Ushuaia, Argentina – arrived February 13th

We cruised through the Cockburn and Beagle Channels on our way to Ushuaia and caught our first glimpse of glaciers. The channels were narrow and we glided through so slowly that at times we couldn’t tell we were moving.
This is our first time in Argentina! Ushuaia claims to be the southernmost city in the world. There are other contenders, but Ushuaia is certainly the largest of them, which isn’t saying much since there are only around 16,000 inhabitants.
It’s a charming little town nestled at the bottom of enormous snow-capped mountains. We docked just a few blocks out of town on cold, rainy, foggy day which made the mountains more difficult to see. We had booked a tour called “Off the Beaten Track: Trekking in Ushuaia”. There were 12 of us on the tour and we were picked up in a bus by a darling guide, Daniela, and rode about 20 minutes up into the mountains to a shelter house where we were given rubber boots up to our knees. It was going to be a 2 hour walk through a peat bog and up into a forest where we would see some cascades.
It was barely raining when we set out but we could immediately see why we needed the boots. The peat bog was really just a swamp that was at times 18 inches deep, almost reaching to the top of the boots. We sloshed our way across the bog trying to reach the forest.
Beavers had been brought to the area 100 years ago for their pelts but this turned out to be a mistake as the vegetations was not sufficient to keep the pelts thick and healthy. The beavers adapted and their fur became unusable for the inhabitants. Consequently, beavers have been proliferating at a high rate and have done a lot of damage to the area. We saw a lot of evidence of this on our trek through the bog. They are amazingly hard working animals and their dams are perfectly constructed.
We finally reached the forest which was dense with very thin beech trees. We had to climb a hill that was muddy from the rain. It was pretty taxing for those of us who weren’t in such good shape, but to Ed and me it was invigorating. All that walking paid off!!
The cascades were just another waterfall, really, and we looked at them for a moment and then started back to the shelter. The rain had gotten heavier and by the time we got there we were soaked to the skin. A blazing fire, hot tea, coffee, sandwiches and apple pie awaited us and even though we were wet and tired everyone was in a good mood.
So that was our day in Ushuaia. Right now we’re cruising across 560 miles of the Drake Passage and will pass over the Antarctic convergence where the cold waters of the Antarctic meet the warmer waters of the Atlantic and Pacific. This can make for a rough ride but also these waters attract a large variety of birds and whales. Around 1PM we are scheduled to stop at Palmer Station, a marine research station, and pick up several scientists who will guide us through and conduct two lectures for the passengers about what we are doing and seeing. Most other activities have been cancelled so that we can spend a lot of time either outside on the deck or inside at the observation windows. One of our speakers told us these are the three days that we’ll remember best after the cruise is over. We’ll be seeing glaciers, icebergs, and lots of wildlife. Later this evening we’ll drop off the scientists, but not before we load them down with fresh produce and a supply of whiskey, commodities which are scarce in Antarctica.