If Ushuaia, was really the end of the world, where are we now? As we travel west out of the Beagle Channel, we are passing one more town, Puerto Williams, on the south side of the channel. There are only about 2,000 residents here, and it is a town, not a city, but of course the Chileans have their own claim of being the southernmost TOWN in the world.
Chile and Argentina do not have the best of relations, and much of the land in this area is disputed. For example, Chile lays claim to half of the island of Tierra del Fuego. Even though nobody lives on the Chilean half, we passed a border police building on yesterday's tour.
Also, the island of Cabo de Hornos (Cape Horn) is in Chile, so only Chilean flagged ships are allowed to disembark there... a disappointment to this sailor, as to a sailor, a trip to Cape Horn is a bit like a pilgrimage to Mecca.
So this “southernmost” dispute seems a bit silly, but it did remind me of a tour we took in Key West, FL one time, where they claim to be the southernmost point in the U.S.... the guide started having fun with this, pointing out the southernmost mailbox, the southernmost dumpster, etc.
Can't we all just get along? :-) Rob
No comments:
Post a Comment