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 M/S Explorer – Dress Warmly
Just before midnight on Thanksgiving Day we were now sailing southwest through Bransfield Strait having spent the morning at Elephant Island; we were now heading to Antarctica.
Bransfield Strait is south of the Drake Passage, the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn and Antarctica. The cruise was titled the “The Spirit of Shackleton”, no one knew when we left Ushuaia how aptly this cruise was named.
I was particularly keen to go on the Explorer as it is well known for being the only purpose built ship for exploring the Arctic and Antarctic. Unlike my first cruise to Antarctica aboard the Ushuaia, the Explorer cruise included visits to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia Island with King Penguins, as well as Antarctica.
When we weren’t boarding Zodiacs, visiting historic sites or viewing the wildlife, we were onboard the Explorer attending lectures given by prominent scientists in ornithology, geology, sea mammals, climate and glaciology.
Here is the full article The M/S Explorer – Dress Warmly