Antarctica - A Day in Ushuaia

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.

Preparations for crossing the Drake Passage

With nothing to do but sail, we were forced to remain on the ship and eat copious amounts of food.

The daily program

A stroll on deck

Lunch buffet (actually much better than it looked)

Dinner

Dessert (at least on one night)

And, wine, beer, liquor, and soft drinks were free!

Forcing down free drinks

At the end of the day, there was nothing to do but watch the sunset.....

Next: Drake Passage and the South Shetland Islands

Antarctica--A Stopover in Miami Beach

Saturday, January 12

To warm up (literally) for our voyage to Antarctica, we stopped over in Miami Beach for a couple of days on our way.  We stayed at the Riviere Hotel in South Beach, one of many 1930's vintage apartment buildings that have been converted to small hotels.  We were a block away from the beach.

Riviere Hotel

We spent the next two days wandering South Beach.  If you like Art Deco, South Beach is a dream.  If you don't, it's still a nice beach. Here are a few shots from Saturday afternoon.

Looking down Ocean Drive in South Beach

Cardozo Hotel

Leslie Hotel

A tourist on Ocean Drive

On the beach

After our partial Art Deco tour and beach walk, we met our cousins for dinner at Joe's Stone Crab (my cousin apparently thought I was paying for dinner).

Eat at Joe's

About $50 worth of stone crab

Sunday, January 13

After breakfast, we walked around and took in a few more art deco gems.

San Juan Hotel

The Berkeley Shore

Old timers may remember this as the former Wolfie's Delicatessen

 Eventually, we got to the Lincoln Road Mall, which is one of the first pedestrian malls in the United States.

Lincoln Road Mall

At the Tesla dealership on the Lincoln Road Mall

The Fillmore, formerly the Jackie Gleason Theater

Next, we went to Espanola Way, a street lined with restaurants and bars, and enjoyed $12 margaritas while watching the 49ers pound the Panthers.

Espanola Way

Looking from Espanola Way to the beach

After dinner, we wandered around and took a few night shots.

Nightlife on Espanola Way

A view from the beach

Loew's Hotel

Winter Haven Hotel

McAlpin Hotel

Carlton Hotel

Monday, January 14

In the morning we continued our Art Deco tour, this time concentrating on the southern part of South Beach.

View down Ocean Boulevard

Breakwater Hotel

Pelican and Casa Grande Hotels

After lunch, it was off to the airport and our flight to Buenos Aires.

Next: A Day in Ushuaia

Antarctica--Introduction

In addition to attempting to get to 100 countries, I am also trying to make it to all seven continents, so a trip to Antarctica was required.  After much cajoling, I was even able to convince Brenda to come on this trip, after convincing her that they did not have squat toilets in Antarctica.  What I didn't tell her was that they don't have any toilets in Antarctica. 

Unless you're filthy rich, the only way you can get to Antarctica is to take a boat from either the southern tip of South America or from the southern part of Australia.  If you are filthy rich, I believe you can take a charter flight over, if not to, the South Pole.  For our purposes, the easiest way was to fly to Ushuaia, Argentina, and cruise from there.  

After doing much research, we chose to cruise with Quark Expeditions, on their Antarctic Explorer tour aboard the Sea Spirit.  There is no cheap way to get to Antarctica, but we were able to get a 25% early booking discount from Quark, so the cost was merely painful, and not debilitating.

The Sea Spirit

The RDU-Ushuaia nonstop flights don't operate during the winter (which is summer in Antarctica and South America), so I had to cobble together an RDU-Miami-Buenos Aires-Ushuaia itinerary.  We broke up the journey by spending a couple of nights in Miami Beach.

Getting to Ushuaia, and then to Antarctica

Once we got to Ushuaia, we overnighted there and got on the ship.  From Ushuaia, it was a fun-filled two day trip across the Drake Passage to the South Shetland Islands off the Antarctic peninsula.  We then spent 5 days visiting various locations on the islands and the peninsula, and headed back to Ushuaia.  The entire cruise was 11 days.

Our journey on the Sea Spirit

Ready?  Let's go.....

Next: A Stopover in Miami Beach