Having succumbed to the sweltering heat in Buenos Aires, I can assure you that arriving at Ushuaia “The End of the World” Argentina in 45 degree Fahrenheit weather, wearing a t-shirt, sweat pants and flip flops was not the most pleasant feeling. I scurried off the plane and paused to look around at the scenery that encompassed Ushuaia International Airport. The plane had touched down on a strip of land so narrow that if the pilot had landed a few feet off course, surely the aircraft would have plummeted into the Pacific Ocean. The craggy, snowcapped Martial Mountain range loomed in the distance, looking ominous as ever. Grabbing my luggage off of the belt, I walked outside to find several tour agencies by the exit, one of which had a Magellan Penguin as its logo.
In 1520, under the Spanish King Charles V’s command, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew embarked on a journey around the world. Upon finding Ushuaia, then inhabited by the aboriginal peoples, Magellan was fascinated by the vast land and primitive lifestyle of the natives. He nicknamed Ushuaia “Tierra del Fuego”, otherwise known as “Land of Fire” or “End of the World.” Once Ferdinand had made this expedition, many Indians were quickly plagued by untreatable diseases brought by the European settlers, and it was just a matter of time before their race became extinct. By the late 1800s, the Argentinian government had claimed this territory and began investing in seafood exporting, cattle ranching, and gold mining.
Of all the things I learned on my trip, the most bizarre would have to be that Ushuaians eat nothing but King Crab. I recalled going into town to eat dinner at what was perhaps the most popular crab shack in all of Argentina: Freddy’s seafood. During the 20 minute wait, I noticed the colossal crab tank placed smack dab in the middle of the restaurant. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the poor creatures, completely oblivious of their near brutal fate as someone’s dinner. The menu was nothing but a variety of King crab dishes; crab legs, crab soup, fried crab stuffed with even more crab on top of crab salad – you name it, Freddy had it. Although not particularly a fan of crabmeat, I found the food so appetizing that having to voraciously rip apart an entire crustacean with my bare hands did not strike me as the slightest bit primitive.
At 5 a.m. the following morning, I lethargically dragged myself out of bed, slumped downstairs to the breakfast hall where I met two Alaskan backpackers. They told my dad about how they had driven from Anchorage all the way to Ushuaia, a whopping 10,000 mile journey, in 3 months. “But why?” I wondered. Was it really worth a quarter year expedition just to visit some supposed “End of the World”? Isn’t the “End of the World” really Antarctica, anyway? Suddenly, it had occurred to me that I had underestimated the significance of this vacation. My mom had been bubbling with excitement ever since she had made the bookings 2 months ago, but I had just assumed that this would be another one of our “family holidays”. I never realized the amount of effort that some people had put into making this trip possible for themselves. Maybe it was the fact that I was only thirteen, but at that moment I realized that there were so many things in this world that I took for granted. I mean, how many other people my age had access to clean water, a proper education, or even a roof over their heads, let alone the opportunity to travel to one of revered destinations. With this in mind, I kept a positive attitude and looked forward to the rest of my stay in Ushuaia, Argentina.
As I made my journey to Tierra del Fuego in an open-air motorboat, the sharp wind whipped my face, leaving my lips raw and stinging. The further into Ushuaia I ventured, the more perilous the weather had gotten, and the more I longed to be back inside, lounging by a warm fire. Uncomfortable as I was, I knew that reaching the island would be an experience like no other, and it was the satisfaction of being able to say that I made it to the “End of the World” that kept me going. The island was inhabited by different penguin species such as the Antarctic King, Rockhopper, and the most famous; Magellan Penguin. A placard on the beach read “Fin del Mundo, Ushuaia”. I couldn’t believe my eyes; the beauty of it all was astonishing, and I was walking in the footsteps of some great explorers. I did it – I had reached the end of the world.
My name is Serra Sozen, and I am fourteen years old. I enjoy traveling frequently and have visited over 50 countries worldwide. My Turkish-Singaporean heritage allows me to embrace many different cultures and I am looking forward to participating in this contest.
i find your article very mature, liked the way you identified yourself in terms of heritage and social-economical
meaning you appreciate who you are and what you have.
moreover you using sophisticated words, you have a character depth.
keep on
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