I have always liked staying up late, as if I were going to miss out on something by going to sleep. But there is another part of me that wishes I could get up and get going at the crack of dawn. Obviously these two habits do not go hand in hand.  But the sunlight here naturally pushes your body in that direction. More light, more living! Feels awesome for now. I imagine that my need for rest will catch up with me. Perhaps if I lived here full time I would just catch up in the winter when the lighting is reversed.

But back to my photo-ops, I am up early and I wanna get some photos of the flamingos I saw along the road yesterday. I head out of my hotel and up the highway that led me to this tiny seaside community. I am barely out of town when come to the first lake. Actually it is more of a large pond and by no means pristine. Signs of civilization are all around it, even in it. Lots of power lines and partially submerged cement structures. But there on the edge, partially obscured by some brush, is small group the long legged freaks. Flamingos, looking quite comfortable surrounded by urban waste. I pull over and cautiously approach the lake, taking photos through the brush. Not knowing when they will get spooked and be gone, I snap photos continuously as I look for a good vantage point. The brush obscures their view of me and allows me to get very close. But my view is obscured also. I have to find a way to get around or through the brush without frightening them.

It was a good day for dolphin watching. We were very fortunate to see and interact with several groups. They were usually in groups of 4 or 5. Sometimes in pairs. They would swim playfully underneath the boat darting out on either side to blow water and air into the faces of the delighted tourists. What a thrill. They were so playful and lightning fast, like birds underwater--and sometimes above! They were a challenge when it came to taking photos because they were so very quick and unpredictable. They would often leap completely out of the water, but you never knew quite when or where. 

On the highway southbound the next morning I was treated to yet another gift from Mother Nature. Guanaco are llama-type (how is that for scientific?) animals that roam the plains in this part of the Argentina. They are a frequent site along the highway. I stopped to get a shot of a group of three of them. Unlike others I had focused on, these three seemed very interested in me. They scampered to the top of small hill nearby and waited. They looked at me and whistled. Something between a whistle and a screech. I whistled back.

I approached a few steps, they retreated the same distance. I backed up, they advanced. They were teasing me, flirting with me. I was Eddie Murphy in Dr.Doolittle. I was in the zone. I thought I had died and gone to photographer heaven.

THIS NEXT SECTION WAS transcribed loosely from my pocket digital audio recorder. Some repetition and a few expletives have been deleted.

Hello. Ushuaia! The freakin end of the world!

Whooo!

Feeling incredible. Incredibly alive! I had written recently about perhaps feeling a bit anti-climactic or it even being depressing. And in fact I feel more alive than I remember feeling in a long time. I do not think it is just reaching the goal. I think it might be some personal growth and the energy of all the light, maybe I am just sleep deprived. It is freakin gorgeous.

It is incredible. It is 9 PM and almost broad daylight. I am standing next to the Argentine Naval Base surveying the waterfront area. Snowcapped peaks! Almost surrounded by snowcapped peaks. In fact I am surrounded. There is water, there is a channel, I think I am looking across the Beagle Channel at some islands. I will have to look at a map. I am standing on the edge! Endings and new beginnings. Wow! I am standing on the edge overlooking the water. The whole of both of the Americas are behind me. Endings and new beginnings. 

Then I shut off my recorder and continued walking along the waterfront. Almost immediately I came to this giant slogan emblazoned on the cement, the words nearly echoing my last recorded words. Pretty cool. USHUAIA, THE END OF THE WORLD, THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING

In my mind I was flopping back and forth between my accomplishment and what is next for me. I was thinking about what I have done and what I will do when it hit me. This moment! The one in between have done and will do! That is what I am feeling. Being alive right now. A metaphor for every moment of my life. Celebrating life for it is own sake.

I feel somehow I have come full circle since I departed over four years ago, not much has changed. The Kate Bush quote that inspired me back then still seems to apply.

Feels like something good is gonna happen.  That is the feeling, but the words are not exactly accurate. More like Something good IS happening. RIGHT NOW.  (Sounds crazy but) This moment is being born! There is no place to go, there is nothing to do. This moment is all that is needed. What a gift. A gift that I had all along.

I have been reading a book entitled The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. It certainly seems to have rubbed off on me.

Back to earth and the town of Ushuaia, the southernmost city on this earth. Tourism is pretty darn well developed around its southernmost claim to fame. It is like a little mini-San-Francisco-Fisherman-Wharf, trinkets and t-shirts. There are loads of national parks and abundant marine wildlife to see but I was not into it.  I mostly hung out in the tourist traps with friends and relaxed. The light, the mountains, the water, the boats. It is indeed gorgeous.

Mark McMahon is closing in on his goal: Tucson to Tierra del Fuego or Bust!  His lively adventures on the road are documented with photos and stories on  his webpage: www.filmtrips.com. Visit the site and be sure to sign up for his email Adventure Alerts.