Ushuaia, ARGENTINA - Jeffrey Tanenhaus

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Asahi Weekly
TRAVEL
Sunday, October 19, 2008
第３種郵便物認可
13
Ushuaia, ARGENTINA
「世界の果て」で大自然とふれ合う
By Jeffrey Tanenhaus
Photojournalist
Pacific
Ocean
CHILE
Buenos Aires
‘O
h, Ushuaia — I’ve always
wanted to go down there!”
cried a friend, her eyes
glowing with excitement.
An emotional reaction was typical
when I told friends studying with me
in Argentina that I had visited the
southernmost city in the world.
There’s something about being at
the edge of the map that appeals to
the explorer inside all of us.
Although far down on the globe at
54 degrees south latitude, Ushuaia
ranks high among Argentine cities
that foreigners want to experience
after the country’s cosmopolitan
capital, Buenos Aires.
Local businesses cash in on
Ushuaia’s unique geography. Store
shelves are packed with “End of the
World” souvenirs such as stuffed penguins, boxes of chocolates, bumper
stickers and T-shirts in every color.A
free passport stamp at the tourist
office makes your journey official.
The sense of being at the bottom is
inescapable, and greets cruise ships
even before passengers set foot on
land.A painted wall facing the harbor
announces in English,“Ushuaia: end
of the world, beginning of everything.”
With only uninhabited islands and
ocean separating it from the great
white continent of Antarctica,
Ushuaia is indeed where man’s influence ends and nature’s reign begins.
This is the last stop for cruises continuing on to Antarctica, still 1,000
kilometers farther south. The grim
reality of global warming has ice
tourism booming to Ushuaia’s benefit. Hotel rooms during peak season
— from December through March
when temperatures are mildest —
are sold out well in advance.
始まりは流刑地
Venturing down to South America’s
southern tip wasn’t always so popular, or so voluntary. Settlement began
with a prison colony in 1896 when 14
prisoners were shipped here from
Buenos Aires. In 1902, construction
began for a jail to hold 580 criminals.
For one murderer, however, death was
a better sentence than imprisonment
in “the evil land.” Before the transport
sailed south, the prisoner jumped into
the water and drowned in his chains.
The area’s extreme isolation and
harsh climate made it unnecessary
to build a security wall around the
prison. Escapees either died in the
wilderness or returned for food and
shelter. While the prison closed in
1947, it has reopened as a prime
tourist attraction. Visitors can enter
the exhibit-filled cells where inmates
once spent long days and cold nights.
What draws most people this far
URUGUAY
ARGENTINA
Atlantic
Ocean
Ushuaia
south, however, is the natural beauty
of the region known in Spanish as
Tierra del Fuego, or Land of Fire. A
boat tour through the Beagle Channel
that separates Argentina and Chile is
the best way to survey the scenery.
From the water, Ushuaia looks small
and vulnerable. Sharply rising mountains dwarf the city with their peaks
covered in snow even during summer.
As buildings fade from view, evidence of man’s fingerprint on the
landscape disappears. This terrain
is tough to tame. Down here, nature
— not man — is the deciding force.
Strong winds shape the direction of
tree growth, and days are climatically dynamic.A sunny sky can turn
cloudy and cold in a hurry, and snowfall in summer is not unheard of.
フエゴ島のアイドルたち
The boat slows as we pass cormorants and sea lions sunning on a
rocky island. A giant sea lion welcomes us with a roar while dozens
of his friends sleep like blubbery
bowling pins knocked down. The
celebrities of Tierra del Fuego
wildlife, however, are nowhere to be
seen. Penguins apparently have
their own island half an hour away.
It’s too chilly for humans to be enjoying the beach, but that isn’t stopping
hundreds of Gentoo and Magellanic
penguins.They hop around the shores
of Martillo Island while our boat deck
jumps with excited tourists. We
observe each other from a short distance; the penguins flap their wings
and we click our cameras. The encounter is brief but memorable, and
the boat returns to port.
Back on land, the exploration of
the outdoors continues at Tierra del
Fuego National Park, just outside
the city. I hiked a trail along a lake
to the border with Chile. Fishing,
kayaking and horseback riding are
also popular in these forests never
far from the water.
After a full day of sightseeing in
nature, I was hungry to put some on
my plate. For dinner I ordered fresh
centolla (king crab), whose tender
meat is an expensive local delicacy,
but well worth the price.
Ushuaia’s remote position on the
map captures the imagination of
many travelers.The reality of alpine
landscapes and sub-Arctic wildlife
rewards a journey to the end of the
world that remains wonderfully isolated, but now also accessible to lawabiding citizens.
ウスアイアはアルゼンチ
ン南部のフエゴ島に位置す
る、世界最南端の町。南極
大陸までわずか1000キロというこの
場所は、過酷な自然環境に囲まれ、
1896年にアルゼンチン政府が凶悪犯
を収容する流刑地を建設したのに伴
って開拓が始まりました。監獄は
1947年に閉鎖され、その後は険しい
山岳風景をはじめとする自然の美が
売り物の観光スポットになりました。
景色を満喫するならアルゼンチンと
チリとの国境に位置するビーグル水道
(Beagle Channel) の遊覧船ツアーが
おすすめです。1832年に若き日のチ
ャールズ・ダーウィンがビーグル号に
同船してこの水路を航海し、先住民や
動植物の記録を世界で初めて紹介した
ことで有名になりました。ジェンツー
( Gentoo) ペ ン ギ ン 、 マ ゼ ラ ン
(Magellanic) ペンギン、アシカの群
れなどが観察できます。このほか、チ
リ国境まで行ける国立公園のハイキン
グや釣り、カヤック、乗馬も人気です。
町を歩けば「End of the World（世
界の果て）」という文字の入ったさま
ざまなみやげ物が並んでいます。地元
で獲（と）れたタラバガニは高価です
が、美味で食べてみる価値はあります。
年間を通して強風が吹き、天候も急激
に変わりやすく、夏に雪が降ることも
珍しくありません。
(W)
8
1
2
9
3
5
10
1 太平洋と大西洋をつなぐ水路として知られるビ
6
4
7
ーグル水道。アルゼンチンとチリの国境にあり、
後方の山々はチリ領に属する
2 遊覧船からペンギンの群れを観察。人の姿を見
ても逃げず、海岸の砂浜に穴を掘って生活している
3 岩礁の上で昼寝中のアシカ。周囲には小さな島
が点在し、そこに生息する動物たちを見て回るク
ルーズが人気
4 ウスアイアの町の全景。漁業や林業のほか石油
や天然ガスの開発も盛ん。自由港のため免税店が
数多くある
5 博物館として公開されている元監獄には、等身
大の看守の人形が
6 ペンギンとビーバーは町を代表するキャラクター
7 観光客用の蒸気機関車。囚人たちによって線路
が敷かれ、かつては石材や木材を運ぶ手段として
使われていた
8 世界各地までの距離をマイルで示した標識
9 「ウスアイア 世界の果て」と記された観光用
の看板。町の案内所では世界最南端の町を訪れた
証明書を発行してくれる
10 タラバガニが名物で、シーフードを売り物に
したレストランも多い