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Visiting the End of the World
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The End of the World is an actual, physical place known as Ushuaia.
Located at the tip of South America, this small city of 55,000 is the very last outpost before falling off the earth and into the cold waters leading to the Antarctic.
I had never heard of this place until coming across an article by Patrick J. McDonnell describing how this alluring destination has become even more alluring in the last few years. Tourists are flocking here--to the tune of 250,000 last year--to bask in the novelty that only The End of the World can provide. Those with "I've been to Hell (Norway)" t-shirts in their closets can now add an, "I've been to the end of the world" to their collection.
In addition to the draw of such novelty, tourists are also heading this far south to use Ushuaia as a starting point for frolicking with penguins and exploring Antarctic icebergs a few hundred miles away.
There are fears, however, that the tourist boom is slowly destroying the uniqueness of this isolated city and the beauty which surrounds it. What else is new!
Looks like I have to add another destination to my short list before it is ruined.
Filed under: Argentina
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Martin Jun 5th 2007 12:10AM
Hi, here's a site about Ushuaia: http://www.ushuaia-info.com.ar
John Jun 5th 2007 2:32AM
I'm confused. Wouldn't the "end of the world" be Cape Horn? That's the Chilean Island that mariners use as a guidepost to know when to finally turn north after traveling south to go around the tip of South America. When you "round the Cape" you know that the weather should get better.
I know that there's only a Chilean Coast Guard lighthouse, but the Cape is famous enough to support a small industry of hardy tourists and mariners who want to brag about it, and the Coast Guard people will give proof of the visit, including post cards.
Neil Jun 5th 2007 2:32AM
Good question, John!
Jason Jun 6th 2007 3:12AM
So, let me get this straight.
You comment about the "draw of such a novelty," and then add the negative note that you will have to get there before "it is ruined."
You write about this wonderful place in your blog, and thousads of readers (most of whom are travelers!) will now want to visit this place. Yet you deride the effects of the tourism that you celebrate and effectively promote.
Which side are you on, exactly?
Neil Jun 6th 2007 3:13AM
Ah yes, the contradiction of travel writing. Personally, I firmly believe the world will be a much better place if we all traveled more – especially my fellow American countrymen. Part of Gadling’s goal is to motivate people to do exactly this. Unfortunately, when people do travel, they often overrun a place and do indeed ruin it. As a result, there are some places I simply choose not to write about. It’s a tough call sometimes, but at the end of the day, I do hope we are doing a service to the places we write about instead of making them worse.
Neil