Thomas Bridges | Blue Lapis Road

DAY 71 (4 OF 5) – ESTANCIA HARBERTON, TIERRA DEL FUEGO, ARGENTINA

Thomas Bridges, a missionary, pioneer, and founder of Estancia Harberton, is an important historical figure in Ushuaia. He left England for Falkland Islands and later Ushuaia during his early teens. After he arrived in Tierra del Fuego, he mastered the language of the Yamana People (the native nomadic people living in the area of Ushuaia) and later compiled the Yahgan-English dictionary. His son Lucas Bridges also published an important book called Uttermost Part of the Earth, describing his own childhood experience in Ushuaia and studies of the bygone Yamana People. The books by Thomas and Lucas Bridges are two of the most crucial publications about Ushuaia and its native people. Today, Estancia Harberton is still run by the great grandson of Thomas Bridges, and has become a tourist establishment containing a museum, restaurant, guesthouse, farms and a boat dock.
The estancia (ranch) would be a peaceful place to soak up the history and atmosphere of Tierra del Fuego if we planned for a longer stay in Ushuaia. After our visit to Martillo Island, we had about an hour to explore Estancia Harberton and its Museo Acatushun. Although small, Museo Acatushun has a huge collection of specimens and skeletons of marine mammals and birds found in the region. Its skeleton collections of whales and dolphins mainly come from stranded individuals found near Rio Grande, where the dramatic tidal difference can easily become a trap for ocean wildlife. The tour by the museum staff was thorough, and we came out with a better understanding of marine mammals of the region.