Antarctic Adventures #9 - Ushuaia - Tierra del Fuego - on board Corinthian, 21 Dec 2019

Antarctic Adventures #9 - 

Ushuaia - Tierra del Fuego - board Corinthian, 21 Dec 2019

Morning dawned bright & beautiful & we were all excited to start the day.  We couldn't see the name on any ship docked outside, but figured it was one of the blue & white ones closer in on our side.  Breakfast was down below & although nothing fabulous, it was sufficient to start our day.

Headed out for our visit to Tierra del Fuego NP.  The scenery on the 45 minute bus trip was beautiful.  Even got to start the day with a rainbow!

Tierra del Fuego NP is the southernmost Argentinian National Park that was established in 1960 and covers a 240 square mile area stretching along the coastline starting on the Chilean border in the Beagle Channel.  It is also the southern terminus of the Pan American Highway & the End of the World train.

We drove into the park enjoying varied scenery.

We made a stop to walk one of the many trails through the forest.  I must say I really liked it better when we were divided into the small group we had for the pre trip!  Trying to take a hike with a full bus load of 60 people was kinda uncomfortable!  But luckily the scenery was well worth it.

Our guide pointed out interesting things like the bright orange mushroomy like things growing on some of the trees.  It is called Darwin's Fungus because he collected some of it on his famous voyage through the area in 1832.  It grows exclusively on the Southern Beech here in the park.  It is also called Indian bread & is edible (we didn't try it!!).

We also enjoyed seeing the odd cloud formations at the viewpoint over the bay.  We were actually looking out over Beagle Channel towards Chile!

We had a photo made at the terminus of the Pan American Highway.

We took the few remaining minutes of the stop to run down the boardwalk closer to the water.  This is part of a long coastal walk along Beagle Channel.  Unfortunately we didn't have time for any more.

Back in the bus, we drove out of the park & back towards Ushuaia.  Scenery was lovely & even though it was overcast, it didn't rain on us.

We made one more stop at the Alakush Visitor's Center to look at the views (various birds along the shoreline!).

Then we headed out for another of the Argentinian Barbeques with muli types of meats & sides.  They were definitely feeding us well!

We still a couple of hours before we could begin boarding the ship, so we took the bus back to the Ushuaia coastline & wandered along the side walk.  It was partly cloudy & windy but there was enough sun to make the walk comfortable.

We had already been divided up into 4 groups & our Red group was lucky enough to be the first to board about 3pm.  It was easy enough, the bus dropped us off alongside the Corinthian & we boarded & checked in with the front desk management!   

They gave us a few minutes to find our cabins & get settled in a little, then we got had our a safety briefing & general overview from Claudia, our Expedition Leader.

They called for us all to head out on deck to watch our exit from Ushuaia & the start of our cruise through the Beagle Channel.  It was about 52℉ with 3' seas.  Off to a great start!  Very exciting & they served us champagne to celebrate!! Stood with Iggy (one our of Expedition Guides) & saw our first Albatross.  It was a Black Brow Albatross.  Also saw a Southern Giant Petral (several actually & a South American Tern & an Imperial Cormorant. 

Back inside to continue all the introductions, including our Captain, Denis Radja.  Seems like there are more crew than passengers!  But I guess that's a good thing!

Down to Deck 2 for our first dinner.  By now, we are all pretty tipsy as the champagne & several other special alcoholic drinks were served to help us celebrate this really special occasion!!

Our first day on board the Corinthian ended up with a smooth cruise of the Beagle channel & a fabulous long evening sunset.  We continued to wander the decks & spent a little time listening to Saul, our resident singer/musician.  He was amazingly talented - sings, plays guitar & keyboard (besides also working behind the counter at the reception desk!  The lounge is set up with windows all around & access for the rear deck.  We couldn't get enough of the views!  We won't be back to Argentina for 9 nights!  The excitement was palatable!!

 We went back to our cabin & spent time watching the Beagle Channel in front of us, while we chatted with Dan & Linda thru Skype on Wifi!  So far so good!!  Goodbye to South America!