Although we have been to Ushuaia, Argentina, one of five gateway cities for the Frozen Continent, once before, we never went the relatively short distance farther to explore it. We chose this trip on Viking’s expedition ship Octantis because of two interesting stops along the way: the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands.

Our trip began with a flight to Houston on the 14th. While in the air hunkered over a fun movie (Young Woman and the Sea) and a nice lunch a text dropped with news of a 13.5 hour delay on our connecting flight. United stepped up with a hotel and meal vouchers. We were in our hotel room in time for Dan to watch most of the Army Navy game. Phew! We are not those people who travel with spare clothes in their carry-on, so we had to make do with the few amenities the hotel had to offer because we were too lazy to make much of an effort to go very far afield.

Up on the 15th at 3:30 AM.
Shuttle to the airport at 4:30.
Flight took off at 8:00.
Flight time: nine hours.
Landed in Buenos Aires at 8:00 PM local time/6:00 PM at home.
Checked into the Hilton around 10:00.

Our hotel was ideally located on the river with a great view of the iconic Pink Palace, the president’s home. We would have loved an afternoon to stroll, per plan, and take in the beautiful city, but we were grateful to be this far.

Yesterday, the 16th (Happy Birthday Mother), was another full day.
Up at 4:00.
Breakfast at 5:00.
Transfer to the airport at 5:30.
A two-hour delay had our chartered flight to Ushuaia, the disputed southernmost city in the world, taking off at 10:00.
Flight time: three-and-a-half uneventful hours highlighted by a light lunch.

After two and a half days of travel we finally arrived at our jumping off spot. We had half of the afternoon free by the time we got all checked into our stateroom, so we strolled into town which was right next to the dock. We went in search of a Hard Rock t-shirt to add to our collection and then popped in and out of shops for the fun of it. Ushuaia is a bustling city of about 100,000 built on a wide bay in the shadow of the Martial Mountains. It reminded us a bit of hearty Alaskan towns and cities.

After a delicious dinner at the Italian restaurant on board we watched a 45-minute documentary on Ernest Shackleton, the Anglo-Irish Arctic explorer who made three trips to the region. He is famous in particular for his foolish decision to poo poo the advice of the locals and try to cross the continent from sea to sea via the South Pole in a particularly harsh summer. Disaster struck 100 miles from their starting point! Thanks to a brilliant captain, amazing good fortune, grit, teamwork, and sheer determination he and his 27-man crew returned home after a two-year battle against starvation, sub-zero conditions, and the constant threat of being swallowed by the brutal Southern Ocean. Lacking contact with land for 497 days, it was assumed that they had all perished. They had not, but the 69 sled dogs and one pet cat were not spared.

We were looking forward to today, our first sea day, before we left home knowing we could finally relax after all the travel and logistics involved in getting here. We were slightly mistaken in that there were a few mandatory activities: a briefing on Arctic protocols, fittings for our waterproof boots and wet pants, and contamination checks for all outer gear (hats, gloves, scarves) we brought from home and plan to wear when we venture off the ship. Throw in time to unpack and get organized in our specious room, a yummy casual lunch and French dinner, a smart phone photography presentation, and a bit of free time to relax in one of multiple public spaces and we had a nice day-one afloat. Seas went from calm to choppy with overcast skies and a breezy high of 46.

… Miscellaneous …

We are traveling north at 14.8 knots/17 MPH in the South Atlantic.

Ushuaia is pronounced Oo-soo-I-uh (emphasis on the i).

Puerto Williams, Chile insists it is actually the southernmost city in the world.

‘As the crow flies’ comes from the practice of releasing a crow when unsure of a ship’s position
in coastal waters. The crow could be counted on to fly straight toward the closest land.