MARE AUSTRALIS CRUISE
EXPEDITION TO TIERRA DEL FUEGO & PATAGONIA

LOCAL FACTS / HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

AÓNIKENK (Tehuelche Indians)
They were tall nomad and land hunters who lived between the Los Lagos Region and the Southern Zone. The legend tells that, due to the big size of their footprints, they were called Patagones and Patagonia the land they inhabited. They hunted guanacos and ñandúes (small ostriches), and traded their furs and feathers with the first settlers in these coasts. The loss of their condition of nomads, disease and the culture introduced by white men caused the nearly absolute extinction of this people.

SÉLKNAM (Ona Indians)
They were land hunters inhabiting Tierra del Fuego. They came to the island at the end of the last glacial period (10,000 years ago), when it was still connected to the continent. They had a system of barter with the Yámana people through the mountain passes in the Ushuaia area. The same as with the other ethnic peoples of the region, the Onas have disappeared due to contact with disease.

YÁMANAS (Yagan Indians)
They occupied the southern channels of the Beagle, Hoste and Navarino islands in addition to Cape Horn archipelago. Their means of transportation was the canoe made of tree bark pieces equipped with seal skin sails, which could also serve as an awning in rainy weather. It was common for them to make fire in their canoes to keep warm or illuminate the coast when landing. Only the women knew how to swim, as it was their duty to anchor the canoe among seaweeds and then swim ashore. The extinction of this ethnic group was due to contagion of plagues introduced by sealers and whalers.

KAWÉSKAR (Alacalufe Indians)
They were seafaring nomads that sailed from island to island and through channels between the Golfo de Penas on the north and the Strait of Magellan on the south. They lived on the seals and sea lions that they hunted, and on the collection of shellfish and fish. They traveled in canoes made out of three pieces of tree bark joined together with plant fibers or whale bones. They dressed themselves with a cape made of seal skin to cover their back or their chest, and to endure the cold they covered their bodies with colored soil mixed with animal grease. Some of them still survive in Puerto Edén.

FLORA

COIHUE (COIGÜE)
An evergreen tree commonly found in the region. It grows in damp places, sheltered from the wind. Its cutting is restricted.

LENGA AND ÑIRE
Deciduous trees whose leaves turn red in autumn and fall in winter. Lenga timber is good for construction and Ñirre to make fire.

CANELO
A sacred species for Mapuche people. John Winter, one of the captains of the English corsair Sir Francis Drake's expedition, who arrived in the 16th century, discovered that its leaves are rich in Vitamin C, and with them he prepared an infusion to cure scurvy in his sailors.

CYPRESS OF THE GUAITECAS
This species is in danger of extinction. It is very difficult to find it, its timber was widely used in canoe building due to its resistance to water and rotting.

CALAFATE
A thorny bush growing in dense thickets found throughout Patagonia, with a delighful sweet fruit like a grape. There is a legend saying that whoever eats this fruit will return to Patagonia

NOTRO OR CIRUELILLO
It grows on the sunny slopes of mountains, exposed to wind and weather. Its leaves are perennial, and in springtime, it is covered with clusters of scarlet flowers.

FAUNA

ELEPHANT SEAL
A mammal that moves by crawling on land. Males are characterized by their trunk that reaches the maximum development in adulthood.

SEA LION
A mammal similar to a seal which is found in all the channels of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago. The male forms a harem of 40 females.

MAGELLAN PENGUIN
This is an elegant flighless bird, which has admirably adapted to life in the water. It reaches a height of 70 cm, and during springtime it leaves the water to nest during 40 days in small burrows.

CÓNDOR
The largest land based flying bird in the world. It can reach a wingspan up to 3 meters. The male is distinguished because of a red crest on its head.

CAIQUÉN
A very common type of goose in Patagonia. Its aspect varies according to sex. The male has a white head and neck, while the female is grayish-brown.

CORMORANT
A seabird the size of a penguin. It measures between 65 cm and 70 cm. It is seen only in spring and summertime.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT AUSTRALIS CRUISES, PLEASE VISIT WWW.PATAGONIA-CRUISES.COM.AR

THIS IS A BASIC TOUR TO VISIT USHUAIA AFTER OR BEFORE YOUR CRUISE...

DAY 1 - Arrival to Ushuaia Airport and transfer to hotel. 03 nts of accommodation with breakfast

DAY 2 - Excursion to Tierra del Fuego National Park. Return to the city and take a Beagle Channel Navigation to see Isla de los Pàjaros, Isla de los Lobos and Faro Les Eclareirs.

DAY 3 - Excursion to Fagnano and Escondido Lakes

DAY 4 - Transfer to airport

This is a basic program to visit Ushuaia Area. Please visit our tour list to see more tours combining this area and others place in Argentina and Chile

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See our Ushuaia´s Interactive Map	Ushuaia Area: Tierra del Fuego i-Map	Add Mare Australis Cruises to your trip
Ushuaia Area: Train of The End of The World	Ushuaia Area: Beagle Channel Navigation	Ushuaia Area: Cerro Castor Information´s map
Ushuaia Area: Bahía Lapataia (Tierra del Fuego NP)	Ushuaia Area: Glaciar Martial location map	Ushuaia Area: Estancia Tunel location map
Islas Malvinas (Argentina)	Ushuaia Area: Laguna Esmeralda location map	Antartida Interactive Map
General Information about Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego Province	Ushuaia Photo Gallery

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