I woke up briefly about 2:30am. Here is where we were.
Since the weather has calmed down, the Drake Passage has filled up with cruise ships again.
I noticed that our twin sister ship, National Geographic Resolution is headed to the Antarctic Peninsula.
The first view, when I woke up in the morning, shows us in the middle of the Beagle Channel which is a dividing line between Argentina and Chile.
By 7:30am we had arrived in Ushuaia.
The harbor area is shaped like a semicircle. The city is surrounded by mountains.
Ushuaia city development started with building a prison. Now the structure is a museum. We stopped at that museum. It is arrayed like this.
Two of the wings depicted prison life. They are cold and harsh like most prisons.
One wing held an art gallery. The artist, Alejandro Abt, always tries to show the suffering of those who have less. Here are a couple of his paintings.
It’s a beautiful day in Ushuaia, about 55º at 10am and sunny with 10 mph winds. Rain is forecast starting the late afternoon Most days are cold and rainy. We are fortunate.
I am amazed how large and bustling Ushuaia seems for its location at the “end of the world” (fin del mundo). To me it has the feeling of a frontier town like Anchorage, Alaska or Queenstown, New Zealand. Short buildings, rustic, on the water, touristy, geared to the outdoors.
Most of the buildings are concrete. Some have a thin wooden facade.
The mountains in the background below are the southern end of the Andes here in Tierra del Fuego province.
The harbor is busy with a variety of vessels including cruise ships.
We saw another cruise ship with the X-Bow, the Sylvia Earle of Aurora Expeditions.
A group of Dolphin Gulls is resting on the shore. They range across southern Chile Argentina, and the Falkland Islands.
The Bark Europa sitting in the harbor is a tall ship that sails around the world. It holds 40 passengers that also become part of the crew. How would you like to go on this ship to Antarctica?
Here is the tall ship under full sail among the icebergs.
Edward says that he still feels like he’s on our ship when he stands up here in Ushuaia.
We have just arrived in Buenos Aires. The current temperature at 6:30pm is 93º F (feels like 104º F). The high today was 98º F. My heavy sweater and coat are a burden now. The air conditioning in the airport provides some relief. Our flight back to the U.S. takes off at 10:30pm.
The trip was a success. We explored a remote region of the earth, in comfort, on an amazing ship with a wonderful staff and crew.
We met interesting people along the way.
Phil and Jenny from Beijing.
A nice family from Australia – Chris, Alicia, Tom, and Zoe. Sorry about the blurry photo.
We have arrived in Dallas and will visit their airport clubs for food and a massage, as we did on the way south. It feels like we have come full circle.
In Dallas they have changed our departure gate four times. Our plane leaves soon.
Now a few more photos to wrap up.
I hope to travel on the National Geographic Endurance ship again.
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