Ushuaia – March 9th

We arrived in Ushuaia yesterday afternoon. We had flown to Buenos Aires the day before from Santiago. We had a brief meeting in the evening at the hotel with a representative from GAdventures and then we went out for a terrific Argentinian dinner. She recommended a couple of restaurants that the
locals go to so that is where we went. We have added one to our group of five from Easter Island – a fellow Canadian! I didn’t get much sleep as we stayed out until the wee hours and I got up early to run. I had asked the man at the desk in the hotel about a safe place to run and he gave me directions – he said to turn right and I’d be so safe that I could run naked but not to turn left!?!

When we got to Ushuaia we checked into our hotel and then Amy, Joe, Jeff & I decided to go check out the Martial Glacier. Amy and Joe were with me in Easter Island. We had wanted to go to Tierra del Fuego National Park but the tour guides talked us into doing that the next day. It was a fun hike! We took a taxi up to the base and then we took a chair lift up for a little more and then we hiked. I wasn’t dressed for it to be quite as cold as it was. I’ve been hanging around South America for two months, Ushuaia is a little bit of a shock!

We had a meeting at the hotel in the evening and then we went out to explore Ushuaia. Our group gained another member again. Rej, another Canadian, yeah! We walked around town and then we went for a nice seafood dinner at a restrauant overlooking the harbour.

When we got up this morning we checked out of the hotel and left our luggage to be picked up and delivered to the boat. We went to Tierra del Fuego National Park much of the day. We went hiking, we had a tour, we had our photos taken at the very end of the Pan Am Highway, we went to the post office at the end of the world and some of us took a train ride through the park. We all had our passports stamped at the End of the World post office – it’s this tiny, wee hut out hat the of a dock. We got back to Ushuaia with just enough time to find a grocery store and a gift store before heading to the harbour to catch a bus to the boat. Amy had bought an Antarctica log book that the rest of us had our hearts set on so we were on a mission to find one for all of us. It was a little elusive as almost all the stores were on a siesta! We did manage to get the books and get to the harbour but the frustration level was a little high.

We boarded the ship with no difficulty and we all met in the Discovery Lounge. A number of people spoke and welcomed us on board. We were taken to our room and shown where the life jackets were kept and within a short time had an emergency drill. We actually went in the lifeboats and were shown how to put on the waterproof suits!

We pulled the anchor up and headed out the Beagle Channel at about 8:00. We had a wonderful four course dinner in the evening, lots of choices, lots of laughs, it was so much fun! We are Antarctica bound!!

We watched the BBC documentary Frozen Planet tonight. It was great – I may have to purchase a copy.

We crossed out of the Beagle Channel and into the Drake Passage at about 11:00. You could tell because it suddenly got really rough. I took something and am heading to bed, hoping I’m okay.