Spent the morning checking out of our hotel and going for a walk in Ushuaia with our local guide, Mika, who pointed out landmarks and regaled us with facts and anecdotes about the city… like how Ushuaia has grown from a small town of few hundred to over 80,000 inhabitants. Tourism is the main industry.

We had lunch at a place in town that specializes in king crab. One crab accommodated two people. Dessert was a scoop of calafate berry ice-cream. During the lunch we listened to a gentleman who was a veteran of the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands war in the early 80’s in which Argentina fought for rightful ownership of the islands against Great Britain who claimed the territory going back over 100 years. Though the Argentinians were greatly out-gunned by the Brits and lost the war, Argentinians still claim the islands as their own.

In the afternoon, we took a bus to visit Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire) National Park. It was a rare day of sunshine and blue skies, highlighting amazing landscapes of rivers, peat bogs, and snow-covered mountains.

Driving back to Ushuaia, it was time to board the Ventus Australis expedition ship, where we would be spending the next four days exploring the islands, fjords, glaciers, and Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America. The 5-deck Australis was a fairly new ship with all the amenities: fully-equipped rooms with a large window facing the passing ocean, a fully-stocked breakfast buffet and bar, lunch and dinner served by uniformed waiters, and lots of lounges and viewing areas.

Quick Photo Links: La Cantina de Freddy | Tierra del Fuego National Park | Ventus Australis