Today (Dec.28) we docked in Ushuaia, Argentina, known as the end of the world as it is the last city you can reach going south towards Antarctica. Alan’s hike wasn’t until noon so we hung out in the Lounge so that our steward Glean could change our room. We went back so Alan could get his hiking gear and I ordered lunch to be brought to the room and had a quiet afternoon to myself. Alan will talk about the hike.

Ushuaia one of the main ports serving Antarctica, so it was not a surprise to see several of the expedition cruise ships like the Lindblad/National Geographic ones in port. To have cruise passengers land on the Antarctic continent, the rule is that they must carry fewer than 500 passengers. That rules us, with 2600 or so, out. So we will cruise the waters just above the Antarctic circle.

Our bus drove us past 5 other cruise ships and then headed out of the port zone and out into the countryside. After about a 30 minute drive we arrived at our trailhead at Husky Park. The area is a site for winter fun with sled dogs and some 4 month old pups and cross country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. In the summer, it is a nice place to hike. No wind and not too cold. The ground however was sloppy. Muddy in places and a peat bog in others. We were all issued trekking poles for balance and we needed them. The valley we were hiking in was fairly flat with some lakes behind beaver dams. 25 beavers were imported to generate some fur trade. With no natural predators the population exploded and now several hundred thousand of these pests live in Tierra del Fuego. We saw a few birds on the trail, but mostly it was an area rich in plants for me to see with surrounding snow covered peaks.

It wasn’t raining, and it wasn’t windy. It was however wet. When I bought my Merril boots, they only had the ones that were waterproof. However after 2 years and about 1500 miles of hiking on rocky trails at home, they were no longer waterproof and, when I stepped on the peat moss in the bog, the tracks and shoes and socks filled with water. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but I was glad to change out of the wet boots and socks and take a hot shower upon returning to the ship.

I’ll let BJ talk about dinner and the next day at sea.

When Alan got back, wet and tired, it was time for a shower and a nap. Afterwards, we went to the dining room for dinner. The food this voyage in the dining room has been exceptionally good.

This morning (Dec 29) we rushed down to breakfast. And then went into the Princess THeatre for the enrichment lectures. The captain and officer who figures out our route through the Antarctica Peninsular were already talking when we got seating. They explained where we were going, what we should see, and the safety aspects of sailing in frozen waters.

When they had finished, there were two more enrichment lectures, one on Antarctic exploration and one on migratory birds.

When these talks finished, wet had enough time to go put our stuff in our cabin and then headed for a special lunch we had reserved. There is a pop-up restaurant called the Crab Shack which only serves two or three times a voyage. It is fresh seafood and was very good. We started with fried shrimp and hushpuppies, moved on to clam chowder in a bread bowl, and the main dish was a bucket of chilled seafood for two, containing two lobster tails, boiled shrimp, steamed clams and mussels, crab legs and bodies, and dessert, strawberry shortcake or key lime pie. Quite a feast for luch.

We needed a wheelbarrow to get back to our cabin. After a mandatory nap, we read and did Duolingo and then realized we needed to go to dinner. Needless to say, we had a very small dinner.

Sunset tonight is somewhere around twelve midnight and sunrise is somewhere around 2 AM. Not a very long night but you can see how far south we are

Tomorrow we will be sailing the Antarctic Peninsular waters. Much more from then.