February 25

On February 20, we docked at Ushuaia (pronounced oooSCHWAYyah), Argentina. Ushuaia claims to be the southernmost “city” in the world. Puerto Williams, Chile, is further south, but is technically a “town”, not a city.

I took a tour of the Tierra del Fuego National Park and was surprised to learn that the terminus of Route 3 (the Pan American Highway) is in this park. Highway 3 begins in Fairbanks, Alaska (wish I had taken a picture of the origin - little did I know one day I would be at the end). The distance from Fairbanks to Ushuaia is 17,848 kilometers. (Laura - there are people that bike it!)

Also, the southernmost golf course is in Ushuaia. Might have been fun to play at the southernmost golf course having played at the northernmost in Fairbanks. It was a little nippy here that day and I do have pictures.



Ushuaia Golf Course



Ensenada Bay in Park



Freshwater lake in Park



End of Highway 3



End of the Road!



Our Location




View from Restaurant/Gift Shop




Leaving Ushuaia




From the afternoon of the February 20 through today, we have been cruising the Chilean fjords with a stop in Punta Arenas on Sunday February 21. Tomorrow we arrive in Laguna San Rafael where we will board catamarans and get a real close up of a glacier.

A little tidbit about icebergs. Technically, an iceberg has 10 feet of ice showing above the water. Icebergs have 90% of their ice below water, so minimum size of an iceberg is 100 feet = 10 above, 90 below. One of my pictures shows a piece of ice which would qualify as an iceberg. Unfortunately the rescue boat pulled away before I got the picture, so you can’t see the contrast of the rescue boat next to the iceberg (the boat plus the 6 foot tall men on board).

Here’s a sampling of the glaciers so far:






Holland Glacier




Italia Glacier



Alemania Glacier




Amalia Glacier



Scenery in Amalia Glacier Area




Iceberg Glacier (Located in Iceberg Fjord)




Rescue Boat Pulling away from Iceberg



Me & San Rafael Glacier (February 25 from catamaran)




San Rafael Glacier

Tomorow Puerto Montt.....

February 24

Today's post will cover Puerto Madryn, Port Stanley on East Falkland Island and Cruising Cape Horn.


Puerto Madryn, Argentina - February 16

Puerto Madryn is a very windy, arid city. Puerto Madryn has an aluminum factory, sheep and is 40 km from Peninsula Valdes, a wildlife reserve. From March to December, many tourists come to see the southern right whales who feed, mate, give birth & nurse their offspring here. In non-whale season, you can still see the elephant seals (which are molting right now) and the sea lions. I had a Signature tour here, and Fernanda drove what seemed like forever to see the elephant seals and sea lions. It was nice to get away from the bigger cities and I had a great walk along the beach to see the elephant seals.



Gaucho Herding Sheep




Find the Hare




Lighthouse at Punta Delgada



Punta Delgada (elephant seals in background)




Sea Otter



Elephant Seals (molting - there's fur all over the beach!)



Sea Lions (the babies are the little black guys



New Gulf - Puerto Madryn



Port Stanley, East Falkland Island - February 18

We were so lucky to be able to anchor off Port Stanley since the day before we arrived they had 90 mile an hour winds. If we had that weather, we would not have been able to stop. Here I went on a Regent Tour to Sparrow Cove to see the Gentoo penguins. We took a boat from the ship to the shore where we were transported to 4-wheel drive vehicles to travel 3 miles (took 25 minutes) to get to the penguins. Very bumpy - had to hang on for dear life.

After visiting the penguins, we took the tender into Port Stanley and looked around the town. Very fun day.



Yes, we're in the Falkland Islands.




Christ Church Cathedral


Penguins at Sparrow Cove



Couldn't catch what he was saying.



Me & Penguin



Penguin Poop


Cruising Cape Horn - February 19

We were also very fortunate to have very calm seas while we cruised around Cape Horn. There is an Albatross Monument on Cape Horn (picture below). Here is what is engraved on the monument:

I, the albatross that awaits you at the end of the world…..

I, the forgotten soul of the lost sailors that crossed Cape Horn from all the seas of the world.

But die they did not in the fierce waves,
For today towards eternity in my wings they soar
In the last embrace of the Antarctic winds.

Sara Vial - Dec. - 1992




First Look at Cape Horn



Patiently waiting for dolphin to reappear - no luck.



Evidence I was there.



More Cape Horn - Lighthouse, home & chapel on hill in front.


Another view of Cape Horn.


Another view of lighthouse, home & chapel.



Albatross Monument



Another view...



To be continued....................

February 21

Today is February 21 and we are sailing in the Chilean Fjords (beautiful) and I’m going to do some catching up. This post will be of Buenos Aires and Montevideo.

We were in Buenos Aires on February 12 & 13. On the twelfth I took a tour of the city and on the thirteenth I wandered around on my own. Thursday night we went to a tango show. We also were treated to local tango dancers on board the ship on Friday night. I was impressed by the mausoleum - I’ve never seen anything like it, although a fellow traveler said there is one like it in New Orleans. There are very large monuments above ground and several levels for burial below ground. Eva Peron is buried here in a space provided in the Duarte’s mausoleum. Some time following her death when the Peron’s were out of favor, her remains were sent to another country, but eventually were brought back to the current location. La Boca is also a very interesting part of BA - it is where the tango originated (long story). It was also fun to see the Pink House (houses government’s executive branch) where the Peron’s addressed their minions.



Recoleta Cemetary




Final Resting Place of Eva Peron's Remains



Commemorative Plaque



Colon Theater (being renovated)



Casa Rosada (Pink House)



Plaza de Mayo & Pink House



La Boca (Carlos Gardel, Eva & famous soccer player)



Tango Show at La Ventana


We were in Montevideo, Uruguay on February 14. I had another of my private tours in Montevideo and “Beatrice” covered a lot of ground with me. She loves her country and feels it has a very special energy. My visit was so whirlwind that I couldn’t really get a sense of that, but there are some lovely colonial buildings, a great park (Prado Park) and beaches.



Remnant of Citadel Gate (in back)


Palacio Salvo (Once S. America's tallest bldg.)



Reverend Moon's Home



La Diligencia by Jose Belloni



Native Charruas Indians & Tourist



President's Palace (doesn't live there).



Parliament Building



Telecommunications Building



Jail during dictatorship - now a shopping mall.



Lunchtime entertainment at Port Market



Hopefully my last beef meal for a while!!!


More later.......................