Ushuaia, Argentina

 As we sailed along the Beagle Channel, named for the ship that carried Charles Darwin, we saw five spectacular glaciers named for the countries of origin of those who discovered them.  

Italian Glacier

Along the way we were entertained by sea lions alongside the ship as we headed for the port of Ushuaia (pronounced oos-way-ya), our first stop in Argentina.  

The area was originally inhabited by the Yamana Indians until Captain Robert Fitzroy arrived in 1833 on a British missionary voyage. Rev. Thomas Bridges devoted himself in the late 19th century to creating a dictionary of the native language.  Sadly, the natives were wiped out by disease by the early 20th century.  

The town of Ushuaia is a former penal colony nestled in a U shaped cove adjacent to the Beagle Channel.  The prisoners constructed the town's railway, hospital and port. Now a metropolis of more tha 70,000 residents, it is the gateway to rugged wilderness adventures by boat, rail, 4X4 or on foot.  It is also one of the emnarkation points for cruises to the Antarctic. 

On our catamaran cruise of the Beagle Channel,  we saw many native birds - Imperial cormorants (which look like penguins), rock cormorants, kelp gulls, skuas, and kestrels.  A male sea lion with a mane oversees about ten lighter coloured females. 

Once again we were fortunate to have a beautiful sunny day - temperature 14 C (57 F). 

Punta Arenas

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Today we docked at Punta Arenas, our first (and last) stop in Chile. This is the world’s most southern city.  It was inhabited by Thuelche people for 14 500 years before 1520 when Ferdinand Magellan sailed through the strait that bears his name.  It was not settled until 1848 when Portugal established a penal colony here.  By the early 20^th century, Europeans had made their fortunes in sheep ranching.
Our first stop was the Patagonia museum, similar to Upper Canada Village, where we saw old equipment, much of it steam driven, There were typical homes and shops.

Our next stop was "the sixth most beautiful cemetery in the world".  Eva Braun was a Russian woman who came to Chile and married a rich farmer who died a short time later.  She took over his business.  She brought tradesmen from Europe to design and build beautiful mansions.  Upon her death, she left a large plot of land for the City Cemetery where we saw elaborate tombs and mausoleums marking the final resting place for many of the region's founding families.

This a statue to the "unknown aboriginal", honouring the indigenous peoples, being explained by our excellent guide Diego. In the Maggiorino Borgatello Museum, displays included natural history, aboriginal culture, and Antarctica.

After a stop at a scenic lookout and the Market Square, we found local beer (Austral lager) at a corner restaurant and bar.  This was a perfect day - sunny, 15 C (55 F), no wind. According to Diego, this is unusually good weather for Patagonia.

Departure

Yesterday, around noon, the captain announced that after "negotiations" with the port authority we had been given permission to leave.  The swells were high and the sea had white caps but we still cheered to be on our way.  Since we are now 42 hours behind schedule, the ship is going south along the coast of Chile at high speed.  We will miss our stop at Puerto Montt and one day of scenic cruising along the Amalia Glacier.  However, there are more glaciers in our future before we reach "the end of the world".

As we are headed towards Antarctica, it is getting colder.  

Today the high will be 13 C (55 F) but the days are long with sunset at 9:39 p.m.

San Antonio Chile

We are docked at the port of San Antonio, Chile. We arrived at the airport in Santiago on Monday morning after a 10 hour flight from Toronto.  We emerged into sunny, 28 C (82 F) weather.  We are travelling on the Island Princess, a smaller boat which has just come from Fort Lauderdale, through the Panama Canal, and to Easter Island.  It was expected that we would depart Monday at 6:00 p.m. travelling south along the Chilean coast.  It is now noon on Tuesday, February 4th.  The port is closed because of high swells and big waves.  Well, if you have to be stranded, being on a cruise ship with lots of food and drink and beautiful sunny weather is not a bad place to be.

Our Destination

We will fly from Ottawa on February 2 to Toronto and then overnight to Santiago Chile where our 33 night cruise will begin.