PATAGONIA 2

One of the easiest ways to come to Patagonia, the southern region of Argentina, is by large cruise ships. The only disadvantage of traveling with them is that they arrive in the morning and leave in the evening at the ports of call.

We came to Petro Madryn, Oceanic Patagonia;

We are in Petro Madryn, a charming and beautiful city on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, in the Patagonia region of Argentina and in the southwest of the country, the place that is Oceanic Patagonia. We are in January, the weather here is truly summer, but I predict that as we move south, the wind will increase and the air temperature will drop rapidly.

In 1865, 153 Welsh people living in the Wales region in the west of England started an independence movement against the British, but when the movement failed, the British Parliament banned the language they spoke, Welsh, and wanted to arrest them. 153 rebellious Welsh people decide to go far away with their boat named Mimosa, they settle in this region of South America and the foundations of the city of Petro Madryn are laid.   The city grew further as a result of the construction of the Chubut Railway by Welsh, Spanish and Italian immigrants. Opened in 1889, this line runs from Petro Madryn through the lower Chubut River valley to Trelew.

South American history is full of interesting migration stories from all over the world.

Puerto Madryn is a small-scale city with a population of 126 thousand. In terms of industry, there is not much apart from the aluminum factory. The fur of the merino sheep raised here is known as the thinnest furry animal in the world, the thickness of the hair is 0.7 microns, and the thickness of the fur of the merino sheep raised here is 0.3 microns. In order to prevent the animals’ genes from being corrupted and the breed from degenerating, they sterilize male sheep within the same family so that they cannot mate with their own siblings or siblings. However, the method is interesting; they tear off the male animal’s testicles by biting them or tie them tightly with a rope, and over time they rot and fall off. This is the method, our animals are lucky.

It’s a small place, we haven’t come across many products made from this wool, but it must be expensive.

Madryn, the capital city of Argentina’s Oceanic Patagonia, is a very popular tourist destination with its sandy beaches, the breeding ground of whales from May to December, penguins, elephant seals and killer whales trying to eat them.

We are going to “Peninsula Valdes”, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Most importantly, it was declared a World Heritage Site in the “Man and Biosphere” category. One of the feeding and breeding areas of Magellanic penguins and elephant seals.   Elephant seals are huge animals weighing 3-4 tons, they only come to the mainland here and on the coast of California, America. Why they prefer only these places is not yet fully understood. Huge animals sunbathe like oilskins in their own protected areas on the beach. When he gets hungry, he goes to the sea to fill his stomach and continues to sunbathe again until the weather starts to cool down. Apart from these, animals such as alpacas, llamas and guanacos from the camel family, which are common in this region, also live here in their natural environments.

Penguins are on average 35 cm. Some of them are waddling along with their height, while others are with their babies at their nests.

We leave here in the evening, the sun setting over the ocean and the stunning beauty.

**

We arrived in Ushuaia early in the morning, the weather was always cold and strong frost;

One of the places I care about seeing on this trip is Desert Patagonia, known as the Land of Fire. We dock at the port of Ushuaia. Ushuaia, which has a population of 80,000, mostly soldiers because it is a military base, is the southernmost city in the world and is also one of the regions where life is most difficult in the world, with strong winds, storms, cold and harsh frosts. The economy seems to be based on tourism, nice shops and restaurants seem to be a bit too numerous for the locals.

On the ship, detailed information is given about things to do when you land and tours of the places to visit are sold. You can find the tour you take from the ship, the same route, right in front of the port, for almost a third of the price. Especially if you spend some time and get to the end, the price can be even lower. We already do that. The places to go are almost always the same.

Ushuaia is an essential stop on Patagonia travels. It has become the starting point of many cruises to Antarctica and the epicenter of tourists, but it is an expensive city because everything needed comes from far away places. It is a place between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, opposite the Antarctic continent, where it feels like winter even in summer.

Ushuaia is also known as the tip or end of the world, discovered by Magellan in 1520. It is the capital of the Argentinian province of Tierra Del Fuego (Land of Fire). As Magellan approached these lands, he mistook the different lights he saw for fire and smoke burned by the locals and named this region “Land of Fire”. Even though it was later understood that this was a play of light resulting from geography and climate, it continued to be referred to as such.

First, the train station; 8 km railway built by prisoners in prison in the early 1900s. Like the Siberia of the southern hemisphere, this is the train station where inmates arriving at the prison are transferred to cut trees or work in other jobs in the forest area. It is actually a train-looking vehicle with very narrow rail gaps. They take the same train to similar places twice a day, with the current situation preserved.

The most important place to visit in Ushuaia is Tierra del Fuego National Park, spread over an area of 63,000 hectares. park.

The former owners of this place, the Yamanas, appear before us as “Shamanas” in their own pronunciation. Yamanas named a bird genus “Alakush”. “Alakush” means duck that does not fly. These names seem to tell that the Yamanas migrated from Central Asia. We know that people from Central Asia settled in the American continent when the two continents were united. It is not known why he prefers this extreme point and these cold lands. Yamanas continued their lifestyle until the British came to the region in the 19th century. Darwin described the Yamanas as a being between humans and animals. In the reenactments, they were almost naked, wearing clothes made from sea lion skin and applying sea lion oil to their bodies to keep warm. After the British came to the region, the Yamanas were forced to wear thick clothing. However, since they did not know how to change clothes when they got wet, they started to get sick and die. The people who lived in open thatched huts were forced to live in barracks, but since they were not used to the clean conditions in closed spaces, infectious diseases began to spread. All this led to a sad end for the Yamanas, just like the other locals.

It is not possible to visit every place in one day. “Alakush Facilities” is located in the middle of the park. There is also a picture of Alakush on the window of the facility and you understand how identical it is to its Turkish meaning. In addition to places such as cafes and restaurants, the facility also has a small museum about the Yamanas.

We go to the post office, this is known as the southernmost post office in the world. They have tried to preserve its current state, and even stamp the passports of those who want it as a souvenir during working hours.

Beautiful views and walking, wandering around, lakes, lots of souvenir photos.

The park also has many lakes and observation decks to visit. Its fauna and flora are very rich.

“Ruta Nacional 3”, part of the Pan-American highway, ends in this park.   One of the issues that makes this place important is that the world’s longest highway ends here.

During the “5th International Conference of American Countries” in 1923, the idea of a single land route crossing the continent was formed. Its construction was decided during the “Interamerican Peace Consolidation Conference” in Buenos Aires on December 23, 1936.

A land route with very few gaps that extends from Alaska to the Lands of Fire. It crosses the entire American continent with its north-south extension. It covers 48,000 kilometers as a network line, while the longest North-South line is 25,750 kilometers.

Almost the entire road is completed and usable. Only the 90-kilometer section that must pass through the Darién province, located between the Panama Canal and northwestern Colombia, has not been completed. The road breaks here between the town of Yaviza in Panama and the town of Turbo in Colombia. This is a forested, mountainous and biologically diverse region of ecological importance. This section was not built due to strong opposition from environmentalists due to the protection of the rainforest and the way of life of indigenous people, the region’s obstacle to the spread of animal diseases and drug traffickers.

The Pan-American highway passes through many different climate zones covering 19 different countries. It finds its way through both very dense forests and high mountain passes. That’s why there are many different sign languages. Certain parts of the road are not open to use at all times depending on climatic conditions.

An Old Prison: Presidio;

One of the most important places in the city is the building called Presidio. This place was used as a prison for many years. It was not possible to escape from here even for the toughest prisoners. Even Simon Radowitzky, who managed to escape from Siberia, could not escape from here and spent 21 years here. Heating was provided by stoves in the corridors of the prison. Since the cell doors were closed at night, the cells became very cold, although the corridor remained warm. That’s why the prisoners’ favorite activity was to go chopping trees. In this way, they both warmed up and had the chance to eat a meal. The building was converted into a museum in 1947.

We go to the prison and see what the conditions of the prisoners were at that time. Everyone had the same curiosity, there was an incredible queue to enter the prison, we did not wait, we preferred to walk around the city. Prison is the important place for this. In the past, the Argentinian government sent vicious and dangerous prisoners to this prison because it was sheltered and almost impossible to escape, and later England and some other countries began to send prisoners to this prison in exchange for money. There is no way out from here, people die due to reasons such as harsh weather conditions, harsh working conditions, disease, and new prisoners come after them.   Now this place is open to the public as a museum.

It’s evening, time is right, we are returning to the ship. As I leave the port, I look across the city again and we disappear into the horizon, watching this beauty. It is a small but proud city with many stories, located at the foot of the Andes Mountains.

We are sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, towards Antarctica, to the bottom of the world.

 

Best regards

Hayrettin Kaknici

January 2024

www.hayrettinkagnici.com