Ushuaia, Argentina

            Sunday, 31 Dec 2023 – We were scheduled to dock at Ushuaia at 12:00 PM.  Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is located mostly in the southern half of South America.  With a mainland area of 1,073,500 square miles, Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, the fourth largest in the Americas, the second largest in South America after Brazil, and the largest Spanish-speaking nation.

Ushuaia (pronounced you-swhy’-a) is a resort town of approximately 60,000, located in a wide bay on the southern coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego on the Tierra del Fuego (“land of fire”) archipelago.  Ushuaia is located roughly 500 miles from the coast of Antarctica and is nicknamed the “End of the World.”  Ushuaia is the gateway to Antarctica cruises and tours to nearby Isla Yécapasela, known as “Penguin Island” for its penguin colonies.

It is regarded as the southernmost city in the world.  “The southernmost city in the world” is mainly a slogan used for tourism to attract visitors to a city as well as the tourists headed for Antarctica.  Currently three places use this slogan: Ushuaia in Argentina, and Punta Arenas and Puerto Williams in Chile, with the last being the absolute southernmost city by latitude, followed by Ushuaia.

We had set our alarm for 5:00 AM, at which time the ship’s captain had informed us that the Marina would be sailing past some stunning glaciers in the Beagle Channel, on its way to Ushuaia.  And that the glaciers would be easily visible from the Port side of the ship (our side)!  The glaciers were beautiful, but Sally thought they looked different from how she remembered them in 2011, when the glaciers were right beside the edge of the ocean for hours; not nearly as spectacular this time!  We went back to bed at about 7:00 AM.

We went to our usual breakfast in the Terrace Café.  (Jesse had set a second alarm for 9:00 PM.)  After breakfast, Sally lay down for a nap, intending to go ashore with Jesse a little later.  At about noon, or so, that captain announced that the local port authority was not allowing the Marina to dock at Ushuaia, due to high seas.  The ship was remaining in the area, however, in hopes of being allowed to evacuate one of the ship’s passengers due to a medical emergency. 

We opened the bottle of complimentary wine that afternoon, and both drank a little.  We didn’t really want to take the bottle home with us!  Then, before dinner, we danced to the Marina Show Band in the Horizons.  A few other couples were dancing also.  The guests were more dressed up than usual, most likely for the New Year’s Eve Celebration.  Several crew members were in the progress of decorating the room with balloons.  At dinner, we sat in the back of the Terrace Café, a long way from the buffet.  We sat there in order to be in Maribeth’s section.  She takes so good care of us!  We were surrounded by three large tables of mostly Asians, who may have all been traveling together.

We had intended to attend the ship’s New Year’s Eve Celebration tonight, 11:30 – 12:30 AM, and had considered dressing up; however, Sally hadn’t been able to nap during the day and was not up to attending.  So, Jesse went to the Horizons alone at about 11:50 PM to take photos.  The room and dance floor were packed, and everyone seemed to be having a great time.  There wasn’t any room on the dance floor for ballroom dancing; everyone was doing a lot of rocking, jumping, etc.  One of the waiters handed Jesse a glass of Champayne to toast in the New Year after the countdown.  If he hadn’t been holding the glass of wine, he would have joined the conga line that was dancing through the room at midnight!  Jesse was back in the cabin by 12:05 AM, with his glass of Champayne in hand.

The ship’s captain announced that we would be cruising around Cape Horn at around 1:30 PM, in case any of the passengers were interested in seeing it. Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile.  Although not the most southerly point of South America, Cape Horn marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage and marks where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet.

Cape Horn was discovered and first rounded in 1616 by the Dutchman Willem Schouten, who named it Kaap Hoorn after the city of Hoorn in the Netherlands.  For decades, Cape Horn was a major milestone on the clipper route, by which sailing ships carried trade around the world.  The waters around Cape Horn are particularly hazardous, owing to strong winds, large waves, strong currents and icebergs.  The need for boats and ships to round Cape Horn was greatly reduced by the opening of the Panama Canal in August 1914.