Relaxing in Tierra del Fuego

After a much needed 10 hours of sleep, we set off to explore the main part of Ushuaia (you-swhy-a).  The town slopes from the mountains down to the waterfront, so going into town is an easy downward stroll.  Most of the stores are on the main drag of St. Martin which is a several blocks of cute shops, some more touristy than others.  The one thing you don't see here is any big US chains (no McDonalds in site!).

We stopped in a cute bakery to partake in churros that were filled with dulce de leche, which was delicious!  It also was enough to tide us over to our late lunch.  We bought our standard touris items (t-shirts, shot glasses, stone penguins, etc.).  We learned about the local tea, mate, that you drink through a metal straw that filters out the leaves.  We also purchased a couple of pieces of jewelry with the local stone of rhodochrosite.  This lovely pink stone polishes up to an almost translutient gem.

Our lunch was at Moustacchio which serves all the local delicacies. Of particular interest to us was the local crab that is caught in the Beagle Channel.  Fresh is best, as we proved here.  We also tried some Argentinian wine which was quit nice.

For the afternoon, we visited the former Prison that has been converted to several small museums that occupy the arms of the wings that housed the prisoners.  The first, the Maritime Museum, traced the colorful history of the region.  Many explorers have tried and more often than not, tried to conquer the South Pole.

They also have an art museum and you can visit the cells as they were during the time this housed the End of the Earth prisoners.  Allow a couple of hours to see it all. It was really worth the visit.

Our first official cruise meeting was back at the hotel.  This is all about sizing each other up.  We're spending the next week with these people, so there's the standard "who will I spend time with, who will I avoid" going on.  They all looked like nice, diverse (from China, to Africa, Germany and Japan) group.

We grabbed a quick dinner then back to the room for bed.

It may be several days for my next entry since internet may be scarce on the ship.  I'll post as I'm able.

Greetings From the Ends of the Earth

Our trip got underway on the 27th with a 6:15 am flight to Miami.  I love to start a trip tired from getting up at 4 in the morning, not.  We had a long day of flying ahead of us with another one on Sunday.  The 9 hour plus flight from Miami to Buenos Aires gave me time to read about the Shackleton exploration of 1914-1916.  Alfred Lansing's book, "Endurance" follows the fateful trip of 28 men who set out to circumnavigate the South Pole but instead spent almost 2 years trying to survive in the frigid Artic Circle after loosing their ship to ice flows.  If you like tales of humans overcoming incredible adversity, I highly recommend you give this book a go.

Arriving in BA at 10:30 pm, we had a very short night in a clean but very basic hotel near the airport.  Our 5 am shuttle meant we got less than 4 hours sleep, but that's what planes are for, right?  We arrived at the southern most city in the world, Ushuaia, Sunday afternoon.  The bustling little town of 60,000 seems like something you might see in Alaska, rough streets in places and cute little stores, restaurants and hotels off the main drag of St. Martin.

The approach into the airport was spectacular with snow capped mountains falling into the blue ocean.  I think this could probably provide enough entertainment for several days, hiking around the parks(this is part of Patagonia), boating the Beagle Channel and wondering around the town.

After checking into our Hotel, Las Lengas, (and taking a quick nap) we strolled into town to look around.  A lot of stores were closed since it was Sunday but we were so tired we probably didn't need to make any major purchasing decisions like whether we liked the pink penguin t-shirt or the gray whale.  On the street facing the waterfront, we found a very cute bar/restaurant for dinner and a local brew.  The place served as a general store for many years before becoming a bar and there's still remnants of its former life hanging and sitting everywhere.  We overcame the language barrier to order a Drake beer and a plate of the day.  It was delicious and just what we needed before heading off to bed.

Tomorrow we go full tourist

Crazy, Right?

First, let me say, this was not my idea.  This one's all on David needing to visit one last continent to have them all.  A close friend of ours is turning 50 this December and also had a strong desire to visit Antarctica.  Not me, no way.

This all started to change after conversations with a few well traveled friends that said it was their favorite all time trip.  Really, penguins and ice trumped the Great Wall or the Eiffel Tower.  How could this be???  I quizzed them down and basically got the "you just have to see it to believe it" line which left me still scratching my head.  Should I take their word for it and sign on to the adventure.  I actually started picturing me on an iceberg trying to get a penguin to smile for the camera.

Finally, when the plans were starting to firm up and reservations were being made, I relented and put my name on a cabin.  I wouldn't let David be the only one to have stepped foot on this frozen continent.  However, I drew the line at the optional overnight camping trip which I'll leave for the boys to tell me what it's like.

As with all our trips, I like to do a little research before embarking on an adventure.  One thing kept coming up in my web searches - the dreaded Drake Passage.  Actually, many called this the Antarctic Convergence.  Scary sounding, yes?  There's a chance the water will be smooth when we cross from South America to Antarctica, but there's also a good chance we'll encounter hurricane force winds with pounding waves.  Can you say SEA SICK????  I now own every type of medicine made, over-the-counter, prescription, ginger candy, you name it I have it, to ward off any queezy stomach we might encounter.

Also a little different as far as trip prep is the clothing we'll need when going to shore.  Being the southern hemisphere, it will be summer when we visit.  Summer is a relative term when you're that far south.  We're expecting a high and low of 32 degrees.  It could be a little warmer or a lot colder. The cruise company's advise is to layer and I think they thought of it a little like lasagna, the more layers the better.  I have smart wool, pimaloft, down alternative, etc. to help kept us comfortable while still being able to walk.  I'll let you know how it works.

My next post will hopefully be from South America getting ready to head off for the adventure of a lifetime!