Ushuaia, Argentina

Ushuaia means “bay that is open to the west” and is considered by many to be the southern most city in the world. The Argentines refer to it as FIN DEL MUNDO or End of the World. It is located on the north shore of the Beagle Channel, made famous by Charles Darwin’s voyage of the Beagle. Originally a Feugian Indian fishing settlement, Ushuaia became a British Missionary Society outpost in 1869.  The Argentine Navy founded it as a township in 1884 to enforce its territorial claim over Tierra del Feugo and built an escape-proof prison there in 1902 that closed in 1947. Population is about 60,000 and by the 1980s had become the administrative capital of the province as well as a tourism center for southern South America and the Antarctic tourist trade.  We planned to spend the day there but terrific winds made maneuverability difficult so the ship tried tendering, but dragged her anchors. As a result the Argentine Coast Guard waved us off and we were unable to land. We spent the rest of the day cruising the Beagle Channel, which is very picturesque. I also made my first presentation to the passengers. My talk was on the history of Cape Horn. They were a great crowd and asked good questions.

Straits of Magellan

We departed Punta Arenas around 8pm and discovered that our luggage had indeed arrived in time! It was nice to step out of the clothes I had been wearing for about three days. I met the ship’s cruise director and event coordinator and we set up a schedule for some of my talks. My first one will be tomorrow and will be about Cape Horn, which is timely since we will be in Ushuaia later that day and then the Horn the following day. The Prinsendam is a wonderful ship of about 800 passengers. The stage/lecture site will hold about 350 or so passengers. I have met many wonderful passengers and crew and am psyched about my upcoming talk. When we departed Punta Arenas, the weather turned cloudy and stormy as we headed west into the Strait of Magellan. The sunset was very pretty, there was even a rainbow and then the clouds closed in. I had hoped to see the Southern Cross constellation after dark but it will have to be another night. With the arrival of the luggage, however, everything is now going smoothly and the adventure feels like it has truly begun!

On Board the Ship!

We transferred from the Cabo de Hornos Hotel in Punta Arenas to the Holland America ship Prinsendam. I will have more about her in another post. She was tied at the dock but has since been moved and moored out in the bay, an act they call tendering. Now, if we want to go ashore, we have to take tenders from the ship. Still no trace of our luggage, although have everyone working on it. Cool and windy, the wind off the water is quite chilly. Have not yet met the event coordinator or cruise director to get information about my talks, thank goodness I had my laptop with me as the thumbdrive and hard copy CD of my talks were in my lost luggage. Got ensconced in our room, purchased an internet card and explored the ship. Now I am in search of toiletries and some clothes to augment the little I had with my carry-on. But we are aboard and on we go!

Punta Arenas, Chile

Well we finally made it after a long series of flights. But our luggage did not arrive with us. We hope it catches up to us at some point. Punta Arenas is “Sandy Point” and is considered the main port of the Strait of Magelllan. Founded in 1849, the city replaced the Chilean Fort Bulnes, a timber stockade built in 1844 to enforce Chilean claims to the region. Coaling and provisioning ships through the straits was the principle business until later eclipsed by Panama Canal traffic. It has a population of 120,000, a large main square (Plaza de Armas) with the Ferdinand Magellan monument statue flanked by recumbent Indians. One toe is polished smooth. I guess local folklore suggests that you should kiss the toe to ensure a safe passage on your sea voyage.

Itinerary Set - Good to Go

We have received our travel information and now have our itinerary set. Bangor to Philadelphia to Miami to Santiago to Punta Arenas. Once we get to southern Chile, we are booked for an overnight at the Cabo de Hornos Hotel and so will have the afternoon and evening in town to tour around. Bags are packed, last minute details are being taken care of and I have officially started counting down the hours to our departure!

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my first ever blog! I am learning how to do this as I go, so please bear with me. Enough people have asked me to set one up for my upcoming trip to the Antarctic Peninsula and so I will try. I will be a guest lecturer for Holland America aboard the Prinsendam ship. We will embark at Punta Arenas in southern Chile on January 30 and disembark at Buenos Aires, Argentina on February 10. My goal with this blog is submit a daily (or two) entry about what is going on and the places we visit. These entries will also hopefully include images from a new digital camera, so we'll see how this all works out. Please follow along and contact me if you have any questions or comments. Thanks and welcome aboard!