Jail bird

To mooch. To faff. To be a right lazy bum! That's what was on the itinerary for today! Just as well, I'm getting a sore throat and I simply do not have time to be sick, thank you very much!

After taking full advantage of a late checkout from Hotel Alto Andino and dropping off some clothes at the lavadero (clean clothes...what a treat they'll be!) I wandered the two blocks downhill to Saint Martin, the main drag.

View from the hotel of the facing mountains:

When I checked in to the hotel on Tuesday they gave me a promotional package to a jewellery store. I nearly threw it out except I saw the words "free gift" and I looked more closely. Indeed all I had to do was go to their shop and collect my gift. It's worthy of mention because it happens to be a penguin pendant! How appropriate for "Operation Penguin"!

A penguin mural in downtown Ushuaia:

I'd heard the Maritime museum in the old prison was worthwhile seeing so I wandered there next. I enjoyed the first part the most as it had displays of maps from the 17th century onwards. I'm fascinated by old maps because they depict the world as they knew it at the time (before space stations!). They're inevitably wrong but often impressively close.

One of the prison wings in the museum:

There were different displays in each wing of the prison on two levels. One displayed local art, one was an Antarctic exhibit, one was on the history of Ushuaia and one was on the history of the prison. It was really interesting but as with most museum visits, I have a limit and then my eyes glaze over.

Fortunately, just as I was hitting my limit, Paul and Allison (from the tour yesterday) showed up and we went and had a coffee in the central pavilion of the prison, as you do. It was time for a break as I hadn't had lunch and was feeling woozy.

I pushed myself a little bit more and went to see the Yámana museum. The Yámana people were the aboriginals of the area, having settled here around 7000 years ago. It makes sense when you think about it - this was the last corner of the earth to be populated by man. It's a long way overland from Africa!

Worth mentioning is that these people braved the conditions here naked, save a loin cloth! It was explained that because they were nomadic, they were always building new homes and these homes weren't waterproof. Any clothes they would have worn would have always been wet, never drying and uncomfortable. They came to prefer the oils from their own bodies and those from whales or seals to protect them. Wow! And here I go and buy a hoodie and another pair of gloves! I'm such a baby!

One of the buildings off the main street with late afternoon lighting: