December 20 Embarkation

Ushuaia is on Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego 

After breakfast and last-minute packing, we checked-out and the waiting began. Embarkation days are always times of waiting around while they get all their ducks in a row, the ship cleaned, restocked, and passengers accounted for.  A couple of buses had been arranged to take us on a bit of a tour of Ushuaia. The tour included a visit to the prison, Presidio Nacional, which was rather grim and reminiscent of Port Arthur, Tasmania. And like Port Arthur it was one of the safest and most feared prisons. It operated between 1904 and 1947.

Presidio Nacional

Sadly I have little to show you about the native inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego but archeological findings reveal that Patagonia and the Tierra del Fuego was inhabited by native peoples as far back as 4,500 years ago.  The native people of Tierra del Fruego were the Yamanas and their territory included the islands south of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. They were highly mobile canoe travelers living in the labyrinth-like channels and waterways of Tierra del Fuego. Their demise began with the first white settlers and missionaries: their numbers drop from 1000 inhabitants in 1887 to 45 in 1925. They died of introduced disease and changed diet some due to loss of land and access to traditional food. 

[Pic source: Wikipedia]

Finally we got the all clear and were able to join the ship. At that stage we weren’t sure which cabin we would be in. We had been upgraded but weren’t happy with that but it all turned out fine in the end. We are on Deck 6 on the starboard side. We dumped our bags and went for a ‘welcome’ drink.  With briefings and housekeeping matters out of the way we explored the ship before dinner.

First order of the day was the quasi lifeboat drill.

On board were 110 expeditioners from 12 different countries. We have a large expedition team with diverse expertise. Our expedition leader is Howard Whelan. He has impressive credentials including being the cameraman on the first Australian ascent of Mt Everest. From there he was invited to be a founding editor of Australian Geographic and trustee of the Australian Geographic Society.  In 2002 he led the Antarctic filming expeditions that resulted in the Academy Award-winning Happy Feet. He's a passionate adventurer. You can understand that we were pretty excited about what the coming days might hold for us. 

The last critical thing to take care of was seasick meds. We were heading down the Beagle Channel and then into the two day crossing of the notorious Drakes Passage and I wasn't going to leave that to change. Then we fell unto bed with an overload of info and excitement.