We have been pretty busy in the last several days; We made our first port of call stop in Argentina when we went to Ushuaia. Then we proceeded on to the Falkland Islands where  Britain fought Argentina in  a short war in 1982. Finally we stopped in Puerto Madryn.

Argentina and Chile have an ongoing disagreement over bragging rights to having the most southern city in the world. Chile claims it is Punta Arenas (pop 145,000). Argentina claims it is Ushuaia, which in fact is further to the South. However, Chile says, Ushuaia isn’t large enough to be considered a city, therefore.…However, the population of Ushuaia is over 80.000, which seems kind of substantial to me. Anyway, Argentina and Chile always seem to be fighting over something, so take your pick. 

We also took a train trip named Train to the End of the World. Everything in Ushuaia is named …End of the World. Then again it travelled through beautiful countryside, if a little cramped.

Then again there is the Falkland Islands. Argentina fought a war, albeit a short one, with Britain over the archipelago in 1982. It only takes a short trip to the Falklands to understand that the Falkland Islanders consider themselves to be British through and through. 

The display of the Union Jack is routine and streets are named after Margaret Thatcher everywhere. The language, accents and customs of the people are undeniably British. In fact, a couple of years ago they had a referendum in which 98% of the people voted to remain a territory of Britain. 

For its part, Argentina still considers itself to be the rightful sovereign over the Falklands. Argentinians refer to them as Malvinas, I suppose as a way of asserting a continuing claim. Nobody appears interested in stirring up any serious trouble over the issue. 

Argentina is in the early stages of a huge social experiment. Juan and Eva Peron have had a huge influence on the country ever since the 1940s. Their legacy is almost certainly the cause of Argentina’s disastrous public finances and semi routine trips in and out of bankruptcy. In the last election however, Argentinians voted for Javier Milei, a self-described anarcho-capitalist. 

Milei has taken steps to fix Argentina’s public finances, deregulate industry, reduce inflation and dollarize the economy. In the event, the locals nicknamed him “El Loco”.  It remains to be seen how much of his agenda he will be able to achieve and what the effects will be. Stay tuned. 

Next on the agenda was a short boat ride from the docks of Puerto Madryn to the Penninsula Valdes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There we did some for dolphin watching, although the dolphins were hard to capture on film. Nevertheless we did see quite a few sea lions and Cormorants.  

One of the most interesting things about this trip has been the variation in atmosphere throughout all we have seen of South America. There have been so many immigrants from all parts of the globe that we constantly find (among the sheep ranches and the mining towns and the agricultural valleys and the glaciers) towns with distinctly European shops, architecture and vibes, and foods with Asian roots and influences.  It makes for a feast for the senses.  

Now it’s on to Montevideo Uruguay before heading back to Argentina and Buenas Aires.

Joe & Mary Anne