Glacier Alley and Ushuaia

Thursday, February 7

Weather:  55º F, Cloudy

Dramatic, fantastical, otherworldly—this is the end of the world, for real. Positioned at the southernmost tip of Argentina, this memorable port town is cradled between the pristine—and towering—Martial Mountains and accessed by the picturesque Beagle Channel. Founded in 1884, the far-flung spot welcomed missionaries, gold prospectors and naval officers before becoming known primarily as a penal colony. After its closure under the infamous Argentine leader Juan Perón, the large jail was reconfigured to house one of the city’s most popular museums. (Source: hollandamerica.com)

Google Maps

Today was a "two-fer". A combination of a scenic cruising day AND a port stop. Beginning at 6:30 am we were sailing through Glacier Alley with commentary by EXC Guide Kevin. There were a lot of low hanging clouds and just a generally gray morning. We saw multiple glaciers, none of which I remember the name of. 😏

Notice the distinct line in the water. The silt from the waterfall coming off the glacier causes the water to look milky.

Lighthouse in the Beagle Channel leading into Ushuaia.

As we sailed into the Beagle Channel, I kept track of our position using the maps.me app. With the occasional drizzle, we chose to view the glaciers from the protection of the Lower Promenade deck (deck 3).

When we first saw Ushuaia I got concerned that we were just going to sail by and skip the port which the Zaandam has done on a prior cruise this season. Not the case. If you notice in the last map above, there is a small island in the channel. The captain sailed around the island and came into Ushuaia from the other direction.

Our first glimpse of Ushuaia.

Breakfast had been light because we wanted to do an early lunch prior to our docking in Ushuaia around noon. When we went to the buffet at lunch it was obvious that everyone else had the same plan. Around 12:30 the captain made the announcement that the ship was cleared and we could go ashore. We joined the crowd making their way down to Deck A...a little easier for us than most since the gangplank was just down a short flight of stairs below our cabin.

The Celebrity Infinity was alongside the Zaandam as well as two or three expedition ships and what looked like an old sailing ship.

We walked down the long dock and past some shops looking for our tour guide, Ruben. I had gotten Ruben's name from the Ushuaia forums on Tripadvisor and had made arrangements for the four of us to do a private tour with him. It wasn't until we had gone the length of the long dock and got outside the official port entry that I saw someone holding a sign with my name. Right away I noticed the guy was wearing a name tag that said "Federico". He introduced himself and said Ruben wasn't able to make it and had asked him to fill in.

I was disappointed and a little concerned. I felt comfortable booking with Ruben after reading quite a few positive reviews online, but I knew nothing about Federico. Federico offered to call Ruben and after they talked in Spanish for a couple of minutes, he handed me the phone. Ruben apologized and said he had emailed me to let me know he was having car trouble and didn't want to take a chance of getting stranded a long distance away in Tierra del Fuego. I hadn't seen the email (yet) because I hadn't had any cell service for a few days. He said he would understand if we wanted to cancel, but at that point we didn't have any alternative so agreed to go with Federico.

Federico promised he would give us a good tour. He said he had already finished tourism training whereas Ruben was still working on getting certified. AND...he added that he had a better car than Ruben. 😉 Federico lead us to where his car was parked and he was right...it was a very nice and very clean car!

Our first destination was Tierra del Fuego and to get there we drove on the last few miles of the Pan-American highway.  This highway is a network of roads stretching from northern Alaska to Ushuaia, a distance of around 30,000 miles. According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world's longest "motorable road." Technically that isn't true since the highway has a 100 mile gap between Central and South America but still...pretty impressive.

I was a little surprised to find that the section of the highway at Ushuaia was a dirt road...a very dusty dirt road. At times it was hard to even see where we were going. Federico's nice clean car did not stay clean for long.

The end of the Pan American Highway.

Wild horses.

When we reached the entrance to the park, Federico went in with Bob and Kent to help translate as they paid the entry fee via credit card. The cost for the two of us was $25.94. While in South America we primarily used our Capital One Visa card that has no foreign transaction fees. I have the Capitol One app on my phone and as soon as Bob made the purchase I received a notice of the transaction and also a text letting me know that our card was used in a foreign country. The text ask me to confirm that the charge was OK.

There were many large tour buses in the park, but since we were in a smaller car we were able to take a different road. Frederico parked and lead us on a walk along a clear, bubbling stream. In 1946 beavers were introduced in the area as a possible source for fur trading. The fur trade industry wasn't successful and the beavers multiplied and have caused millions of dollars in damages since then. We witnessed some of this damage.

Federico showing us some berries...

...which we sampled!

Getting away from the crowds.

If you know Bob you are not surprised by this photo at all.

Beaver damage.

Ribs anyone? 

I am not necessarily a bird watcher, but we saw some pretty unique birds in the park!

This bird reminded me of a loon...our Minnesota state bird!

Mussels exposed during low tide.

The "End of the World Post Office" is a tourist spot many visit so Federico took us there next. The post office was closed but the location is beautiful. Federico knows the man who opened the post office and from what he told us the guy is quite a character. We left the crowds and walked along the shoreline. It was low tide which exposed many mussels and other interesting things in the tide pools.

End of the World Post Office...closed.

Our last stop in the park was a scenic overlook. Federico warned us it would be crowded but that was an understatement. The view was nice, but tour bus after tour bus were unloading people in the area. Many were on Holland America tours from our ship. We only stayed long enough to follow the boardwalk and get some photos. There was also a bathroom next to the parking area that we were able to use.

People were lined up to get their photo by this sign I just snapped a photo and kept walking.

After we left the park, Frederico drove us to an overlook where we could see our ship and the town. I found it interesting that we had to go through a police check-point leaving town, but not to enter. No one else was around and the view was beautiful.

Can you imagine having this view in your back yard?

Frederico asked if we would like to go north of town. Not many tours go in that direction so we weren't sure if we wanted to use our precious time to visit someplace that wasn't that interesting. How thankful we were when Frederico convinced us to go. The mountains were probably some of the most beautiful I have ever seen!! He also stopped and he and the guys walked through a peat bog.

A glacier high up on the mountain.

Walking through the peat bogs.

Peat bog.

Squishy!

At one of the stops Federico pulled out his yerba mate cup and had some tea. He had also brought along some yerba mate tea bags and small cups so we could sample the tea. (This was our first experience seeing yerba mate on the trip...but certainly not the last!)

Federico was using a traditional mate cup.

By this time Federico seemed like an old friend and I was so happy that our day had played out as it had. Definitely one of the best tours on the cruise...and in all of our cruises! If you are interested in spending a day with Federico you can contact him at:  ananturismo@gmail.com or on Facebook at Anan Turismo. And even though we didn't get to meet Ruben, I am confident he would have given us a great tour as well. His contact info is: ruben-ushuaia@hotmail.com.

When we got back to town, Federico gave us a quick driving tour and then dropped us off at the port around 6:45 pm. Kent and Laurel walked to a nearby craft market so they could purchase a magnet (their souvenir at EVERY port) and Bob and I returned to the ship.

The four of us met at the Lido buffet for a late dinner and watched as the Zaandam pulled away from Ushuaia. The evening entertainment was "Planet Earth II in Concert", something we had seen before, but well worth seeing again. A series of videos from the Planet Earth series are shown on a big screen with the ship's musicians providing a live accompaniment. By the time we finished dinner, the show had already begun, but we found some seats in the back and enjoyed the last half.

It was still light when the show got over at 9:00 pm so we walked along the deck 3 taking in the view of the beautiful mountains. So incredible yet it was going to get even better!!

Many of these deck chairs were missing cushions when we did our Panama Canal cruise.
Now almost all of the chairs were without cushions and not very comfortable.

Pilot boat picking up the harbor pilot.