Ushuaia is the southern most town in Argentina on the island of Tierra del Fuego, which Argentina shares with Chile. The town holds a naval academy and is a port for ships traveling to Antarctica. The landscape is packed with jagged snow capped peaks, black and gray rock, tufts of rich green summer grass, and a slate-blue ocean.
One afternoon I took a stroll out to the Beagle Channel. The sky was gray with puffs of white clouds ripping against the serrated mountains. I passed an aluminum corrugated-clad house where a white terrier mutt lay on warm rocks near the front door. She popped her head up, let her pink tongue fall out, and trotted over to me. She reminded me of Benji, the movie dog from the seventies, only she was bigger. I scratched her behind the ears and she began to follow me. When I stopped, she stopped. When I moved forward she matched my pace.
We passed fields of black rock mixed with low-cropped tufts of exposed sea grass. We came upon wooded hills where horses loitered without bridal or harness. We never saw a human being. The wind and the waves created a melody of white noise. I absorbed the beauty of the landscape for the first time. She was a veteran and my four-legged guide. We traveled eastward until all signs of civilization disappeared. We sat contemplating the edge of the world together. I gazed South and thought of Shackleton, Amundsen, and Scott adventuring on the white continent. My companion pondered her next meal, sitting loyally by my side, receiving a continuous rub of her coat. After our transcendental time together, I returned to my lodging. When we passed her aluminum home, she pulled away and took her place on the warm rocks. My one-hour adoption was over.
I remarked to the desk clerk at my hotel about how friendly the dogs were here.
“You will find many stray dogs in Argentina.” The man explained in with his Spanish accent. “Argentinians love dogs. We feed our strays so you will not find any… how you say?”
“Vicious?” I replied.
“Yes. No vicious dogs here.”
I wondered if my travel companion lived at the house or if she had just borrowed it for the day. I liked to think that she was a world wanderer, enjoying life as it came. That’s how I would want to be.
