Thursday, February 13, 2014

Wumaia Bay

Today we disembarked for a morning hike around the shore of Wulaia Bay, the home of Yanghan Indians, nearly wiped out by the arrival of the Europeans and their diseases. There is said to be only one left who speaks the language.  The site is magnificent with the mountains in the background.   We had a chance to see the flora of the area, all of which is wild.   There are still some wild pigs on this island, descendants of those left by the settlers who moved away in 1959 or so.

Cape Horn Map

  

There we are

Back to the boat and lunch. 

Cape Horn Rocks and Point

We headed south to Cape Horn for thee rest of the afternoon arriving at the southernmost point in the Americas, and all continents, except Antarctica, about 6 PM.   Word was that if the winds are below 30 knots and the swells acceptable we would land.   We hung around the Cape, taking pictures, but the wind didn’t drop below 60 knots and sending out a test Zodiac did not assuage the captain’s worries.  So we did not climb 160 stairs to see a monument at the bottom of the earth.  Nevertheless it was quite an experience.

Our last night on the boat was a good evening, though our friend Jasmine was not feeling well and Ben was a bit off through the night.  We were all in good shape to say our goodbyes to the bon équipe (the good team)  on table 14…one Germano-Austrialian, one Anglo-Indian now living in Australia, two French, one Scots-Thai from Bangkok and one Scots-Canadian from Toronto, both living in Lima, Peru, and us…one native born Yank and one Anglo-American.  Quite a table.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Arrived Ushaia this morning, "the capital of the Mavlinas," and got to the airport four hours before our flight.  Turned out we got on an earlier non-stop flight so we arrived BA about 2 pm, instead of 7 pm.

Our first impressions of BA are very favorable.  Of course, Hermès is the next door neighbor to our hotel and past that a magnificent leather shop.  We lunched outside at an English style tea-room/pub on sandwiches, the Rambla Café.  Very good hamburger for John and a chicken sandwich for Ben.   He finds the bread in South America mostly disappointing, and John agrees, but it’s a small disappointment.  Ben is also impressed with the old-fashioned bathrooms, compared to Europe and the US, which still retain bidets.   Cleanliness is a virtue, and the South Americans have a virtue or two!