The End of the World...& Cape Horn!

Ushuaia, Terra Del Fuego, claims to be the southern most city in the world at the tip of Argentina. We were told there is a smaller town farther south but it does not have the port facilities for ships.  Pretty much all the big cruise ships and the smaller excursion ships enroute to the Antarctica stop or originate at Ushuaia.
Below you see a smaller ship which unloaded its elite, small group of passengers after a pricey excursion.  The continent is highly regulated and only small groups are allowed to actually disembark on the continent.  Sailing in Paradise Bay officially put us in Antarctic waters and we were totally happy with our experience.

Ushuaia has about 60,000 inhabitants.  It is harsh climate as even in summer, the temperatures were in the 60's.  The surrounding area is pristine and beautiful.

We boarded a catamaran to cruise around the Beagle Channel to see the scenery and the wildlife, and enjoyed our experience seeing the sea lions, cormorants (birds that look like penguins but are able to fly).  The scenery was spectacular.  We hiked around an island where the original natives lived and sailed around the Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse at the "end of the world." 

Cormorants 

Sea Lions

Look closely to see sea lions in front surrounded by cormorants.

The smell around the lighthouse island was not pleasant due to the animal feces.

Steve is standing in front of our Patagonian catamaran.

We have never "hot tubbed" before on a cruise.  However, we thought it would be "cool" to sit in the hot tub at the "end of the world." Here we are in our robes after the momentous event.

The next day we were scheduled to sail by Cape Horn, the island of Hornos, the southern end of Chile and the northern end of Drake Passage.  It is an area where the weather is totally unpredictable with October through March being the best.

 It is a hazardous area for ships due to strong winds, waves, currents and icebergs.  We had hoped to communicate with the Chilean family that cares for the lighthouse and have a pilot ship pick up our Chilean pilot.  The weather did not allow for that but we did get to see the lighthouse and the famous Albatross Monument.  Our captain changed course slightly due to conditions and allowed us to cross over the point where the Altantic and Pacific Oceans meet. Yay for us!  The pilot stayed onboard until we reached the Faulkland Islands several days later.  Free cruise for him.

                                                                         

                                                                           

                                                                    We opted to wear our sea band bracelets throughout the day while crossing Drake's Passage.