Visiting Estancia Harberton, Part 1

The family farm (now tourist destination) at the heart of the Bridges' story

A lot of the action of my novel takes place in Ushuaia—the missionary settlement and the southernmost Argentinian city. But another setting that’s crucial to the novel is Harberton, the oldest estancia (ranch) in Argentinian Tierra del Fuego, established by Thomas Bridges in 1886, after he resigned as mission superintendent.

I managed to squeeze in a visit right at the end of its annual tourist season, the first weekend after I arrived in Ushuaia.

A reel of the pictures I took has been on my desktop background ever since, urging me to put into words the story of this place.

At Estancia Harberton, between the main house and the dock, looking back toward the barn and other buildings.

When the estancia was founded, the best way to get there was by boat, through the Beagle Channel. In the 1960s and 70s, airplane was the preferred method of travel, in the family’s Cessna 180 or a hired plane from Ushuaia’s air club. These days you can easily drive there.

Well, I say you can easily drive there, but the trip takes 1.5 hours from Ushuaia—pretty far for a regular taxi. After asking around, the advice I got was to pay a tourism company to drop me off and pick me up.¹ Since it was mid-April, shoulder season for tourism (more like off-shoulder season), only one tourist agency was still open and willing to drive me out there. Somehow I was able to negotiate a price for a private tour that was so good the agency owner regretted it the next day, since I was the only passenger.

The weather was foul for the drive out: rainy, cold, and windy. Clouds covered the mountains and the blocked the view. Everyone told me the fall foliage was usually lovely at that time of year.

The rainy view on Ruta 3, on the way to Harberton from Ushuaia.