About this blog . . . .

In the introduction to his book, PATAGONIA - At the Bottom of the World, Dick Lutz wrote: "Patagonia is a region, not a country. It spans the southern third of Chile and Argentina, stretching between the Pacific and the Atlantic roughly from Puerto Montt, Chile and Peninsula Valdes, Argentina south [until] it meets the famous waterways of the Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, and Drake Passage (or Drake Strait). The northern limit of Patagonia is ill-defined, while the border between Chile and Argentina divides the region." Patagonia is sparsely populated, so much so that in 1991 the Hudson volcano erupted and no human was injured, even though this eruption was larger than that of Mt. St. Helens in 1980.
Ivan and I have been eyeing this area for a visit for quite some time. The possibility is great that we will see penguins, guanacos, Steamer Ducks (Flightless as well as Flying!), as well as many dozens of other remarkable animals and birds, to say nothing of the insects, reptiles, mountains. I'd better stop here. Writing these blogs has been a source of much pleasure for me, so if you follow us on our trip, my hope is that you will learn something about this unusual place, and will have a bit of fun reading of our adventures and, in some cases, misadventures!
REMEMBER TO READ FROM THE BOTTOM UP! The latest post will be at the top of the page, with earlier posts below it.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Dec. 14 - USHUAIA - Final Disembarkation, and the Long Journey Home

Sunrise on Dec. 14 was at 3:53AM
We had arrived at Ushuaia during the night and docked, all while we passengers were sleeping peacefully. For the first time in 4 mornings, our cabin was not moving! I took a moment for a couple of photos of Ushuaia from the vantage point of the 3rd level bow. These are arranged on top of each other, but if you could put them side by side, the one on top would be on the left and the one at the bottom would be on the right:
We had to walk through the blue-roofed building to go through customs.


The weather was as lovely as it looks! Our travel day was just beginning, though. First was breakfast. We went down early because we had to get to the airport for a relatively early departure for Buenos Aires, so we waited on the steps for the breakfast room to open. Carolyn came down shortly after we did and took this photo:
We were dressed for our 30-hour journey to Fair Oaks from the bottom of the world! We had breakfast with Carolyn, then we waited to receive our passports back from the folks in Reception onboard the Stella. When we received our passports, there was a little surprise with them. These two certificates were with our passports:

Not only did we get these impressive certificates, verifying that we had crossed Cape Horn, but our passports had been stamped with this fabulous image:
If you turn it upside down, you can read the stamp.
THIS IS IN MY PASSPORT!!
Is that not just the coolest thing ever?!
So, the blog has come to an end. I appreciate the dedication of those of you who have read this blog to its end. I hope you have had some measure of delight and education in reading it. This was one of the most wonderful trips we have ever taken, emotionally, educationally, socially. We met some wonderful and interesting people, we learned an astonishing amount of information about Chile and its denizens, we connected, in a sort of spiritual way, with the travelers of the past. I want to present a line of photos in the next post, each with captions, of birds, flowers, places and things, most of which did not make the 'first cut' in the construction of the blog. I think these are photos, though, that you may enjoy seeing. Thank you for participating.
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