This is the way Ushuaia is described…..and rightly so. It is the southernmost city in the world, nestled in the tail of Argentina very near to the bottom of South America. It is the last bastion of “civilization” before embarking on the journey through the Antarctic….the beginning of the real adventure!
We spent three days cruising south and preparing for our Antarctic experience. Truth be told, based on past cruising experiences, I didn’t think I would have too much to report from these first few “sea days”. Usually, these days are a mélange of sleeping, eating and drinking more than we should and not much else. But, much to my surprise, this has been a bit of a different experience. While I have to admit to partaking in the aforementioned gluttony, this time I have also participated in many of the onboard educational experiences. I have traveled so much in the last months, that I didn’t have time to do the proper research to gain a good understanding of what I would see here in the Antarctic. I thought I should get a tutorial! There might be a test later!
I have to give Celebrity a hand on this. They have found several excellent speakers who have given us a very good and understandable overview of things to look for as we cruise through the Antarctic. They have also given us a great overview geographically of where we are and where we are going. Not only are the speakers knowledgeable, they are also entertaining. Just great! They have encouraged us to “do something great” as we move along on the ship. I like this!
In the presentations, we have been educated on a multitude of fish, animals, and birds that are native to this area and readily visible from time to time as you look out to the sea. I have already seen several schools of jumping dolphins and some Albatross that, as predicted by the speakers, are following the ship as we head south. Remarkable!
I also found our stop in Ushuaia to be quite remarkable.
We spent our day there touring through the Tierra del Fuego National Park, which is a great example of the absolute splendor and diversity of this little slice of Patagonia. Our tour guide, Gabriel, walked us through a forested area filled with webs of birch trees to a waterway where some of the local beavers had been industriously building dams. The beavers, quite numerous in this area, work at night, so we didn’t actually see them, but we did see some of their handiwork. They had been quite busy.
We also viewed the coastal areas of the park as well as Lago Acigami, which were all just breathtaking. We walked alongside the water on “board walks”, took pictures and just took it all in. The water, set against the snow-covered mountains in the background, was some of the most stunning scenery I have seen. It looked like the back drop for a movie.
Gabriel then took us to the post office, which was also situated on the waterfront, where many of us mailed postcards to ourselves from “the end of the world”. It was quite an experience for all of us.
After we left the tour, a group of us had lunch at a restaurant where the “locals” in town go for “Fuegian King Crab”, a specialty of the area. We had a very large bowl of crabmeat submerged in a pleasantly spicy red sauce. It was very like the ciopino we get at our favorite restaurant in San Luis Obispo. And, of course, I had some wine. YUM!
Lee and I boarded the ship late in the afternoon, but not before picking up a certificate from the local tourist office proving that we had, indeed, been to the “end of the world”…..a little kitchy, but a nice memory!
Tomorrow is the “beginning of everything” part. We will be rounding Cape Horn at about 6:00 am, as we continue south to the top of the Antarctic. We will be up and at ‘em at 5:30. Wouldn’t want to miss anything!
So, I will sign off for now. But, until we meet again, I will challenge you to “do something great!” It’s working out for me!
Ciao!
By the way, for those of you following my fun bathroom tales, here’s another for you. I think these are the funniest of the signs I have seen so far on this trip. We found these in the national park. Also, check out the flushing mechanism in the port-a-potty! It was like being in a video game. HA!
Travel With Betsy 
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