Ushuais, Argentina: #End of the World

Our Ship arrived in this city of approximately 80,000 hardy souls the morning of February 15th, the equivalent of our mid-August, to a forecast of snow and a high of 37 degrees. As Becki and I were told in Amsterdam, there is no such thing as bad weather, but rather improper attire. I quickly determined I was improperly packed for the weather. Thus instead of partaking in any of the wonderfully interesting excursions available, I chose to try and correct my packing blunder. Donning as many layers as I could fit one over the other, I braved the strong wind for a brisk walk up the dock to the first retail establishment selling sweatshirts and stocking caps. Success! I was not alone in that tiny little shop. Three other ships were in port and apparently no one brought proper clothing. We cleaned out that little shop.

Ushuaia is the hub for traffic and supplies headed for Antarctica. Anyone wishing to go to Antarctica must first come to Ushuaia. After this visit I will side with Argentina over Chile in its claim to have the southern most city on the continent. Truly think a deserted prison or a small community off the mainland should not qualify. Chile has sufficient bragging rights. Let Argentina have something. When I was here before, the weather was pleasant. I did wear by windbreaker, but was perfectly comfortable at least until we got back to the long dock where The Insignia was located at the very far end. A terribly strong wind came up which prevented me from shopping in the lovely shops along the dock. The wind was so strong that only our gangplank remained. All the niceties along side had been blown away. This trip has been an entirely different story. Those who did take the excursion destined for the end of the world endured wind, rain, snow and waters so choppy they were forced to cancel much of the trip. I thought surely I could learn the name of those flying penguin looking creatures inhabiting that remote island we saw in 2020 but I did not. Neither did those I talked with who took the excursion since they did not make it that far south.

Once everyone was safely back on board the ship, we headed even further South (when one is at the end of the world, how does one go even further South?) to explore Antarctica. The morning of Thursday, February 16th found us cruising through Drake's Passage "considered one of the most treacherous voyages for ships to make" according to the Currents, our daily newsletter. Not gonna lie to you, the swells were a bit much. Barf bags were out and even I found myself searching for my peppermints - just in case. Hats off to the Captain as our journey was accomplished without incident. So what if we all looked like a bunch of drunks after a big party, what the hey.

Dallmann Bay, Antarctica

Red algae embedded in the ice.

I only thought it was cold in Ushuaia! This is our pool deck on Friday in Dallmann Bay, Antarctica. Didn't capture it in this picture but am told one foolish passenger did take a dip in the hot tub before the crew quit playing in the snow long enough to cover it. Most of the crew members and staff come from tropical locations and had never before seen snow. They had snowball fights, built a snowman, wrote the date in the snow, took selfies and generally had a blast! Author is unknow, but there was even a love note by someone professing their love for Mia. For the most part the passengers holed up in one or the other of the warm lounges with a cup of coffee. All the while our ship continued southward thru icebergs, snow covered peaks, wind, snow, rain and whatever else might be thrown our way in search of penguins, seals, whales, or birds.

Success! From my warm cabin, I caught this seal hitching a ride on an iceberg. Pretty cool, huh?

A poor selfie (Magda where are you when I need you?) modeling my stylish hat. The sun was so bright by mid-afternoon that the sunshades were a definite must! The snow was melted but can't say it was a lot warmer.

And today, Saturday, in Paradise Harbor we finally caught up with some penguins partying on the ice. Totally unaware or uncaring of our presence. Most of the other passengers have or at least claim to have seen all kinds of whales, seals, birds, you name it, but if I don't catch it on camera, I make no such claim. Shortly after this picture was snapped, I adjourned to my cabin to catch up on my blog. Not so fast. With towering ice covered mountains surrounding us there was no satellite, thus no internet, thus no blogging. Hours later after another snowstorm in which the snow was blown sideways we headed to a less protected passageway allowing this opportunity. Still headed south, however. I promise it is not on our schedule, but I do think the Captain intends that we should see the South Pole before heading to beautiful Fort Stanley. My photos do not do justice to this region. It is stunningly magnificent. Awesome, awesome, awesome and then some. The size of these ice covered mountains is just humbling. From my veranda some fifty or more yards away, I could hear the ice cracking. Not sure what I expected from this region, but it certainly exceeded my wildest dreams! It is even more beautiful than it is cold. Would not want to spend a winter here, but a couple of days in "summer" in a warm ship, you betcha!

Today Is Someday! Live It!