tierra del fuego by the numbers

Everyone I've spoken to about my trip to Ushuaia from Buenos Aires thinks I'm crazy. I took the bus and after 2+ days of travel I made it to Tierra del Fuego eager to stretch my legs and walk around. That being the case, I couldn't have come to a better place - Ushuaia is rife with some of the most breathtakingly beautiful hikes in the world.

Here, by the numbers, is what I've learned about this fascinating archipelago at the end of the world:

3 is the number of buses it takes to get to Ushuaia (the capital of Tierra del Fuego) from Buenos Aires (+ 1 ferry)

2 is the number of countries Tierra del Fuego is divided by (Chile and Argentina)

1520 is the year Magellan discovered the islands. Tierra del Fuego is separated by the mainland by the strait of Magellan

60,000 is roughly the number of wild guanacos (a relative of the llama and the alpaca) that live on the islands.

63,280 people is the population of Ushuaia, the capital city of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego.

4 is the number of native Fuegians who, in 1830, were taken from their home and brought to London. They were given the English names of Jemmy Button, York Minster, Fuegia Basket and Boat Memory. Boat Memory died early on, but the remaining 3 Patagonians were dressed in European clothes, taught the ways of Christianity and went on to become celebrities. After two years, they were returned to Tierra del Fuego on the HMS Beagle by Robert FitzRoy and Charles Darwin.

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