Ushuaia

The Falklands War Memorial in Ushuaia at night
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DAY TWELVE - SATURDAY 15 DECEMBER 2007

We headed off at about 6am and the passage is very smooth - amazing no wind, so we are using the motor - dent know why it is called sailing! We followed the Beagle Channel back to Ushuaia.  Charlie came with us to check out some things in Ushuaia while Amanda is staying in Puerto Williams to look after Berge Viking.  The weather is warm and life is very pleasant.

Amazingly beautiful and cold

Ushuaia at night
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We arrived in Ushuaia at about 11am and had to wait for the Prefecture to come and do the customs clearance etc as we are now back in Argentina.  We finally cleared customs and I jumped off the boat in a flash and headed into town with Graham and Sue who were checking into a hotel.

Ushuaia is on the edge of the Beagle Channel surrounded by Martial Mountains to the west and by Olivia and Cinco Hermanos Mountains to the east.  These form a combination of mountains, seas, glaciers and forests.  Due to the proximity of the South Pole, the days here last about 18 hours.

On the wharf at Ushuaia leaving Commitment at the end of our sailing adventure.
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We continued along San Martin Calle but the airline office was not open, so we found a huge internet cafe and booked the only flight we could for nearly the next week to Lima in Peru and from there to make it to Machu Picchu for Christmas day.  We checked some other emails and found our uni results had been published and yes we both passed with flying colours - high distinctions all round (except Scott who got one Distinction letting the side down).  We decided to walk up the street and find something to eat.

The crew at the end of the trip
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We bumped into Bear and Charlie so we headed to a cafe for food and some well deserved vinos and cervesa.  The restaurant waiter spoke some English so we got exactly what we asked for and it was great.  Graham and Sue popped in for a bevvy.  We agreed to all meet up for dinner later.

Bear, Charlie, Scott and I headed to an Irish bar via a very tacky souvenir shop so I could buy a tshirt.  The Irish bar was awful but we had more drinks, before Scott and I headed back to the boat for a quick change of clothes before diner.

Falklands War Memorial
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We met everybody at The Wheel restaurant for an all you can eat buffet of dead animal - Scott was in seventh heaven and luckily for me they had wine and salad, and so was I.  Scott bypassed the salad for the meat which is basically cooked on a large open bbq grill.  The cost for it was Argentina Peso 55 each - what a bargain.

We headed back to the boat about 11pm and it was still very light, so we took some photos and chilled out on our last night on board a boat.  I think we are both looking forward to some clean clothes and bedding as everything on the boat is damp and even the bed is getting mouldy underneath from all the condensation.

DAY THIRTEEN - SUNDAY 16 DECEMBER 2007

We got up late and headed for a proper shower in the yacht club.  The water was hot - cold - hot - cold, yep, get the picture.  Although it was nice and sunny outside, certainly not sunny enough for a cold shower.  It was nice however not to have to worry about what amount of water we use and to put on some relatively clean clothes.

We decided to pack our bags and go into town for a coffee as the mess on board the boat has deteriorated without anyone cleaning or doing the dishes since we docked in Ushuaia.  We bumped into Graham and Sue and walked with them into town for a coffee along with Charlie.  We also bumped into Bear and he is also leaving the boat today to get organised for taking another job in Brazil.  So we said goodbye to our shipmates and headed to the airport.

I am pleased I survived the trip, didn't think I would after the first few days.

We arrived at the airport to find that our tickets had ben cancelled as the payment had not been processed properly, so had to spend, I presume a very expensive mobile phone call, to LAN Chile to get it all sorted and get us on the plane - there was no way we could afford to miss it. As with most flights here in South America our departure time came and went and we finally left Ushuaia about 2 hours late.  Now we need to cross our fingers that we can make the connecting flight.