Ushuaia

Ushuaia is a Yahgan Indian word meaning "a bay penetrating westward."  It was born a mission town, then became an Argentine naval base, then a convict settlement, and today a bustling city of about 80,000 people that rightly claims to be the southernmost city on earth.  It is the main jump-off point for tourists and international scientists heading for Antarctica.  As the southern terminus of the Pan-American highway, it is literally at the end of the road; it is the capital of the Argentine portion of Tierra del Fuego.  It is spectacularly situated overlooking the Beagle Channel (where the Atlantic meets the Pacific).

We left the ship around 10:00 and headed up the hilly streets to a restaurant we had patronized twice before, the last time being 2003.  It was a steep climb and took a while to get there.  Gary made a reservation for 12:30.  We walked down to a street filled with shops & restaurants and spent a while there.  When here before we went to Tierra del Fuego Park which was absolutely beautiful.  When I get home, I'll upload pictures.  After our walk around town, we decided not to make the climb back to "Kaupe" restaurant and chose a great local cafe called "Banana."  They were packed and food was great.  They had "Cape Horn" beer and it was great fun.  We had to be back on board at 3:00 so time was not our friend.  Ushuaia is the most rugged, picturesque city we will see on this trip.  We just love it.

Once again, I can't upload any pictures from Ushuaia as the card reader on the boat can't read the newer SD cards and the card I put into my camera just before Ushuaia is the newer SD card.  I'll have to check the others I brought.