Ushuaia: our final stop and the city from which we leave this fantastic vessel and our first Antarctic expedition. The early morning cruise into the flat calm Beagle Channel was not enough to wake me and so I got out on deck just before we docked in the port, catching the first rays of sun on the mountains behind the town. From that moment on it was a well organized but quick exit from the boat. Luggage was to be left out in the corridor at 7am as we went down to breakfast, and the buses taking away the departing guests started soon after that. As our flight wasn’t scheduled till 3:40pm, we caught the 8:15am bus amidst sad goodbyes and heartfelt thanks to all the staff, and were dropped off in town for a couple hours to shop and explore. Of course the heavens opened just then and every shop was shut tight at that hour of the morning so we hurried off to find a coffee shop to get warm and dry and while away the time until souvenir shopping could begin! I hunted for a good hour trying to find my Antarctica magnet and in the end settled on a compromise: an illustration of that continent with the words “Ushuaia, Gateway to Antarctica” on it. The only souvenir shopping I do is for a magnet, just one, from each country I visit and as we obviously didn’t hit any stores on the Peninsula, I was worried that I might have a hole in my collection but all is good, I’m relieved to say. By then it was lunchtime and as Annie is inordinately fond of King Crab we went off in search of a recommended seafood restaurant. Plain crab, baked crab with parmesan, and seafood pasta satisfied each of our cravings and we left Ushuaia with happy tummies and great memories of our whole trip.
I’m not sure what the backyard of this souvenir shop was trying to depict!
Annie’s final King Crab meal!
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