As I type we’ve cast off from Ushuaia, pretty much on schedule, and now we’re sailing out the Beagle Channel on our way to Cape Horn. “On schedule” was in doubt when be boarded at 6 PM because the winds were pushing the ship against the dock, making departure impossible. But the winds calmed down enough by 8 PM so away we went. That means we should reach Cape Horn by 6 AM and they’ve told us to be prepared to disembark into the zodiacs a 7 AM. But that schedule depends on the prevailing conditions: wind speed (35 knots maximum), separation between the ship and the zodiacs (wave conditions; 5.5 feet maximum) and tide and swell conditions on the beach. Luis says in his experience landing is a 50-50 proposition. We’ll see.
We started the day visiting the Ushuaia prison and maritime museum. This structure, a two-story building with six wings, housed up to 600 prisoners from 1910 to 1947. It replaced a series of prisons in this area, each deemed too inhumane. Juan Peron closed this one. The prison housed convicted murderers who lived in cold, squalid quarters and were employed building the infrastructure of the prison and the town of Ushuaia. There were exhibits about maritime operations in the area and an art gallery. A surprisingly interesting museum for such a remote small town.
Next a home-hosted lunch put on by Gabrielle and her husband. They live in an incredibly stunning hilltop home that has wonderful views of Ushuaia, the channel and the hills of Chile on the far side. The highlight for me was talking with their daughters, Sol (11) and Lara (9). If there is one universal truth, it’s 11 year-old girls. Sol speaks excellent English (learned at school) and wants to go to London or New York to study someday. Maybe Los Angeles because that’s where her favorite actresses live. Her favorite is someone called Milli Bobby Brown. I had to text Reagan back in New Hampshire to find out who she is: a 16-year-old who plays an 11 year old on Netflix. I sent pictures of Sol, Lara and their cat and Reagan back and forth. “Nice cat,” said Reagan. “Beautiful eyes,” said Sol.
Gabrielle and her husband met when she came to Ushuaia from Buenos Aires to visit her uncle and wanted to take a guided tour. Being the off-season, no one else showed up for the tour so the guy in the office offered to give her a private tour. One thing led to another and they conceived Sol. Gabrielle had said she never wanted to marry but in her 8thmonth of pregnancy she changed her mind. Lara once saw the wedding pictures and asked her mother why she didn’t wear a white wedding gown. Gabrielle explained, “I was pregnant out to HERE with Sol and couldn’t find a dress that would fit.” She told us this story with Sol sitting by her side. Talk about embarrassment and eye rolls! Like I say, eleven is universal.
Then a bus tour of Tierra del Fuego National Park, the third largest in Argentina. We stopped three times for short walks along the channel and through the woods with lots of nice scenery and bird shooting (pictorial). It was chilly (40s, I’d guess) with a pretty strong steady breeze but really a delightful walk. It was great to get out of the city and back to nature. We figured that this was a dry run to give us an idea of what the conditions would be like and for Luis to guide our physical ability to handle the trip, or lack thereof. I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.
I’ll have to stow this installment away on the hard drive and post it when we get back to civilization.
