November 14th - Buenos Aires to Ushuaia

We were up at 4.30am for the 7.10 charter flight to Ushuaia. We met some of the other Silversea passengers - a lot of Americans, some British, some Australians and a couple from Mexico.

Looking down on Buenos Aires as we headed south for Ushuaia.


At Ushuaia airport our bags were taken straight to the ship, while we were all taken on a bus tour round the town. Our guide was Eugenia, a charming 25-year old local girl.


The snow-capped mountains surrounding Ushuaia were quite a contrast to Buenos Aires.


We went into the Tierra del Fuego National Park and had our passports stamped in the End of the World Post Office, located at the dock in the park.

 

We boarded the coaches and drove back through the park, stopping at the End of the World railway station for a coffee. Outside was a small green painted engine.


We then drove a short distance to a restaurant where we had a reasonable meal and had an opportunity to meet more of the group.

 
As we drove back to Ushuaia, the weather changed from cold and sunny to wet and then snowy in a matter of minutes.  Our first view of the Prince Albert II on the quay in Ushuaia.


We were finally taken to board Prince Albert II at 3pm. It is a wonderful ship! We had a glass of champagne and received our keys/security cards for entering and exiting the ship, and were then shown to our cabin, Suite 309. It was much larger than we had expected and very luxurious. We met our stewardess, Jane, who was very pleasant. We finally left the port at 6.30pm after waiting for 2 latecomers. We went up on the aft deck for cocktails and met some of the other passengers.


There were 2 jacuzzis on the deck, filled with hot water. We went to the theatre for a safety briefing and also the introduction to some of the crew. There was an impressive array of lecturers, who were experts in geology, history, ornithology and many other subjects. Our Expedition Leader was Robin West, a very personable young man from South Africa. Afterwards, we had dinner with Marty, John, Dee and Jim, all from Atlanta, Georgia. It was a beautiful restaurant with marvellous views and great food. We went to bed exhausted!

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