November 24, 2024 - Sunday - Ushuaia, Argentina

November 24, 2024 – Sunday                        Day 60 of this journey 

Ushuaia, Argentina 

As this is a transition day for the ship (passengers getting off the ship in the morning, and passengers getting on the ship in the afternoon) things are more than a little hectic this morning. Passengers departing, must be out of their rooms by 8:00 am (I think). The World Café started serving breakfast at 6:00 am. The Living Room on Deck 5 is the gathering area for each group waiting to disembark. 

We signed up to take an “included” tour today that will have us away from the ship for 6 ½ hours. It is described as a drive-around, crossing the Andes mountains to look at a couple of lakes. We aren’t real sure we want to sit on a bus for that long, but we may see some nice scenery. It also includes lunch, and the meals on these excursions are usually good.

Morning views of the Andes

Our local guide today is Norberto. Like so many local guides that we have had, he loves his community and thoroughly enjoys sharing the information with guests. He also has a very pleasant sense of humor and adds a lot of levity to his dialog. 

We briefly drive through downtown Ushuaia and make a brief stop in front of the ubiquitous city sign so people can have their picture taken. We don’t particularly care about the sign, but there is a nice view of the Octantis from there as well as an excellent shot of the mountains behind the city.

Our ship framed by the "U"

A bit of a better shot

Looking toward the Atlantic through the Beagle Channel

Stunning

Ushuaia is a city of about 100,000 people. It has doubled in the last 10-15 years. We’ve been watching “Cruisemapper.com” and the number of expedition boats utilizing the dock in Ushuaia is startling. And this is the very beginning of the Antarctica tourism season. 

Our excursion continues up into the Andes, making another photo stop at a look-out that has been built. The views are very dramatic with mountain peaks towering over a rather flat valley. We learn that peat moss is common here and is even harvested for use as a garden supplement.

The tree line in this region is at about 1,500 feet
That gives you a little perspective

The highway is the Pan American. It starts in Alaska
and finishes here in Ushuaia.

The next stop we make is a comfort stop at the lodge where we will be having lunch. In fact, they have already started cooking our lunch. Barbecued lamb. It smells great!

Barbecued lamb. It cooks like this for 3 - 4 hours.

Our next photo op is at another overlook. It is quite cool and windy, so we are happy to take a couple of shots of Escondido (Hidden) Lake in the foreground with Fagnano Lake in the background. Fagnano Lake is the largest lake in Patagonia. It is over 100 k long and 5 k wide. Scientists have been unable to measure the depth. It sits on top of where two tectonic plates meet. After getting back on the bus, a beautiful chimanga caracara landed on a rock just a few feet from the bus.

 

Chimanga Caracara

Escondido (Hidden) Lake in the foreground, Fagnano Lake
in the background

The photo stop at Fagnano Lake didn’t look all that interesting so we stayed on the bus. And we are ready for lunch. It is about 35-40 minutes’ drive back to our lunch stop. 

Lunch started with a small salad bar. While we were getting our salads, the waiters brought trays of barbecued lamb. A tray was shared by every 4 people. The lamb continued to sizzle as the tray was over a brazier of hot charcoal. Really good! We chose red wine. It was an excellent Malbec. Then ice cream for dessert, a scoop of vanilla and a scoop of Calafate. Calafate is the local blueberry. 

The cherry on top of this excellent meal was their version of mountain coffee. WOW! They had a sign that listed most of the ingredients. Including: Sugar, Cognac, Whisky, Gin, Crème de Cacao, Pisco, Rum, Grappa (60-year-old), orange peel and cinnamon. They had a big copper kettle sitting next to a roaring fire and the coffee cups were too.

The Patagonian Blueberry - Calafate

It was so hot; we had to wait awhile before we could taste it. Oh my, it was really good. As long as it had been sitting near that fire, I’m sure there wasn’t much alcohol left, but all the flavors blended to something exceptional. 

After lunch, some of the guests took a short walk through the woods, then it was about 45 minutes back to the dock. When we left the ship this morning, we had our reservations about this tour. We are so glad we took the tour. The views were awe inspiring. 

We cancelled our dinner plans as we were still quite content with our lunch.

In the Beagle Channel heading for the Drake Passage