Today we journeyed to the area of South America known as The End of the World. We awoke about 6:30 AM and immediately opened the curtains to the balcony as we were supposed to start traversing Glacier Alley in the Beagle Channel at just that time. OMG, what a sight greeted us. For the next 2 ½ hours we stood transfixed in our robes and coats watching glacier after glacier go by. The Andes Mountains come right down to the Beagle Channel and they are covered by glaciers and waterfalls and stretch 3 or 4 ranges back, each covered with glaciers. It was awe inspiring watching the sunrise and light up the glaciers and the mountains.

Finally, at 9, we had to go to breakfast both because we needed coffee and breakfast ends at 9:30. After we ate, we went to the destination lecture on Stanley in the Falkland Islands and then got ready to dock in Ushuaia. We had two excursions scheduled for the afternoon. Ushuaia was originally the site of a high security penal colony and the narrow gauge railway carried the prisoners from Ushuaia to their daily work logging in the snow and freezing cold of the “End of the World.” The train ride was a lot of fun and quite beautiful going through the Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego.

We got off the train and back on the buses to explore the park some more and visit a scenic overlook.

Back to the ship at 3, then off again at about 5 for a wildlife cruise in the Beagle Channel on a catamaran. We saw lots of birds (several types of cormorants and kestrels) and sea lions. We also got a close-up view of both the Southern-most lighthouse in the world and Tierra del Fuego.

Back to the ship at 7:30 just as it was getting ready to depart, and then to dinner. Tomorrow we go to Cape Horn and they are expecting winds of 40 knots when we are there! Can’t say we weren’t warned about the seas around Cape Horn!