December 27

Day 1  Arrive Ushuaia

Arrive in Ushuaia, where you will be met by a representative of Aurora Expeditions and transferred with your fellow expeditioners to your assigned pre-voyage hotel.  If you are already in Ushuaia, we ask you to make your way to your hotel.  Check-in is from 3:00 pm.  This afternoon, visit the Aurora Expeditions hospitality desk in the hotel lobby, between 3pm and 7pm, to collect your luggage tags, and confirm if you wish to join our Lake Escondido pre-embarkation tour tomorrow.  Our team will confirm details regarding your embarkation day, answer any questions, and provide you with information on where to dine or purchase last minute items.  

The remainder of your time is at leisure.  All meals today are at your own expense. 

Some Wikipedia info on Ushuaia (Argentina):  Ushuaia has a population of 82,615 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, which make it the world's southernmost city.  It is bounded on the north by the Martial mountain range and on the south by the Beagle Channel.  Ushuaia is located roughly 1100 km from the Antarctic Peninsula and is one of five internationally recognized Antarctic gateway cities.  

And from Lonely Planet:  I believe my Lonely Planet book is from 2017, and the stated population then was just 57,000.  There's been a bit of growth!  Nearly 90% of Antarctic tourists depart from Ushuaia.  Looks like there are a few museums to visit.   

I arrived a day early, so I have most of the day to myself.  There's a new cruise ship at the dock, but alas not ours yet.  Maybe tomorrow morning............  

Lovely breakfast and then took the shuttle bus in to town.  I thought I would tour through the museums and cruise the main street.  One museum wasn't open yet, so by default I went to Museo Maritimo & Museo del Presidio.  I thought I could probably breeze through in an hour or so, but 5 hours later I was still there and wishing I had more time.  The museum is on the grounds of the naval base and is in a former prison.  The prison was built with a central hub and then 5 different wings containing the individual cells radiating out from the centre.  Each wing housed one or two unique themes, with many of the exhibits in the cells themselves - maritime, prison, penitentiaries, police, antarctic, art galleries, local history & original peoples, and one wing dedicated to Norwegian explorers.  One wing is still in its original state, but is available to look at.  I thought every exhibit was really well done; there is a ton of history around here!  Even for Antarctica, it became obvious pretty quickly that I have only just scratched the surface.  Just about all the exhibits were in both Spanish and English.  In addition there was an easily accessed audio guide for many of the exhibits.  A great introduction to the area!

I'll have to catch the other museum and the shops on my return here at the end of the trip.

To get a little exercise I walked back to the hotel (uphill for about an hour).  Pedestrians have no rights here, even in the crosswalks!  Back by about 6 and checked in for the cruise.  Bonus - I don't have to share a cabin!  A quick visit to the gym, shower, laundry, blog, and re-pack my bags.  

Ushuaia is four hours ahead of Calgary time.  Hopefully it will be a quick adjustment.  Sunset is 10:12 pm and sunrise is 4:55 am.  Glad they have good blinds in the room, even though we've seen very little of the sun so far.