Welcome to Argentina! This marks my 58th country and my 6th continent. I have finally made it to the South American continent after a 2.5yr delay!
This is part 2 of my epic adventure. We ended the France blog with my arrival at my hotel near the airport in Buenos Aires (be sure to read that blog if you haven’t already!). Read on for my adventures in Argentina.
Day 4 Paris to Buenos Aires continued
After checking in to my hotel, I showered, washed, dried and straightened my hair, re-packed my bags (Aerolineas Argentinas has a 15kg checked baggage limit!). I climbed into bed to the sound of voices, sirens and fireworks. I was only going to get 2.5hrs sleep at this stage but given the increasing volume from outside, I was worried this wasn’t going to happen.
Day 5 Buenos Aires to Ushuaia
At 2.15am I gave up as I began to get stressed about getting to the airport. The noise outside had increased significantly over the last 2 hrs. There were far more people, sirens, fireworks and firecrackers and……a bloody marching band! It’s 2am! Yeah I didn’t get any sleep. I was also getting worried about the road being closed and how I was meant to get to the airport.
I got dressed and packed, then went down to reception. Here is a video of what I was dealing with:
At reception, the guy told me the shuttle can’t run because the road is completely closed. What the?! How am I supposed to get to the airport?! Why didn’t he tell me this at 11pm when I arrived, and he booked me a shuttle for 3.20am?! I could see cars driving down the opposite side of the road towards the airport, but he said the whole road is blocked and the shuttle can’t get to that side of the road. There were so many police out the front, so I went to speak to them. Through Google Translate, I found out that the road will not be open until 4 or 5am and the only way to get to the airport is to walk the 4km.
Now I am super stressed and very frustrated. I went and collected my things and checked out. The guy had the shuttle driver take me across the highway to the opposite side. He carried my suitcase, and the general public were actually really kind and offered hands and arms to help me climb over the big concrete road divider.
Then I started walking. There were a few people all walking with suitcases towards the airport, in the same situation as me clearly. We walked for 15mins and got to a big roadblock with riot police waiting. The plane carrying the football team had already landed so they were waiting for the buses carrying the guys. We were ushered to a point on the side of the road and a lady spoke Spanish to some of the people I was walking with and explained that they had some shuttle buses taking people from the roadblock to the airport. We had to wait 10mins for this bus, and when I was on the bus, I saw the buses carrying the team turn onto the highway. I set my phone to selfie camera and stuck it out the window, so it was looking behind me towards the bus. I managed to catch the end of the open top bus with the players, but the quality is crappy and very distant.
At the airport we all rushed to the terminals. At a digital sign I had a freak out as my flight wasn’t listed, and a guy next to me pointed out it was arrival flights, and he had the same freak out. We struck up a conversation and it turns out we were on the same flight to Ushuaia. He is not going to Antarctica though; he is going hiking in Patagonia. We found our way to Terminal C and did our bag drop. My suitcase was 15kg on the dot! Thank goodness for that!
We went through security, and I got a full body pat down by an agent. I was so hot and sweaty (its 26oC here), so I felt bad for her having to touch my icky sweaty shirt! The guy was waiting for me to get through and then we went to the 1 and only coffee kiosk in the terminal. We sat, chatted and used the Wi-Fi for a while. During the bag drop, we had been warned the flight would be delayed due to the road closures.
They announced pre-boarding at 5am so we went to the gate and waited. I joined the queue while he sat by the wall. I ended up talking to a girl in the queue, a local, who was going to Ushuaia for the first time. Her English was very good, which was helpful since my Spanish is virtually non-existent. She was at the Obelisk Sunday night after the game celebrating and again yesterday.
At 6.30am we finally got to board. We were taken in buses to the plane, and we saw the plane that brought the football team back! It has been painted especially for the flight. We departed 1.5hrs late, but as long as I arrive in Ushuaia by 1pm, I am not overly fussed.
The flight was only 3hrs, so much shorter than yesterday. An hour after taking off, we were served a snack. I hope there are no nut allergies onboard as we were served a packed of mixed nuts & seeds, and a nut bar.
We arrived only 1hr later than scheduled, which was great. The scenery coming in land was spectacular. It took all of 5mins to get to the baggage carousel and then the waiting game began. Unfortunately, during transit, the plastic inserts in the sides of my bag have been broken so now the top corner and side is very soft and flimsy. Combined with the broken handle, it is just another reason to throw it away when I get back!
My arrival transfer was waiting for me when I arrived which was nice. They drove me to the hostel and gave me a bit of info about the city on the way. I was too early to check in, so I dropped my bags and sat in the common area for a while. I had some Teams messages from my students to reply to and real estate emails to deal with. Then I just chilled, looking at food places, supermarkets and souvenir shops.
At 12pm I set out and decided to go to the Hard Rock Café for lunch. I really haven’t eaten a proper meal in days, with all the travelling, and I was extremely hungry. Also, my afternoon tour did not include food, nor was there time in the schedule to buy food, so I knew it was my only time to eat. The burger was good, although the bread was typical sugary sweet bread.
Then I walked along the main street for half an hour before finding an ATM and heading to the tourist port.
Check in for my tour was 2pm for 2.30pm departure so I had plenty of time to hang around and wait for the bus afterwards. The port was filled with cruise ships, many of them I recognised. I boarded the bus when it arrived and at 2.30pm we headed out.
The tour was to ‘walk with penguins’ so we had to drive 1hr to a coffee shop, where the group split in half. Green lanyards (me) then boarded a safari style truck and drove another 30mins to the beach. We then boarded a zodiac for a 10min ride to Martillo Island. The other group (red lanyards) stayed at the coffee shop. The island has a maximum of 20 visitors + 1 guide so they split the groups in half so everyone can go. There is also a maximum stay of 1hr.
As we approached the island, we could see the penguins straight away. The island is home to around 20,000 Magellanic penguins, a small number of Gentoo penguins and 2 King penguins. It is nesting season at the moment, and each species has their own nesting habits. The Gentoo penguins are Antarctic penguins, they usually prefer the colder water and stay in Antarctica, and due to the nature of the continent, collect pebbles and rocks to build their nests. The Magellanic penguins, however, prefer the warmer Argentinian climate, and dig underground burrows for their nests since the soil is soft. King penguins don’t build nests. All 3 species will share the parent role, with 1 parent remaining at the nest at all times to protect the egg/chick, while the other goes to fishing, and then they swap.
Upon arrival, our guide took us straight around the beach to the Gentoo nesting area. As we approached, I noticed the bright yellow of the King penguin! In fact, all 3 penguins in this area. There were also several eggs being incubated and lots of fluffy grey chicks! It was very exciting!
After we took a million pictures, we went back to the beach and went to the Magellanic nesting area. There were so many of them! They dig holes wherever they want, sometimes under the path so you really need to watch your step. The rule is to stay 3m from them at all times. Somebody forgot to tell the penguins that though!
There were lots of chicks here too. These ones were more brown than grey. Magellanic penguins are also noisy. Much noisier than the Gentoo penguins. And smelly, but maybe because they are in much higher numbers. We spent ages walking along the path, taking lots of photos. There was one penguin on the edge of the pathway so I asked if I could take a socially distanced selfie, to which I was allowed. Provided we stayed the 3m away, we could do it. So, we started taking selfies with the few that were on/next to the path.
As we were heading back to the beach, I noticed that the King penguin had woken up and was moving. Our guide let us go to a viewpoint to get closer and take some more photos. We discovered the second King penguin had returned from fishing too, so we could see both! Moving, preening, making noise, looking all royal. It was very exciting, and I took so many photos of them!
Then the boat returned with the other group, so we had to leave. We headed back to the coffee shop and hung out there for nearly an hour while we waited for the other group to return. Then we boarded our bus and headed back to Ushuaia. I was having a bit of a mind-blowing experience, given it was 6pm and the sun was still blaring down on us at full strength and high in the sky. The midnight sun is something I wanted to experience, but just like the 24hr darkness in the winter, it does take some getting used to! Tomorrow is the summer solstice, being December 21, so it will be the longest day. According to Time & Date website, we will have 17hrs 20mins daylight tomorrow.
I headed back to my hostel, finished my check in, showered and then got ready for bed. I was dozing on the bus as I haven’t slept for 2 days and am completely exhausted. Tomorrow I am being picked up at 8.20am so I have to be up, ready and checked out before then!
So far, my first day in Patagonia has been very successful!
Day 6 Ushuaia
This morning I woke up twice with completely numb hands! Once was at the ridiculously early 4.30am and the second was 7am. I don’t know what I was doing in my sleep but whatever it was my hands were not liking it!
I started to pack and get ready for my day trip. I packed all my things, took them to the storage room and went to find breakfast in the kitchen. The hostel provides bread, croissants (definitely not French ones!) and a coffee machine for free at any time which was nice. I had a croissant with peach jam and a coffee.
At 8.20am on the dot my transport picked me up. I was going on a half day tour to the Tierra del Fuego national park! We continued picking up some more people then headed to the park. It is only 5km from town so very close.
The first stop of the day was the End of the World Train. This train was originally used by the prisoners to transport the rocks from the mountain to the prison. It was shut down in the 50’s and then re-opened as a tourist attraction in the 90’s. We paid our national park entry fee and waited for our train. We were number 2 so we only had to wait 10mins. The staff put me in a carriage with a German couple from my tour bus. You get given headphones to plus into the wall of the carriages and you can change the language to suit. It is a steam train that has been reconfigured to run on a combustible liquid that does not produce sparks and doesn’t use coal. You still get the traditional steam part with a modern twist.
The train departed the station, and we began our journey. The one-way trip is 7km and takes roughly 1hr. This includes a stop at Macarena station after about 15 mins. Here, you get off the train for about 15-20mins, and you can walk around, take pictures of the train and/or head up the tracks to the Macarena waterfall viewing areas. As we were getting ready to leave, train 3 arrived.
We continued travelling through the national park. It is quite a beautiful place. There is a river that you follow, a tree cemetery (previously a forest that the prisoners all cut down), lots of horses and some great views.
The second part of the ride is about 30mins. We arrived at the station and went to find our bus. We had to wait for a bit before he turned up, but then we all boarded and set off. The next stop was Bahia Lapataia. This point marks the end of Route 3, which is the final section of the Pan-American Highway. The highway travels all the way from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska right to Ushuaia, about 30,000km. In true tourist style, there is a sign (of course there is!) and everyone wants a photo! Fortunately, everyone was forming an orderly queue, and nobody was being rude and pushing in.
After my photo, I went for a walk along the boardwalk to the view over the bay. Yep, another sign! It is a beautiful bay.
Next up we went to Lake Acigami. This lake has the border between Chile and Argentina running through it. It was very windy here, so we took a few photos and left.
Last stop for the day was Ensenada Zaratiegui, the Post Office at the End of the World. It is located in a calm bay and sits on stilts over the water. The post office is famous because you can get a tourist stamp in your passport and you can send mail, which will have an end of the world postage stamp. Unfortunately, it was closed because the 2 guys who run it are firefighters and there is a huge bushfire in the middle of the island at the moment.
The bay was beautiful though and here you can also see Chile. The island closer to shore is Argentinian, all the water and mountains behind it are Chilean.
It was time to head back to the city. I was actually happy about this because I was starving! After leaving the tour, I went to a pizza shop on the main street that had a big selection of empanadas. I got 3: a pancetta one, a beef and mozzarella one and a cheese and caramelised onion one. They were delicious and very filling!
Then I went to the supermarket to get some snacks for the ship. Service in this part of the world can be very slow, and the supermarket was no exception! They only had 1 ’20 items or less’ register and 1 normal one open, and I still had to wait over 20mins in the queue. There were only 8 people in front of me too! One lady, 3 in front of me, had a whole trolley of about 40 items, and then paid in cash, counting out every single note from her thick wad of notes! The people around me were very unhappy with her!
I finally got my stuff and decided to check out the Ushuaia sign. They have decorated it for Christmas, which adds a nice touch. I took a picture then headed to the Tourism Centre. Here, they have a collection of tourist stamps, and you can self-stamp your passport. I chose 2 stamps: 1 for Antarctica and 1 for Ushuaia.
This place is across the road from my tour hotel, so I checked in and dropped off my backpack. I was placed in a nice twin room, and my roommate had no arrived yet. After collecting all my luggage from the backpackers, I dropped that off in my room and had a short chill.
After 4pm, the shops had reopened (they do the siesta thing that Spanish people do), so I went out to do my souvenir shopping. I got my shot glasses, some postcards, a t shirt and a penguin! The boys in my form (yr 11, aged 15/16) asked me to bring them back a penguin so I said sure! We now have a penguin as our class mascot, and the boys will be given the chance to name him.
I came back to the hotel and did my covid test. G Adventures requires pre-embarkation covid testing for all passengers, as well as mandatory full vaccination for all passengers. I then took my test results, vaccination certificate and public health form downstairs to the help desk. I got chatting to an old man in front of me. He and his sister are travelling together from Sydney. He was lovely and I have to say, speaking English and having people to talk to, has been nice. In France it was definitely a bit lonely as all the tourists I encountered were non-English speaking. The lady at the desk approved all my documents so I am good to go!
I decided to go out to the supermarket and get something to drink on the boat. I didn’t want to pay for drinks each day (only water is provided) so I ended up choosing Tang sachets. I got 1 for each day of the cruise so that will keep me going.
I walked around the streets for a bit, then went to a place for dinner. I chose a bar/restaurant near my hotel and had a burger. It was pretty good, but the chips were awful.
I went back to my room and hung out for the rest of the night. My roommate turned up and she is nice. She is also a teacher too, but little kids not big kids. She also booked back in 2020 and wanted the 3wk tour, but due to the pandemic has had to reschedule several times and change companies.
Tomorrow, we need to have our luggage at reception by 9am so it can be collected and taken to the ship. We are not supposed to have fragile things in our luggage as the baggage handlers can be a bit rough, like airport staff, so I will have to carry my camera stuff all day. That won’t be fun! Fortunately, I won’t have much to do tomorrow as I have done all my shopping.
Might check out one of the museums in town. Or just sit and enjoy the extremely unseasonably hot (for Ushuaia) weather. It is forecast to be 21oC, which is extremely rare and unusual.
Day 7 Ushuaia & embarkation day
I didn’t sleep very well again, this time because our room was absolutely roasting! The air con was set to 16oC, and it was doing nothing! It was much cooler when we had the windows open, but we had to close them when we went to bed. I slept on top of the sheet all night and slept in just a t shirt and undies!
My roommate wanted to get up at 7.30am so we did. We packed and got ready for the day. We took our luggage down to reception at 8.15am and then went to breakfast. It was a buffet, consisting of some cereals, toast, croissants, salty croissants, fruit, liquid yoghurt and a selection of slices. There were also scrambled eggs, sliced ham and sliced cheese, as well as juice, coffee and tea of course. I had some scrambled eggs, ham and cheese to begin with. Then I went back and got some toast (1 white, 1 walnut or something), coconut slice, strawberry slice and a chocolate mini muffin. I got some spreads for my toast, spreadable cheese and dulce du leche (caramel). I was pleasantly surprised that in those little individual portions you get jam, honey, butter etc. they have caramel! I naturally got one and it was delicious. So naturally, I got a few more to take home.
After breakfast, we went to join the queue in the lobby to collect our boarding cards for the ship. We were surprised to discover we were not going to be roommates on the ship! We had both booked a category 3 room (twin share, small window) but while she had been given a 300 room, I had been given a 400 room (aka category 4). Surprised, but if I have been given a free upgrade, I am definitely not saying no to that!
We went back to our room to finish sorting ourselves out and then checked out at 10am. Our first stop was to go take a photo of our expedition ship, as it was in the port when we woke up. It was very exciting to see our ship! We walked along the esplanade and took some pictures.
Then, we went to the Tourism Centre so my roommate could stamp her passport with the souvenir stamps. We met a girl in a G Adventures expedition jacket, and I asked her how she got her coat already, and she said they had just gotten off the ship. She said it was amazing and we would have the best time!
Next on our list of things to do was to visit the camera store as my roommate had left her lens hood at home and wanted to buy one. The camera store didn’t have one that fit her lens so that was a bust.
Next up, I needed a pharmacy as I wanted a new lip balm. I had been given some from a friend, but I really don’t like the texture and consistency, and my lips were cracking and bleeding. It was quite important that I find something I would use frequently! We walked along the main road for a while before finding one, and I got myself a trusty Nivea lip balm.
At the end of this road is a panoramic lookout point so we headed there to see the views. It was a really nice view over the bay.
We then headed back to the hotel because we both needed to pee and wanted to use the Wi-Fi for a bit. We sat in the restaurant and chilled for an hour. Then we went in search of food. I had mentioned my empanadas yesterday, so we decided to go back there and have them. This time, I got a creamy corn one and a sweet beef one. They were both delicious! The sweet beef one was unique, and I really enjoyed it.
After lunch, we again went back to the hotel to chill and then at 3.10pm we decided it was time to head across to the meeting point. We were to be driven to the cruise ship as it is a secured port.
It took a long time, but while there, my roommate saw a couple she met on her arrival transfer, and we got talking to them. They are a couple from Perth and are really nice. Eventually we boarded the buses, and after another wait, we finally headed to the ship. Yay!
And here, we end this blog post. Antarctica is going to be a big post, with lots of information and photos. Here over to part 3 Antarctica to continue reading about my adventure.