Ushuaia, Argentina: 68.3° S, 54.8° W;  11°C (51°F)

Ushuaia is a small city that caters to the Antarctic tourism industry.  It is a dull city averaging only 40 sunny days per year.  We lucked out: it was mostly cloudy with a few short squalls, but the sun did appear from time to time.

In the 1970s Argentina and Chile were locked in border disputes, especially in the far south.  At the time only 5,000 people lived in the Argentinian half of Tierra del Fuego, not enough to effectively block a possible Chilean take-over.  The government’s solution?  Make Ushuaia a tax free zone – no business tax, no personal tax, no value added tax, yet all amenities – including vitamin D supplements to make up for the lack of sunlight – still supplied.  The current population?  70,000.  On the Chilean side?  None.  No one lives in the Chilean half of Tierra del Fuego.

We arrived in Ushuaia and were taken to a catamaran for lunch and a cruise from La Pataia Bay to the Beagle Channel and back to Ushuaia while the ship was loaded with our belongings.  The air was fresh (not cold enough to be bracing) and wonderfully soft.  Shirley and I spent the greater part of the cruise on deck.  We came upon several harems of sea lions, many females and a few males obvious from their huge necks and heads.

Hanging out with the sea lions were thousands of blue-eyed shags, a type of cormorant.  With so much wildlife there must be plenty of fish in this sea!

We returned to the MV National Geographic Explorer and settled in.  I have a comfortable single cabin complete with full bathroom and lots of closet space.  My Bogs boots and orange parka were waiting for me – such service!  Dinner started with a bowl of yummy tomato soup, and was followed by a buffet of several salads, roasted veggies, a seafood pasta, fried noodles, strip loin steak, french fries, rolls, desserts, etc., accompanied of course by an excellent Argentinian Malbec (a little extra for that!)  I don’t think Shirley and I will go hungry on this trip.

Tonight we begin the crossing of the Drake Passage, oft called the Drake Shake.  I’ll let you know how it goes!