Saturday, 27 December 2014
the Beagle Channel
Temps: Hi 48F (9C) / Lo 39F (4C)
Distance to Cape Horn, Chile: 139 NM (327 miles / 526 km)
First, because it was a familiar place … we spent a few days in this city at the tip of Argentina prior to embarking our Falkland Islands/South Georgia/Antarctic Peninsula Voyage eight years ago. Second, because we will be returning to Ushuaia for a few days in about a week’s time and will have plenty of time to do some sightseeing then.
Before I get to our day in Ushuaia, however, let me share some photos from the Canal Beagle [Beagle Channel], which is named for the HMS Beagle, the ship on which Charles Darwin circumnavigated the globe. It was on that voyage (1831-1836) that Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands … which inspired his The Origin of Species. Shared by Argentina and Chile, the eastern end of the 150-mile (240 km) long channel serves as the border between the two countries.
Love the thick, billowing clouds coming over the mountain.
We were still several hours from arriving in port when we stepped out on the veranda at 6:30a … just in time to see the glaciated peaks of the Andes Mountains. In 2006, we’d cruised the easternmost part of the channel, but the section approaching Ushuaia from the west was all new to us. Worth braving the chilly morning to sit on the veranda and watch the scenery while we nibbled on breakfast from the buffet.
Land ahoy! Ushuaia on the horizon.
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Left: Yes, it’s cold; but the scenery is worth the discomfort.
Right: El Faro [the lighthouse], symbol of Ushuaia … and home to a breeding colony of shags.
When the ship looped around the lighthouse to begin its approach to Ushuaia, we collected our luggage and headed to guest relations on deck 3. What? Disembarking Infinity in Ushuaia? No; but we were hoping to drop off our bags at the accommodations we had booked for when we come back in January. Why? Because it would be easier to fly back to Ushuaia without checked bags after we disembark the ship in Buenos Aires.
We’d been consulting with the ship’s documentation officer, Celebrity’s local agent in Ushuaia, and even the local agent for the expedition company with which we’ll be traveling to the Antarctic. All we had for our troubles was conflicting information saying “yes, you can take your bags off the ship,” in one breath; and “no, you can’t,” in the next breath. After many conversations, we were told to be in the foyer with our bags and we’d see what the final say would be. It was an emphatic “no, it is illegal to do so in Argentina if you are re-embarking the ship to continue the cruise.” Oh well — we tried. There is a silver lining ... packing to disembark in Buenos Aires will be a cinch now since almost everything is in the bags already ;-)
Heading to our berth, I’m surprised to see that there are no Antarctic expedition vessels in port.
The city looks like it has spread out quite a bit since we were last here.
While some things have obviously remained the same — like the city hall …
… others have changed. This wall, for example, used to read: “Ushuaia … end of the world;
beginning of everything.” Now the wall proclaims Ushuaia as the capital of Las Malvinas
(or the Falklands, the name by which the rest of the world knows the islands).
When the ship was cleared at 10:00a, we were amongst the first to disembark and make the long walk down the pier to the small passenger terminal. Our first stop was the visitor information center — a larger facility; moved from the main drag to across the street from the port since our last visit to Ushuaia. Though we didn’t need it, we picked up a map, and then queued up to ask where we might find a barber and a camera shop. As expected, we were directed to Avenida San Martin, just a short 5-minute walk from the port.
Looking back from City Hall, we see that Seabourn’s Quest has joined Infinity in port.
We like her size better; but Quest is a little too rich for our wallet.
A good number of the shops on San Martin were closed — which is when we realized that it was Saturday. Now that we’re retired, we tend to lose track of what day it is … the problem is compounded when we’re on vacation ;-) We managed to get our haircuts. But we were unable to pick up a sim card for our mi-fi; and the few camera shops that were open didn’t have the battery charger Mui was hoping to pick up for his GoPro. Better luck in Buenos Aires — we hope.
These life-size figures decorate the exterior of a museum that highlights
the history of the area, including the town’s foundation as a penal colony.
The museum has good reviews on TripAdvisor, but we’re skipping it this time.
A mural on the wall of the post office depicts the Yamana people,
who lived here before the arrival of Europeans, and …
… the prisoners who were brought here when Ushuaia was founded as a penal colony.
Our plans for the day included having lunch at one of our favorite local eateries, so we slowly strolled the length of San Martin until we reached El Turco [the Turk]. From what I understand, the restaurant was named after one of several Argentinean soccer players known by this nickname. Off the beaten-path of the town’s tourist center, and patronized mostly by locals, the place serves good food — the most important factor in selecting an eatery.
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Lunch at one of our favorite eateries in Ushuaia.
We ordered what we did eight years ago — a salad completo … consisting of green beans, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, onions, and a boiled egg; and a couple of jamón y queso [ham and cheese] and carne [beef] empanadas. We washed it all down with a liter-bottle (34 oz) of Quilmes, a domestic beer.
We skipped dessert at El Turco, and went to another favorite haunt from our first visit to Ushuaia — Laguna Negra … an artesanal chocolatier. The shop has grown some, and now sells other specialty items in addition to handmade chocolates. The chocolate-drizzled crêpes we enjoyed back in 2006 wasn’t on the menu anymore, but the hot chocolate was … not the watered-down version you get in most places; this stuff is just short of being liquid chocolate. Yummy!
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Lunch | Dessert |
Our day also included some meanderings to reacquaint ourselves with Ushuaia — we verified the location of the supermarket where we will do some provisioning when we return; took a peek at the above-ground crypts at the municipal cemetery; walked along Avenida Maipú to the Malvinas Monument; checked out several murals … and more.
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Eventually, we ended up at Tante Sara, a café where, in exchange for a cup of coffee and a Sprite, we were given the wi-fi password. The speed was actually quite good until the tour-goers from the ships in town returned from their shore excursions. Time to stroll about a bit more — this time along the waterfront, where the only birds we saw were kelp and dolphin gulls.
Kelp Gull — widespread along the coasts and on the islands of the Southern Hemisphere.
Dolphin Gull — native to southern Chile and Argentina, we saw our first one in the Falklands.
Infinity has had no problem arriving on time at the ports of call on this cruise. Even early, on occasion. Departures, on the other hand, have been another matter entirely, with delays ranging from 30-60 minutes not being uncommon. Didn’t really question the delays — until today. When the ship was still in port two hours after the scheduled departure of 7:00p, we started wondering why. As though he heard our mental inquiries, Captain Michael came on the P/A system to advise us that we were waiting for clearance due to a medical emergency requiring the disembarkation of a passenger. Hmmm … methinks there’s a bit more than that involved, but whether we get to hear the real story remains to be seen.
The tide has fallen so much since Infinity arrived at its berth this morning
that we have to duck really low to re-embark the ship.
The upside to the departure delay — we got to enjoy sailaway from our veranda since we were finished with dinner by the time the bowlines were let go. We said a colorful farewell to Ushuaia, with the late-setting sun bathing the scenery in a golden hue.
Mt Olivia (left) and Cinco Hermanos [Five Brothers] are two of the landmark mountains of Ushuaia.
Until next time … and there will be a next time sooner rather than later.
We are now heading towards the mouth of the Beagle Channel. Infinity is hugging the portside shoreline to stay in Argentinean waters. At some point, however, the ship will switch sides to arrive in Puerto Williams, Chile. This small town bills itself as “Beyond the End of the World” — it’s all part of the eternal rivalry between Chile and Argentina. Puerto Williams is just a service call where we will drop off the Argentinean pilot and pick up the Chilean one — territorial waters and all that ... and the price we have to pay to be able to do what’s planned for tomorrow.
