Today's port of call was Ushuaia, Argentina, which technically began last night when we had to arrive by midnight to get our spot at the dock. Most visitors begin or end their cruises in Ushuaia in southern Argentina. Located at the end of the Andes, this city is the best place to get civilized luxuries or outfit yourselves for an unbelievable journey into the freezing cold. Ushuaia claims to be the southernmost city in the world. However, a town called Puerto Williams in Chile is actually 8.6 miles closer to the South Pole. But who's counting?
Yamana nomadic Indians lived here until missionaries arrived from England in 1869. Not many native Argentinians wanted to live in such a dismal climate where it is almost always windy, wet, and very cold. So in the late 1900's, government tax incentives attracted more businesses which led to Ushuaia becoming an expanded community. The population went from 7171 to 57,000 people where tourism became the town's prosperity. And it remains so to this day.
There were several tour options starting with Beagle Channel and wildlife for 2 hours and $100. Beagle Channel on a catamaran was 5 hours for $110. Trekking in Ushuaia was 4 hours and $120, while Lake Escondito scenic alpine drive was 4 hours and $150. A 4x4 road safari was 4 hours for $180 and the National Park/Beagle Channel was 6 hours and $210. The train to the end of the world was 3 hours and $240 (we did this one years ago), and a King Crab feast for 5 hours was $270. And last was an exclusive city tour and food for 2 hours for $320.
Little did we know that when we opened our drapes this morning, we would be docked right across from the Celebrity Equinox. Built in 2009, the Equinox holds from 2850 to 3420 guests and a crew of 1000. It is 121,878 gross tons and was refurbished in 2019. They are on a 14 day trip that includes Antarctica. Now we are not sure if this was the ship we had to make room for.
We had breakfast as usual in a less than full Pinnacle Grill due to tours we think. Knowing that nothing was opened in town until 10am, we left the ship by 9:45am. All aboard was 1:30pm, so we knew there would be no time for lunch onshore. And there was a change in plans. The Volendam had to move out of the dock by 10:30am, and drop anchor in the bay. Tender boats would be used to transport guests back sometime after 11am or so. It appeared there was a container ship that needed our dock space, and the Captain did not have any success in changing their minds.
This town is quite walkable except for the steep streets that go up to the main shopping and restaurant streets. You have to be part Billy goat to hike up a block. Some of these narrow streets had steps, which are even worse on the knees. Following the ship's map was near impossible. We even had other people from the ship asking us where the museums were located. Darn if we knew. Taking the same path as we did in 2020, we passed by the interesting shops and cafes that were roasting lambs over a wood fire pit in their windows. Sure smelled good, but none of the restaurants looked like they opened for lunch. The description of this town included happening restaurants, boisterous bars, and welcoming B&B's. And there were plenty of pubs for sure. Speaking of pubs, yesterday we all got a notice advising us to be careful drinking the local Pisco Sours because they use raw egg white in them. No one wants to chance a gastrointestinal illness. Good reason to stick to beer, we say.
We walked all the way to the Naval Armada, then decided to head back to the center of town. The last time we were here, we located the Hard Rock Cafe and bought t-shirts. So we wanted to do the same thing today. Lunch would have been nice, but there was no way we would chance not getting back to the ship by 1:30pm. Their shop opened at 10am, but the cafe did not open until 12pm. We did get our t-shirts and our special discount for wearing one of the city t's and a HRC scarf. The bill came to an outrageous 88,000 pesos, but converted to the US dollar, were what these souvenir shirts cost elsewhere around the world. Maybe even a little less expensive.
Walking down this same street, we passed by several street vendors selling souvenirs. There was one friendly lady with a cart of custom-made necklaces and earrings. They weren't the run-of-the-mill stone jewelry we were seeing, but more like Mexican items. She spoke English and asked where we were from. San Francisco, we said, and she replied she had lived in Santa Rosa in the north bay. Small world, we chatted for awhile until more interested customers gathered. She did tell us summer in Ushuaia was fine, but not the winters. She claimed it rained every day and it stayed dark all but 5 hours of the day. For that reason, she heads to a beach somewhere else in the world. Being retired, she said she can take her collection and sell anywhere as long as it is a warm place. We agreed.
Stopping at the info center in town yielded nothing since all the information is gathered by a QR code. Oh well, so much for that. Around 11:45am, the Captain sounded the ship's horn with one long blast. We had noticed that the Volendam had not moved from her slip at 10:30am. Just by chance, we ran into Florin who told us that the bunkering of fuel had taken much longer than expected, so the ship was not moved. Or perhaps that's what the Captain told the local authorities. In the long run, it did not matter since we just missed our chance to board on the pier. The horn went off twice more, and by 12:15pm, we had to get on the tender with a very steep gangway, and one big step to get into the boat. There were plenty of crew members helping everyone that needed help.
We happened to be the first boat, but the platform was not completed yet, so they held us at the pier for 15 minutes or more before we began sailing back to the now anchored ship. The winds had picked up a lot by now, so getting back onboard also needed help for most folks. We were back by 1pm. Did the ship leave at 1:30pm as stated in our itinerary? Nope, it turned out that we would not leave the bay for two more hours. Tours may have been late and the winds delayed our sailing. The plans were to open the bow for scenic sailing of the Beagle Channel and Glacier Alley. Captain Rens came on and apologized for the need to tender today as it was out of his control. He intends to write a letter of complaint to the head office in regards to the negative treatment he received today.
Lunch was 2 cannonball burgers and fries from the Dive-In. Expecting it to be crowded, it wasn't and the wait for the food was short.
We still have 283 nautical miles to Punta Arenas, Chile tomorrow. He said he was picking up the speed to 17 knots so we can see Glacier Alley during dinner time and before it gets dark. The bow could not be opened due to 50 knot winds. We doubt any of the outside decks were opened. There were five glaciers to be seen, but all of them were on the starboard, so we missed most of the scenic sailing. During dinner, it appeared that it was raining or there was a heavy fog and the scenery was not visible anymore.
Dinner warmed us up with one bowl of chicken noodle soup and one seafood cocktail. Both of us had salads, although the lettuce part has been getting smaller . With re-provisioning today, we suspect the new lettuce will appear tomorrow. Our entrees were one chicken piccata and a Dutch meatball meal with sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots. Very different - very Dutch. There was no room for dessert.
The show tonight was instrumentalist Sebastian Fucci with tunes from Queen to Chopin, Bach to the Beatles. The Dam Band in the Ocean Bar was going strong, which seemed to attract a lot of folks enjoying their Have-It -All packages. Good for them.
Tomorrow we will be in Chile.
Bill & Mary Ann
