After returning from our ten-day cruise to Antarctica the previous morning, we had just over a day before starting a four-day cruise up through part of the Chilean section of Patagonia ending in the town of Punta Arenas. Some of the people on the Antarctica cruise had chosen to take a 12-hour bus ride from where we landed in Ushuaia to Punta Arenas but Steven and I thought the cruise sounded like a far nicer way to travel between the two spots!
We spent a lazy morning at our B&B since it was raining pretty heavily for most of the day and our host very kindly said we could just spend as much time as we wanted in the very comfy living room before boarding our cruise to Patagonia. Having had no internet for the preceding ten days, it was wonderful catching up on the zillions of emails in our inboxes, and calling our four children to make sure they were all OK.
Around noon, we braved the rain and walked downtown to register for the four-day cruise as required which meant handing in our documents and receiving our designated table seating for the entire cruise. We hadn’t realized we could have brought our duffel bags to the office so we wouldn’t have to contend with them later – oh well!
Before leaving on the Antarctica cruise, we had discovered in Ushuaia what the Argentinians call a parilla or BBQ restaurant but what North Americans call a steakhouse. We decided to return for another delicious lunch. There were oodles of restaurants in Ushuaia but La Estancia, located a block off the main street, was certainly a big step above all others and was packed at lunchtime.
Our new ship was called the Ventis Australis and it only plied the waters between Ushuaia and Punta Arenas.
Around noon, we braved the rain and walked downtown to register for the four-day cruise as required which meant handing in our documents and receiving our designated table seating for the entire cruise. We hadn’t realized we could have brought our duffel bags to the office so we wouldn’t have to contend with them later – oh well!
Before leaving on the Antarctica cruise, we had discovered in Ushuaia what the Argentinians call a parilla or BBQ restaurant but what North Americans call a steakhouse. We decided to return for another delicious lunch. There were oodles of restaurants in Ushuaia but La Estancia, located a block off the main street, was certainly a big step above all others and was packed at lunchtime.
Our new ship was called the Ventis Australis and it only plied the waters between Ushuaia and Punta Arenas.
We thought we'd won the lottery when we opened the door to our room and discovered how huge and spiff it was compared to the rather poky room we'd had aboard the Ushuaia for ten days. I loved the opportunity of being to sit on the window seat and just gaze outside.
The town of Ushuaia had a pretty big port where lots of cruise ships and other vessels docked.
There was a lounge on each deck where snacks and liquor were available free of charge most hours of the day. The latter was again a big change from our cruise through Antarctica where it certainly wasn't comped!
The next day would be exciting as we'd go ashore to the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of South America.
Adios Ushuaia likely for the last time unless we ever decide to explore more of Antarctica, that is!
The zodiac boats we looked forward to using to travel ashore.
The dining room and meals were far more luxurious than we had just experienced on the Ushuaia for the previous ten days. Unfortunately, the service wasn't nearly as friendly but the wine did flow freely! Unlike the previous cruise, we had the same dining companions at every meal, a lovely young couple from Austria and a couple our age from Taiwan, we enjoyed getting to know.
It seemed like just yesterday that we had traveled through the Beagle Channel - oh, wait, it was just the day before we'd arrived in Ushuaia via the Beagle Channel as we returned from Antarctica!
The lights of Ushuaia twinkled as we headed out to sea.
Next post: Landing on the Cape!
Posted on New Year's Eve, 2019, from suburban Denver. Steven and I wish each of you the happiest and healthiest of new years and hope that you also are able to indulge your love of travel, whether it be near to home or further afield.
Happy New year to you both! Hope 2020 is just as much fun and travel filled as ever :-). Oh my God, that is one massive cabin you had!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you both, too, Kemkem! I hope you get to the places you both anticipate traveling to in 2020. I look forward to reading about your experiences in Ghana, Uganda, etc as we dream of going there in 2021, God willing.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe we're leaving two months today on an about four-month long trip through parts of Asia we've never seen before as it seems so soon. We're planning that trip in between my writing posts about the trip to Britain when ended in October and the trip to Antarctica, Patagonia and Paraguay which we just returned from just two weeks ago.
Yes, we were so lucky with the size and luxury of the cabin compared to the 100 sq. ft. one we'd had just a day earlier on the ten-day long cruise through Antarctica when we were on the former scientific research vessel!
Hope you had a chance to look at some of the posts from Antarctica - one of our most exciting trips ever, even if we did have to contend with the notorious Drake Passage for four of the ten days!
Annie