We sailed from Stanley at 8pm and headed for Ushuaia which would take a day at sea.
As usual, a day at sea didn’t mean lounging on deck with a good book. There was plenty to see, do and learn. Another BBC Blue Planet II Documentary, this one entitled “The Deep”. This was a journey to the Deep, our final frontier and home to real-life aliens. These include sharks to shrimps. It was really interesting. Then there was a Skull workshop at which we learnt about the different shapes and sizes of the skulls of animals we had encountered on our expedition. Did you know that bone structures define the behaviours of herbivores, carnivores and omnivores? In the evening Dr Tim Berger gave a lecture on “Feather Structure”. Feathers are unique to birds and are used, not only for flight, but also for protection, thermal control and countless other ways. This was followed by another BBC Blue Planet II Documentary, “Mountains”. Only animals can endure the thin air and freezing cold of the high mountains. The animals are very elusive but, in this documentary, we were shown a glimpse into their lives.
Early the following morning, we arrived back in Ushuaia from where we had left 18 days previously. The sunrise was beautiful. We still had a day and a night on the ship and then it would be time to disembark. Our original itinerary had not included this day but with the changes during the cruise it worked out this way. As usual, the Travel Consultant on board had been efficient and organised an excursion for the day.
Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world and is in the Tierra del Fuego, the Land of Fire, at the southern tip of Argentina. The Spanish named the area Tierra del Fuego because of the constant flames from the fires of the indigenous Yamana to keep warm. Ushuaia is bordered by the Martial mountains of the Andes in the north and the Beagle Channel in the south and is the harbour used by ships which travel to and from Antarctica. The Andes run north to south from Brazil down to Tierra del Fuego where they turn eastward from volcanic activity thousands of years ago. Due to its position the whole area can experience all 4 seasons any one day and we did. It was raining when we left, we had some snow high up in the mountains, gusty winds where we had lunch and then the sun was shining when we got back into town.
Before leaving Ushuaia, we did a short drive around the harbour area and entrance to the city where we stopped at the town sign for photos. We then drove out of the city and our delightful guide, a young lady who travelled down from Buenos Aires to do tour guiding, told us that to get people to come and live and do business in Ushuaia, they would not have to pay VAT which, in Argentina is 21%! We went on the only national road from Ushuaia north, Route 3 or the Trans-American Highway, and all goods made in Ushuaia, particularly electronics, had to be approved in Buenos Aires before sale and are transported there by truck.
The further we travelled the more beautiful the scenery became, the mountains higher and the lakes bigger. We climbed higher and higher and eventually reached the Garibaldi Pass, 60km north of Ushuaia, from where we had a north stunning view of Lake Escondido, the hidden lake. It can hardly be seen from the side of the road but from the elevated position it comes into full view. The view site where we stopped had a long ramp up to a platform and a poster giving information about the area. Unfortunately, it was all in Spanish. Sadly, the photo we took was not very good, so I have downloaded one.
We were now in the Andes and continued for another 40km on the highway to see Lake Fagnano, one of the largest in the world. It occupies an active tectonic depression separating the South American and Scotia Plates and along the central part of the lake is the Magellan Fault which is almost 1000km long. Gentle seismic activity takes place fairly regularly.
On the way to the Lake, we went through a pair of road tunnels where it was possible to look through both at once. There was also a winter sports facility with a ski lift up to the top of a mountain.
After a lovely stop at the lake, we began our return journey during which we would stop at a restaurant for lunch. It was a magnificent feast of roast lamb, baked potatoes and delicious rolls. Having lamb was a real treat for us as it is so expensive here that we do not buy it. In the south Argentinian region with sheep farming being the primary industry, serving lamb is a normal meal.
Daily Viking
As this covered two days we had 2 copies. On the sea day, the story was about two gentlemen who did exploratory expeditions to the East Falkland Island. The first was John Davis, an experienced English navigator and explorer in the 16th century. He had made several voyages northwards hoping to a trade route to the East Indies. This was unsuccessful but he did make some interesting discoveries near the Arctic Circle such as the Davis Strait. In 1591 he went out on his own to find a western entrance to the Magellan Strait. This too was unsuccessful, but he did discover the Falkland Islands in 1592. The second gentleman was Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, a talented French Admiral and navigator. He was posted in Quebec as a French army official for 7 years. He left the army in 1763 and went on a journey to the Falklands where he established a strategic trading outpost.
A lovely little bird, the Falkland Pipit, was described. It is also known as the skylark or fieldlark and is common around the world, being native to every continent except Antarctica. Their name comes from the twittering call that they have. The Falkland Pipit is a subspecies which has developed over time as they cannot reach the mainland of Argentina. They range in size from 5-9ins (12-23cm), usually brownish in colour with white outer tail feathers, have thin, pointed bills and elongated claws and hind toes. They enjoy a varied diet of spiders, moths, worms and grubs. They are shy creatures who build their nests of grass and hide them in the ground for protection. The female usually lays two or three eggs between October and December.
In the 2nd issue, there was a brief paragraph about Ushuaia and the lovely photo seen below.
For our final learning experience, the animal was the aggressive Argentine horned frog and certainly looks ugly. Another name is the South American ornate horned frog and is a force to be reckoned with in the world of carnivorous animals. They are able to capture and devour snakes, lizards, rodents and other frogs whole. They have an extremely forceful bite through their powerful jaws. They do not actually have a horn but, the name is derived from the pointed eyelids on top of their heads. Males grow up to 4.5ins (11.4cm) but the females are even larger – 6.5ins (18cm) long. The largest species can bite with a strength equivalent to balancing just over 13 gallons (51 litres) of water on your fingertips. They wait patiently for their prey to come to them.
Argentine horned frog
