Ushuaia

I arrived two days before the Explorer’s scheduled departure from Ushuaia. Located on the Beagle Channel and billed as the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia, Argentina, 2,000 miles south of Buenos Aires, is the capital of Tierra del Fuego.

Ushuaia was originally established as a penal colony by Argentina modeled after the British and French examples of Australia and Devil’s Island. In 1882 the president was fearful that neighboring Chile would contest sovereignty of Tierra del Fuego so ordered the establishment of a penal colony. From 1902 to 1947 the Bahia Golondrina (now a museum) held the most hardened criminals in South America.

On the first day in Ushuaia I toured the downtown first taking in the End of the World Museum. The display that caught my attention was of the indigenous people of Tierra del Fuego. After viewing the images of the indigenous people I began to understand the origin of the name, Land of Fire. Ferdinand Magellan named the place for all the fires he saw from his ship, thinking they were the Indians waiting to ambush him.

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The Spirit of Shacketon, aboard the M/S Explorer

On 11 November 2007 Sola, my daughter and I departed from Ushuaia, Argentina aboard the M/S Explorer on a cruise meant to follow in the wake of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endeavor. Little did we know how closely we would follow Sir Ernest.

The M/S Explorer, nicknamed “The Little Red Ship”, formerly MS Lindblad Explorer (1985) and MS Society Explorer (1992), was purpose built in 1969 for Arctic and Antarctic cruises. The MS Explorer was originally commissioned and operated by the Swedish explorer Lars-Eric Lindblad. G.A.P. Adventures, a Canadian based travel company, acquired the ship in 2004.

The first time I went to Antarctica was in 2004. I had a few free days before I was returning to Bangkok after being in Bariloche, Argentina to celebrate Simon Bonython’s sixtieth birthday with Jon Olson. Simon, Jon and I have been making annual trips together for over the past ten years usually mountain treks. Prior to leaving Bangkok, Gary Heager, a well-traveled friend, had suggested I visit Ushuaia to earn “visited the southernmost city in the world” bragging rights.

Read the entire story here – The Spirit of Shacketon, aboard the M/S Explorer