaded things in a taxi longer than actually riding it. What you immediately notice when leaving the airport - a gusty wind, knocking down, which nearly tore the door in the car.
How do people live at World's End? Yes, like everyone else. A lot of people work in tourism. And the season here is very short - December - February, when summer is at that end of the world. True, the streets, even the most central ones, are very few. And every 100 meters I want to run into another cafe for a cup of hot cocoa. Because even in summer it is so cold that we had to dress up in snowmen and put on thermal underwear for walks.
The most interesting entertainment here is boat trips. You can ride a big boat with a bunch of people, which will give you the opportunity to look at the penguins from afar, you can take a direct walk around the station where the penguins live and walk between them, but it costs twice as much. And we chose the option to ride on a small sailing yacht. True, without a race to the penguins, because such yachts can not go so far. By the way, quite by accident they immediately wandered into an agency that belonged to our compatriot from Donetsk. Fifteen years ago, she moved with her whole family to Argentina and now lives in Buenos Aires, and for the season comes to Ushuaia.
Tiny yachts can take only 8 people, which creates a very intimate and completely non-tourist atmosphere. This is an opportunity to sail through the Beagle Channel and look at Tierra del Fuego through the eyes of the first sailors, feel the icy south wind on your own skin, swim to the colony of fur seals basking in the rain, almost at arm's length and round the southernmost lighthouse in the world.
And it was there, near the southernmost lighthouse, at the very very end of the world, on the deck of a tiny yacht, to receive an offer of marriage from Him. Of course, without hesitation to agree and then all the way back, just stand on the deck, hold hands, not feeling the fierce cold, and smile happily all this time.
For that, it was worth going to Ushuaia.