Month: January 2017

We left the hotel at 8 am  and headed to Tierra del Fuego National Park.   In Spanish, this means Land of Fire.   Early explorers saw smoke coming up from the trees (from fires of the native people) and gave the area this name.   Indians called Yamuna lived here for  about 6,000 years ago, but their numbers dwindled to extinction due to disease and problems with the explorers.

We stopped by a beautiful lake area and took a hike along the water.  Believe it or not, there was a post office here.   You could get your passport stamped  with Tierra del Fuego by the postmaster for $3.00.   I got mine stamped.   After all, when would I ever be back here again.    

Lunch today was at a restaurant outside of Ushuaia.   Almost every meal starts with an empanadas  which is a half moon sized deep fried pastry with beef inside.   Another favorite is roasted lamb.   I didn’t care much for either one so I filled up on salad.

After lunch we had time to walk around the town and harbor before boarding our ship, the Corinthian.  To our surprise, out cabin is quite spacious with a sitting area, a vanity  table, and a bathroom area.

We set sail around 8 pm.   I put on my motion sickness patch as soon as we got into our cabins.  Our ship entered the Drake Passage in the middle of the night.  I could feel the waves rocking us quite a bit.  In our briefing, they told us the waves were about 12-14 ft high and that this was moderate.    The patch seemed to be doing the trick.   I felt slightly nauseated but I didn’t get sick. So far so good!  So once we get through the Drake Passage we will start our exploring of Antarctica. Penguins here we come!

 

We took a flight this morning on Argentina Airlines to Ushuaia which is about 1100 miles south of Buenos Aires. It took about 3 1/2 hours.

Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world. It is often called “The End of the World”. In 1869 it was first settled an Angelican mission. Then in 1884 the Argentinian Navy came here. A prison was built and opened in 1896.

Ushuaia is on the southern tip of Tierra Del Fuego Island and is adjacent to the Beagle Channel. 90% of the expedition ships to Antarctica start here. The weather  is very windy, rainy, and is usually about 50 F this time of year.

We toured the prison which is now a museum. The cells were dismal and made Alcatraz look good.

We ate dinner tonight at La Contina del Freddie which features King Crab which is a local speciality. I tried a Cape Horn Patagonia Beer made locally!

When we looked out over the bay we could see our ship at the dock.

The  wind is howling outside as I write.  I guess it is warning me that we are getting close to the Drake Passage!   Soon time for the patch!   But I’ll worry about that tomorrow! Time for bed!

After a briefing this morning from our program director Gonza we were off on a city tour with our local guide Carla. We went to the old part of the city by the harbor where the a great many immigrants came to Argentina between 1900 and 1930. Many of the people built homes of sheets of tin and you can still see that on the sides of some of the buildings there. The houses are painted bright colors as well.  The streets are cobble stone. It is called  La Boca which means “the mouth” because this is where the people entered Buenos Aires. In 1900 there were about 60,000 people in the city and by 1930 there where a million. Many of the immigrants came from Spain and Italy.

While we were at La Boca, we were treated to with a performance of tango dancers and an accordion player to illustrate the birthplace of tango. With this melting pot of immigrants, different styles of music came together and the tango was born, first among the poor immigrants and then it caught on by the 1940’s with the more prestigious. We even went to a typical courtyard area which was typical of how the poor lived in the Boca and our group got to try learning the tango.  Frank even got some private tutoring!

Our next stop was a park where a famous sculpture was given to the city in 2001 called Flower Genericus. It is supposed to open during the daytime and closed at night. It seemed to be only partially open when we saw it. Carla explained that sometimes in is broken.

Our final stop was the Ricolete Cemetery where Evita Peron is entombed. The cemetery has rows and rows of oranate mausoleums. Wealthy Argentinians buy them for their whole family and furnish them. There are even basements in them. It all seemed like a very pretentious custom to me.

We stopped at Evita Peron’s crypt.
She is entombed with her sister’s husbands family. There were a lot of flowers because she is still beloved by Argentinians.

After our city tour, we had lunch with some of our group at a pizza place. We shopped a bit and then took a break since we were going to a Tango Show in the evening. I did not take any pictures there because I followed the rules. (Should have took one on the sly!) There was a live orchestra, a great tango singer and super tango dancers.
While Frank and I will never conquer this dance, it was fun to try on and experience this unique style of music and dance. Frank loved the scenery!

We had a flight to Atlanta and then a 9 and a half hour flight overnight to Buenos Aires.    Our flight left Atlanta around 9:15 pm and we arrived this morning around 9am.   Time here is a 2 hours ahead our EST.  After we went through customs and a second bag screening, we met a tour guide from Grand Circle.    She took us to an awaiting van which took us to our hotel.

The  Panarmerican Hotel is located on the Boulevard of July 9th.   July 9th is Argentina’s Independence Day.    We were supposed to meet our guide for a brief walking tour around the hotel.   We had trouble with our room keys and until that got straightened out, we missed our small group tour.   Since we were pretty tired, we opted for lunch, walked around a little on our own, and took showers and rested a bit.

The obelisk commemorates where the first Argentinian flag flew after they gained their independence from Spain.

We met our tour guide Gonza, a native Argentinian at 5 and took a walking tour of some of the government areas. We went to May Square which is where the major political events of Argentina have taken place. We saw the Cabildo, which was the former Spanish seat of government. On one side of the square was The Pink House where the President of Argentina works and is well know for the Evita balcony where she spoke to the people. There is also a catherdral on the square which is the hometown for Pope Francis.

We then went by bus to a modern section of the city called Puerto Madero. We saw the Women’s Bridege which is a rotating footbridge over the canal. We ate supper in this area at an Argentinian Steak House. Argentina is well know for it’s beef and we were not disappointed.

By the time we returned to our hotel, we were ready to call it a day. It was fascinating to learn about the Buenos Aires history from Gonza’s perspective.  I’m sure we’ll learn even more tomorrow!

Yes, you read correctly.   Frank and I are taking a flight out of Philadelphia this afternoon and heading to Buenos Aires, Argentina, then to Ushuaia, Patagonia with our  final destination of Antarctica.  Why you may be asking?  That is exactly what Frank is wondering himself.   However I look it as a great adventure.   I can’t wait to meet the penguins!  I know I will be doing my best to get some great photos!   This will probably be one of our most memorable trips yet!   I can’t wait!!!

If I have trouble with wifi connections,  my posts will be delayed and I may have to finish them on our return.   Being flexible will be a big part of this trip and I am ready for the challenge.   Stayed tuned!