That course took us out of the Strait and into the Beagle Channel (named after Charles Darwin's ship) on our way to Ushuaia, Argentina (pronounced "oo-shoo-EYE-ah").
Look closely and you'll see a rainbow!
A small settlement appeared off the port side at about 10:00am, Sunday, February 8th.
It seemed too small to be a port of call . . . and it appeared that we were steaming on past it. Eventually, the captain made the turn and before long, we were snuggling up to the dock in Ushuaia. This was the first time on the trip that we were able to walk on and off the ship without having to deal with a tender.
Ushuaia is on the Island of Tierra del Fuego, but before we go ashore, let's learn a little about this place, courtesy of the Princes Cruises literature.
"Magellan called Tierra del Fuego, "The Land Of Fire" having seen flames rising from the darkened islands. For over three centuries, the name struck fear in the hearts of mariners. Howling headwinds, mountainous seas, and rocky coastlines spelled a sudden end to many voyages. Today, Ushuaia, a former whaling station and Argentine prison colony, serves as the gateway to this wilderness where snow-capped mountains plummet to the icy waters of the Beagle channel."
This "small settlement" turned out to be a city of 80,000 people. That makes it the southern most "city" on earth. In fact, the area's slogan is "Fin del Mundo" . . . End Of The World!
So what keeps a city at the end of the world alive? Tourism plays a big part. The surrounding mountains, the tourist-centered shops, and the low population made us compare Ushuaia to Jasper, Alberta. It is the main gathering point for tourists and international scientists heading to Antarctica. It is also, literally, at the end of the road. The Panamerican Highway comes to an end in Ushuaia. Incidentally, Ushuaia is the capital of the Argentine portion of Tierra del Fuego. (Like there are any other choices!)
Once again the weather cooperated and the cloud that you saw in the first pictures cleared, giving us a mostly sunny day to poke around the main street . . . Avenida San Martin.
We didn't have any shore excursion booked here, and our only real mission for the day was to find a money exchange (cambio) to cash in our remaining Chilean Pesos. While that didn't work out, we did manage to check out almost all of the gift shops in town! By the way, according to the literature, Ushuaia is among the most expensive cities in Argentina (all we bought here were a couple of pins)!
These shots will give you a feel for what the city and area is like. The scenery is really quite spectacular, especially when the sun is shining on the surrounding mountains.
Ushuaia was the shortest stop of the cruise (8 hours), and these are some shots as we left port.
This is evening in the Beagle Channel . . .
. . . as we head south toward what might be the most anticipated point on our cruise . . . Cape Horn!
Hasta luego
Amor,
Norm y Charlene
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