Back on Dry Land in Ushuaia

Well, I am sitting in an internet cafe having departed the little red ship about half an hour ago = how is that for keen to get a message to you all? We are waiting for our flight from Ushuaia back to Buenos Aires

I can't remember where I have got to on the blog so this may be a recap but hey ho, my brain is over-loaded with images and information at the moment and I will need some considerable time to process it - and I don’t think that will be anytime soon unfortunately.

We had a rather disappointing Christmas dinner as the staff had all had their Christmas party the night before and were therefore more than a little hung-over. Boy those Filipinos can party big-time! No matter, we had a great day, landing at Orne Bay and climbing up to the top of a mountain to get the most amazing view I think I have ever seen. I will post this photo when I get to BA although a photo can never ever do it justice.

We had nearly a foot of snow that evening, the ship disappeared under a white blanket and on Boxing Day morning we awoke to fog and rough weather. We were supposed to be going hunting for whales in the zodiacs but that idea was swiftly abandoned when we realised that we would probably end up not only not finding whales, but also losing the ship in the fog! The weather deteriorated for the rest of the day so basically we set sail for Cape Horn and the Drake Passage. I have a feeling that I mentioned this in the last blog now that I think about it; I was feeling sick and wishing to die at the time I wrote it so I am not sure it made a lot of sense.

Anyway, after a day of rough sailing I was woken by our intrepid leader the following morning at 5.00am to watch us sailing around Cape Horn in fairly pleasant weather. A pretty grim looking place, you can see why so many ships haven’t made it around. Yes, there have been a lot of very early morning starts on this trip, coupled with very late nights, so I guess I will need a holiday when I get home Sheila!! We then hit the Drakes Passage, which again was not as bad as predicted, although I skipped quite a few meals (my body didn’t notice and my jeans started to fit reasonably well again, so there is some compensation for sea sickness then....) And last night we docked back here in Ushuaia again, feeling a bit deflated after so many highs. However, there is still BA and New Years Eve to come.

Love Annie & Doug x