Day 120: December 12, 2007 Beagle Channel Trip

  Ushuaia, Argentina
Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Day 120: December 12, 2007 Ushuaia: The Beagle Channel Trip

Eziquiel MB

The hotel owner told me that the Beagle Channel trip I wanted to do left at 3:00 in the afternoon. After breakfast, we took a cab down to the port and bought tickets for the Rumbo Sur trip, one I had taken twice before. We then walked along Avenida San Martín and found an internet place and alerted our loved ones that we had arrived in Ushuaia. We ate lunch in a corner café. I returned to the internet while the other three did some shopping. At 2:15 we walked back to the port and boarded the Eziquiel MB. There were fewer than 30 others aboard so it felt much roomier than my two previous trips with more than 100 passengers. The sky was still overcast but the ceiling was fairly high, obscuring only the tops of the highest peaks.

Ushuaia Harbor

Faro Les Eclaireurs

Elise and Elena

We started out sitting in the upper deck but moved in and out of both decks as we passed by the sites and foto spots. We cruised out of Ushuaia Harbor into the bay, past a National Geographic ship, and went into the Beagle Channel. We went as far as the Faro Les Eclaireurs, a lonely, but scenic, lighthouse and then returned past a large imperial cormorant rookery, the large sea lion colony, and Bird Island which is shared by birds and sea lions. The boat swings its bow almost to touching distance of the rocks. With so few people on board, Elise, Elena, and I got prime view spots within just a few meters of the sea lions who could have cared less about our presence. We had a blast! This was the best Beagle Channel trip yet for me.

Sea Lions and Cormorants

Cormorants

Ushuaia Bay and the Cordillera Darwin

Wildlife Fotografers

More Wildlife and Mountains II

Loafing Sea Lions

After returning to port, we walked back to San Martín and I made arrangements to rent a car from Localiza, something I swore I would never do after the fiasco in Salta. We got a really good price on the exact same car that I rented in Salta but for less than 1/2 the cost. I suspect the salteńos charged me in dollars when they should have charged me in pesos.

Shirley and I found a place to restock our gin supply, buying a bottle of Tanqueray for U$S 13. We then met the girls at the Laguna Negra Café where we had complimentary hot chocolates given to us by the boat company. We took a cab up to the hotel where we dumped our packs and sampled our recent purchase before taking another cab back into town to eat at the Casa de los Mariscos. I suggested that we get a paella de mariscos (shellfish) for two along with a salad. It was very tasty and plenty of food. We got a cab right outside of the restaurant and returned hotel and bed.