Fin Del Mundo

I remember when I was in the Southern most point of the US. It was the day before Hurricane Andrew hit, and we were camping in the Florida Keys; but, that's a story for another time. Today we landed in the most Southern point of the Americas, fondly known as the end of the world. You can think of Ushuaia like Breckenridge by the ocean. Hotel Albatross, our accommodations, even looks like Beaver Run Resort but on a smaller scale. Similar to Colorado's mountain towns, Ushuaia's architecture includes many chalets and sloping roofs.

We arrived at the airport around 2pm and were greeted by the Quark Expedition folks. They quickly ferried us and eight other passengers to our hotel, sharing interesting information along the way. For example, Ushuaia has approximately 16,000 inhabitants, and it is sandwiched between the Andes Mountains and the water. Our hotel is a block off of the water, near all the amenities of town. From our window we have a clear view of the water and the mountains just to the north of us. Did you know that the Andes are the longest mountain chain in the world, running from Venezuela, all the way to here?

After a well-deserved nap, we had a 6pm briefing with the Quark representative. She gave us quite a bit of information and then opened the floor for inquiries. We board tomorrow afternoon, so this was our time to allay any concerns. There were a lot of good questions, but some of my favorites were: "You're saying that wifi is not complementary?" "I was supposed to bring my own gloves and waterproof pants?" "What if I have to go to the bathroom while we're camping?"

Following the briefing, we did a bit of shopping, and then slid into an Irish pub for dinner. It seemed only appropriate to have an Irish meal, in an Argentine town that looks like it belongs in the middle of the Alps.Read more