Around the World With Uncle Moose: Antarctica

Tuesday, January 14

The overnight flight from Miami to Buenos Aires on Aerolinas Argentinas was uneventful, if not luxurious. My observation in the past has been that the worst foreign airline is better than the best U.S. airline, but Aerolinas Argentinas is the exception that proves the rule. A very old, badly maintained plane. On the positive side, the plane had individual seatback screens. On the negative side, about 80% of them (including mine) didn't work. The disrepair extended to the overhead lights and the attendant call button, so I couldn't even call the flight attendant to tell her that the light and screen weren't working.

Unfortunately, the plane for our flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia (also on Aerolinas Argentinas) wasn't much better, the main difference being that there were no individual seatback screens not to work.

Our route to Ushuaia

View from the plane a few miles from Ushuaia

Approaching Ushuaia

Ushuaia International Airport

We arrived at Ushuaia (the southernmost city in the world) at about 3:00 PM. On arrival, it was a balmy 55 degrees Fahrenheit. We then took a bus to our hotel, located above the city, about 5 miles from the center.

Tierra Del Fuego, including Ushuaia (near the lower right)

Our hotel was above the upper left corner of the map

Some housing on the way to the hotel

More housing in Ushuaia

Hotel Las Hayas, our home (for 1 night) in Ushuaia

View of Ushuaia from the Hotel

Wednesday, January 15

We were scheduled to board the ship at 4:00 PM, so we had the day at leisure in Ushuaia. Although there are a lot of day trips to the mountains and other parts of Tierra del Fuego available, we just wandered through the center of the city.

Avenida San Martin, the main street in central Ushuaia

The flowers are Lupines, which are pretty prevalent around Ushuaia


Iglesia Nuestra Señora de la Merced

A long way from anywhere

Our first penguin sighting


Galeria Tematica

Ushuaia Post Office

First view of our ship at the pier

Along the waterfront

At the pier in Ushuaia

At 4:00 we boarded the ship.

In most respects the ship was like other cruise ships, only much smaller (about 110 passengers). No casino, no pool, tiny gift shop, etc.

Layout of the ship

The cabins on the ship were comparable to (or better) than those on most cruise ships. In fact, each cabin was a suite, with a separate area with a couch and chair, which was very convenient for laying out all the crap we had to wear on the shore excursions.

Part of our cabin

The other part of the cabin

Here are a few more shots from around the ship:

Bar/Lounge/Internet area

A passenger at the reception desk

The library, part of the lounge

Fitness center, such as it was. The mirror makes it look a lot bigger.

The room where we had all of our briefings and lectures

Our schedule for the day

After settling in, we sailed at 6:00 PM.

Departing Ushuaia

In the Beagle Channel

I don't know who they are, but they are cold.

Akademik Sergei Vavilov, following us out of Ushuaia

A flock of gulls(?) following us out of Ushuaia

That evening we were issued our parkas (which were ours to keep) and boots (which were not).

Testing our new jackets

Thursday, January 16

Today was our first day in the Drake Passage, between South America and Antarctica. The Drake Passage is infamous for having some of the roughest water in the world, but we had a very smooth (relatively) ride. Nevertheless, the ship was prepared for the worst, with barf bags distributed every 3 feet along the passageways. Fortunately, we didn't need them.