January 22-23, 2008 - Ushuaia, Argentina

January 22, 2008 - Ushuaia, Argentina
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Woke up a little after 6 AM, showered, packed and was ready for breakfast by 7 AM. The ship which had been anchored off the Argentine coast for the night, must have set sail early this morning and we docked in USHUAIA by 7 AM. Argentine port officials clambered on board to clear the ship. The ship was cleared by the time we finished breakfast (7:45 AM or so). It was the first time we were seeing a proper town in 14 days (of course, it was the same town we set sail from 14-days ago!). The weather was looking terrific. I took a few pictures as we awaited our instructions to disembark.

The disembarkation process was quite well organized. The bags (which we had placed outside our rooms before we came out for breakfast) were all bought up to the bow and placed in a large pouch. The ship's crane then lifted this pouch and placed it dockside from where it was set aside for each passenger to identify and pick up. There were 2 buses waiting for us. One was to ferry passengers to the Airport for their onward flights and the other Bus would take passengers to a storage facility (operated by Quark) where they could store the luggage for the day (in case they had flights later in the day on in the evening). Of course, folks like me who were staying in USHUAIA for a few days would be dropped off by the City Bus in the centre of town and would have to find our own way to the hotels where we were booked to stay.

I reached CESAR HOSTEL by 8 AM. Check-in was not until noon. The front desk guy recognized me and gave me a big Latin handshake. The Laundromat opens at 10 AM. The Aerolineas Argentinas Office (where I had to reconfirm my flights) opened at 10 AM. The Post office opened at 10 AM. The only option was an Internet café where I checked messages from the past 14-days until 10 AM. I saw a cancellation notice from RIO CARNIVAL Services! They had wanted yet another confirmation and had given me 3-days time. As I was on the ANTARCTIC Cruise and could not check my messages, they had taken my non-response to be serious and had warned that my tickets to the Carnival could be cancelled! Quite dumb of them. I had already confirmed with these folks a few days earlier about where the tickets need to be delivered in RIO and provided them with my Hotel address! I replied to them explaining my lack of correspondence and confirmed (again) the address where the tickets needed to be delivered! I checked the news and paid my Credit card bill that was due and was out of the place by 10 AM.

I ran into Mike and we chatted for a bit. We parted ways but decided to catch up later that afternoon. Everywhere I went, I kept running into people from my cruise that had flights later that evening or the following day. Mike and I were the only two souls who were doing some extended travelling in South America after our Antarctic adventure. I headed to the Hotel, picked my my clothes and dumped them at the Laundromat. I headed next to the Aerolineas Office where I ran into Mike again! After a 30-minute wait, I got my chance to speak to a representative. While the flight from USHUAIA to BUENOS AIRES on January 24 was fine, the flight from Buenos Aires to ASUNCION, PARAGUAY had some problems as AEROLINEAS ARGENTINAS and TAM BRAZILIAN AIRLINES had ended their code sharing agreement. The representative booked me on an AEROLINEAS flight to ASUNCION on January 25 and all was well.

It was close to 11:30 AM and I was hungry. I went to a cafe next to my Hotel and settled for a Continental Breakfast! I headed next to the Post office and mailed the post cards (I had written while on my Cruise) to the recipients.I returned to the hotel and rested until 2 PM when Mike arrived at the Hotel. We headed to the YAMANA Museum that showcased the culture of these ancient people who had Inhabited TIERRA del FUEGO before the Europeans arrived. We spent about 45-minutes here. It was quite an Interesting Museum (Entry fee of 10 Argentine Pesos). We had coffee. I went to a local Stationery store to get a box and wrapping paper to ship my winter gear back to the USA. UPS in USHUAIA does not ship Internationally. DHL will ship ONLY documents internationally. I was stuck with CORREO ARGENTINA (ARGENTINE POST) to deliver my stuff to the US!

Mike and I spent an hour chatting at my Hotel lobby. We went hunting for BYO places as we still had 2 bottles of wine left (from our purchases prior to our Antarctic Voyage) and we wanted to finish them before we set off from USHUAIA. We had no luck for a while. We settled on a Pizza place for dinner. Sue, Jennifer and Tom from our tour joined us for dinner. After ordering our dinner, we asked the waiter if we could have our wine. The waiter spoke to the owner and we were charged a corkage fee of 15 pesos (US$5). We had a good dinner and conversation. Tom and I went in search of and had an Ice-cream after dinner.

Englishmen like Mike are quite fascinating as they have so many stories to share. Makes one feel quite inadequate in regards to life experiences.

January 23, 2008 - Ushuaia, Argentina
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Had a leisurely wakeup this morning as the next 2 days were mine to do whatever I wanted. I had breakfast by 9:30 AM. I realized that going to the Ski lift area (to get a good view of the city of USHUAIA) needs to be done in the afternoon. I blogged for 3 hours and was still quite well behind on my updates! (blame it on the 14-day Antarctic Cruise).

I had a so-so lunch and followed it with a 1-hour siesta. I was out of the hotel by 3 PM. LINEA REGULAR (Shared Taxis) to AEROSILLA (Ski Lift area) was 15 pesos (including a return to the city). It was a 20-minute ride to the Ski Lift area. The driver and I agreed that I would be back by 5:30 PM and I purchased a ticket for the Ski lift (25 pesos). The ride to the top took about 15 minutes. From the top of the Ski lift I hiked to a viewpoint (15 minutes). There were good views from here. Took my time taking pictures and took my time clambering down as some areas were tricky. Overall it was a decent path to hike up to the viewpoint and down. For those not wanting to pay the 25 pesos for the Ski lift, there is a wide pathway that can be used for reaching the top of the ski lift. I got back to the Ski station entrance around 5:15 and found that my driver (from the collective Taxi service) waiting for me. I was dropped off at the city centre.

I picked up my laundry, went to the hotel and packed the box for shipping to the USA. I headed to Banco Tierra del Fuego and withdrew some money (in Argentine pesos) as I was running low on cash. Mike arrived at the hotel close to 8 PM and we spent some time chatting before heading to the Pizza place (El Turco) again (as we had to finish the final bottle of wine). I had Ravioli tonight! On my return to the hotel, I chatted with the evening Manager for a bit. Young kid who speaks good English. Schools are closed between December and February and open in early March. That explains the numerous kids hanging around in the streets. There are Universities only in Buenos Aires or Sante Fe. For a person coming from a country like the USA or Europe or even Asia where most cities have Universities, this can seem rather strange.

I have a free day tomorrow and hope to finish some errands starting with the shipping of my box to the USA!