After two weeks in this lovely area, my memories are of people who continually impress me with their generosity and love of life. Fuegian is anything from Tierra del Fuego. For example, the delicious fuegian lamb has a flavor all its own due to what the animals have to graze. It is the signature product of the island since the English brought animals from The Falkland (Malvinas) Islands in the late 19th century. The fuegian people of today are mostly from beyond the island, from Chile and from the north of Argentina, people who search for opportunities to work and raise their families here. Many work on the sheep ranches. In Ushuaia many are involved in the tourist industry. In Río Grande, further north, they come to work in the petroleum industry or in the manufacture of automobiles or electronic devices. They can make double a typical salary in Buenos Aires.
Across the border in Chilean Tierra del Fuego most people are working the large sheep ranches. I will only pass through there in a couple of days on my way to Punta Arenas. However, earlier this month I sailed through the impressive channels and fjords of Chile which are home only to elephant seals and seabirds.
Of course my experience has been heightened by having good language skills. Tour guides do their work with an enthusiasm and love of the land that comes through in their talks. Restaurant waiters excuse my occasional faux pas with a smile. Hotel workers have been very accomodating. But my favorite fueguinos have been the taxi and bus drivers. Yesterday, a fellow asked if I was German. Even my negative reply gave him the opportunity to tell me about his grandfather who, at age 14, avoided the military draft in the World War II when Germany was sending youngsters to the front. Now his grandson is a happy taxi driver in Tolhuin, a small village dedicated to forest products.
A small bus with 14 passengers took me the 90 minutes to Lake Fagnano. The driver indicated I should sit up front with him and the young Argentine woman. We engaged in enthusiastic conversation about a thousand things. I worried that he didn't always watch the road. When we said goodbye, I expected to shake hands, but he gave me a big hug and kiss on the cheek before the bus continued on north.
This morning I said farewell to Sonia and Jorge, the wonderful people at Lake Fagnano who provide horse outings, including the famous Bridges Trail crossing. A Chilean man across the road has cabañas for rent on the lake. I was sent there to ask if I could buy his CD of folkloric music. There are no more, but after a short conversation, I now have the CD cover and his book of song lyrics which he autographed for me. He will send me his next CD and book which are almost ready. I felt that I shouldn't offer payment, as this was obviously an act of friendship. I will of course send him some things of mine. This is a man I knew for 15 minutes and we already have commitments. We clicked even further when we discovered we have both been radio announcers as well as performing musicians.
Today, in Río Grande, a taxista took me to the bus station to buy a ticket. He has been here less than five years, and was a taxi driver in Buenos Aires since 1966, where he routinely carried a revolver in his pocket. Arriving here with thousands of others, he is very content. Many locals leave for the summer weeks to take a vacation. He says he is here on vacation, or so it seems compared to his life in the capital city. He took his visiting grandson on a week-long trip to Lake Fagnano and Ushuaia where they did many of the usual tourist outings.
Fernando has gone way beyond the limits of generosity with his photos of our horse trip on the Bridges Trail. He is an amateur photographer with professional standards. He presented me with several large prints of his beautiful work, and also gave us his new DVD of our trip with music. Then he gave me a ride to his town of Río Grande where I had made hotel reservations for a couple of days. Tomorrow we will visit one of the largest estancias in the area and also the local Salesian museum.
The Goodall family invited me to their table at Harberton Estancia on the Beagle Channel. Juan Pablo is the enthusiastic university student who took me under his wing at the estancia and gave me a private tour and helped with all arrangements.
These are just the most vivid recollections. There have been many more moments of interaction with the locals that have impressed me with their gentileza, or generosity. Perhaps I will have to return to do some outings that I missed. Besides, I ate some wild calafate berries the other day on the Beagle Channel. "He who eats calafate will return."
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