The San Juan del Salvamento lighthouse, nicknamed the "Lighthouse at the end of the world" (in Spanish: Faro del fin del mundo), was built at the very tip of the Isla de los Estados in Patagonia, Argentina. The lighthouse has a rich history and a special link with France.
Built by Argentina, the lighthouse was inaugurated on May 25, 1884. It consists of a wooden house perched 70 m above the sea on a rocky outcrop. Painted white, the octagonal house (9 m in diameter) is topped by a large, characteristic zinc ball (1 m in diameter). When it was first built, the lighthouse projected the light produced by seven rapeseed oil lamps on two sides, through large Fresnel lenses. Poorly positioned, it was replaced by the Ano Nuevo lighthouse in 1902 and left to decay.
Immortalized by Jules Vernes
In his last novel "Le Phare du bout du monde" (1901), Jules Vernes wrote about this lighthouse. A French adventurer, André Bronner aka "Yul", reading this story, decided to go and discover what was left of the lighthouse on site in 1994. He found the ruins and decided to revive the construction of the building (identical to the original), with the aim of promoting cultural exchanges between France and Argentina. He succeeded in mobilizing the authorities and builders, and in 1998, with a team of 10 people, he reassembled the building and relit the lighthouse. Since its reconstruction 20 years ago, powered by solar panels, the beam has a range of 14 miles (one flash every 15 seconds).
More than a lighthouse, a home
In addition to its function as a lighthouse, its configuration and free access make it a "refuge for shipwrecked sailors". It provides sleeping, food and heating, but is not intended for tourism. In fact, as Île des États is protected by its status as a nature reserve, it is not designed to accommodate people. The rare passing boats leave messages or objects inside the lighthouse.
The reply to Les Minimes
Having taken up residence in La Rochelle, and in memory of this lighthouse (albeit 12,780 km away!), the same André Bronner succeeded in erecting (this time on stilts) a lighthouse identical to the one on the Ile des États. Installed off the coast of Les Minimes, it marks out the rocky plateau bordering the beach of the same name. The new lighthouse, the latest addition to the Phares de France family, was commissioned in 2000. Unlike the Argentine lighthouse, the Minimes lighthouse has been left wood-colored. Its flashing light (3 flashes every 12 sec.) with white and green sectors has a range of 8 miles for the white sector and 5 miles for the green sector.
20 years on, the lighthouse is still there
At the end of March 2018, "Yul" went back to see "his" lighthouse. While the building is still in good condition (it's even been repainted), the electrical part is very faulty. The batteries are shot and the solar panels are in poor condition. All this needs to be modernized.
