62...5km, 4 Closed Roads, 3 Police Stops, 2 Border Crossings, 1 Heated Debate and a Hosteria in Ushuaia! Pitch black on arrival at 10:30pm so Photos to follow - currently keeping warm at Hosteria Rosa de los Vientos - 4 degrees C outside - too cold for tenting!!
Welcome to Ushuaia's Carcel del Fin del Mundo or Prison of the End of the World!
Argentina's Presidio Nacional was built at Ushuaia in the early 1900's. By 1920 the jail had five Pabellon (wings) - with 76 exterior facing cells each. The 380 cells were built for single occupancy, but the jail housed more than 600 convicts at one time. It was a prison for the country's worst criminals - although from 1934 'political' prisoners were also incarcerated there - naughty naughty!
One wing, Pabellon 1, has been left unchanged since the Presido closed in 1947, and the cells remain just as they were on the day the prisoners checked out. Small, cold, dark and dank with a sombre feel.
We were lucky enough to meet several of the Presido's former inmates and guards who were back in town for a 70th anniversary reunion!
