Buenos Aires-Ushuaia-Beagle Channel

Getting up; grabbing breakfast; boarding the bus; doing airport stuff; and getting onto the charter aircraft occupied 3+ hours of the morning. For those who remember the old days, it was general boarding (Mrs. Clarkson was unamused), and legroom was fine for my 5’3” frame. Mrs. Clarkson enjoying the middle seat… not! Of course, we accumulated zero points on this flight as well. (To add insult to injury, we had to check in our roller carry-ons due to limited overhead space, and further, there were two sets of stairs we had to navigate. Of course, Lindsay’s luggage came to baggage claim as the 3rd to last bag, which put us on the last bus to town, which meant an hour and 1/4 to explore town instead of going right to the ship…)

Ushuaia was a wonderful surprise. The year-round population in Ushuaia is approximately 80,000. The number of cruise ships in port varies from 3 to 6 at a time. The season lasts from early November to late March.

We were dropped in at the Garden Market and then meandered around town. Hilly roads come up from the port, and main streets run parallel. The beautiful inlet is surrounded by majestic mountains with glaciers gracing the high peaks and valleys.

Once aboard the Pursuit (Lindsay greatly relieved), we immediately did our first load of laundry, unpacked our backpacks, and went to lunch in the Colonade. We then were able to finish our nesting process and explore the ship. Some time spent out at the Patio Bar in the sun with Damian taking care of us was lovely. Our orientation session was postponed as the second aircraft for the ship was delayed almost three hours. A catering truck hit it’s fuselage, and a new plane was required (our morning tribulations seemed minor in light of those developments).

We then changed for a lovely dinner in the Restaurant. Nitish, the head sommelier, was happy to help pick out a lovely Malbec. He is so informative and promises to help convert Lindsay to being a wine snob. Following our dinner, we were off to the Club to meet some of our fellow passengers.Read more