The four hour journey from Santiago to Ushuaia was one we were highly anticipating, for it would be in Ushuaia where we would meet our ship and be on our way to Antarctica. As we flew farther south I could see graphic evidence of the colder weather in that area, in the form of mountains not only with snow on tip, but snow and ice covering all of them. We could also see large icebergs floating in a Argentine River, along with glaciers and their interesting black margins running through them, created by compaction of rocks and dirt as they slowly move.
The new airport at Ushuaia was situated on a small hill top overlooking the city. It's terminal was made with lots of open beams, and resembled the look of a ski lodge. As we walked into the terminal we were greeted with a flashing welcome sign, that said, "Happy Staying" and "Ushuaia." The immigration line for the stamping of our passport by the government of Argentina went fast and soon our bags were being loaded on buses. On the bus I sat with Victor, originally from Russia, and now from Texas, who happened to be the pianist on our ship. We had a good chat, and since that time several of us have heard him play during tea time in the late afternoon, and again after dinner. He is incredibly talented and really makes the piano come alive.
Our bus lumbered through the small town of Ushuaia, the southern most city in the world, and home to nearly 60,000 people. We were soon entering Tierra del Fuego National Park, and learned about trees that grow there, as well as other plants and flowers. We saw a pair of "Upland Geese" and I photographed them because their colorings were so eye catching. We could now see the frostily covered mountains more clearly that earlier from our cursing altitude. They were all over the area on all sides, with small fingers of the sea moving between them. We came to the end of road from our trip through the national park and were met by two catamaran boats that were to take us on a luncheon cruise back to Ushuaia, where we would then get to go into our ship for the first time.
The luncheon was very good as all the food has been. I was sitting with a friend I met from New York at our table for eight, as Neil and Carol Armstrong walked over, and asked us if we would mind if they joined us…..MIND?…..are you kidding? We loved having them there, and in between our eatings we had some chats about the space program Neil had experienced as well as future missions. I learned that all the nations and heads of state from nearly all the countries in the world had sent letters of best wishes, good luck, and congratulations to the Apollo XI crew prior to their lift off, and that these letters had been etched into a small silicone disc, which Neal places on the moon before they departed for earth. I asked him about his famous phrased known around the world…"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." He said he was not that concerned about what he would say as he stepped off, for his total focus was on LANDING the Eagle space capsule safely. They lost the computer controlled guidance system and had to land it totally by hand. There were times when he and Buzz Aldrin were not sure they would be able to land safely, and their survival took precedence over any few words Neil would say. He did not think the words would matter that much, and he could never have been more wrong! My friend from New York talked tech with him in areas of physics and the scientists and Neil was very tuned into what was being discussed.
Soon we were nearing Ushuaia once gain and our boat traveled around to a cluster of rocks called Seal Island, of course because the seals hung out there to bask in the sun when it was shining. There was a quaint lighthouse there, and grouping of black and white Commorant birds, that some people hopefully but incorrectly though were penguins! As we got closer to shore we could soon see our ship and everyone on the boat was very excited. We went ashore, walked out onto the pier and there she was, in all her glory, tied up waiting for us to come aboard and we sure did. They collected our passports, took a credit card swipe, and took our photo for ID purposes as we left and returned to the ship many times. There were smiles all over as members of the crew greeted us and showed us to our rooms. There I met my roommate Bill Jennings from California and we quickly became good friends as we stashed our things in the closet and storage areas there. We went up on the top deck to check things out and soon our ship was moving, and then turning around to point to the Beagle Channel, which would travel through for 150 miles before reaching open sea. We were on our way!!
