Ushuaia, Argentina

Titled the world’s southernmost city, on the north bank of the Beagle channel, nicknamed “the end of the world”. In 1998 however the title was apparently transferred to Puerto Williams, Chile, on the south side of the Beagle channel, by a joint committee from Argentina and Chile, but this was denied by Argentine authorities.

They even stamp your passport!

A chilled morning with a docking at 10 am, so a little time spare after breakfast to take in the amazing scenery and watch playful seals from the balcony.

On booking the cruise, the penguin trips had all been sold out, however Mark had been on watch and managed to grab two tickets when they became available a month later. Nice work!

So straight from the cruise ship to catamaran to head down the Beagle channel. Heading east, with Argentina on the left and Chile on the right.  If we went all of the way, we would come out at the Pacific.

First stop seal island.

Next stop cormorant-not-a-penguin island.

Cormorants are not graceful on take off or landing. Their wings are better designed for diving in water rather than flying.

And then on to the end of the world lighthouse, home to Billy the cormorant.

Always need to check out the local drinks! They were very enjoyable!

We were then on a mission for hammer island aka penguin island……. until a whale spout was spotted and the brakes were on!

They dived, and we followed them for a little while. Meanwhile, a group of dusky dolphins came to play with us while we were watching for the next spout.

The spouts belonged to a humpback (right) and an orca (left).

On arriving at penguin island, the captain pretty much beached the boat to give us the best view.

Penguins!

The big guy top right is a king, and the others are gentoo. Penguins live most of their time in the water. They only come to land to breed, moult, or if unwell.

It’s okay, the new captain should be able to unbeach!

This area is soooooo pretty! I spent most of the trip on the outside of the boat, taking in the scenery nature, and did I mention the amazing albatrosses? Excitingly, I did also spot whales, probably the same ones, on the return journey.

Finally on land, a short stroll through town and in to the Maritime Museum. Set in an old prison, they still had one wing set up as it was as a prison.

Again, much about the indigenous Yamanas people and their way of life.

A late return to the ship for dinner and an early night, however with a little bad influence from somewhere we were back in the room way past 1am to find we were heading the same way down the Beagle channel. A few minutes later waving the penguins a final goodbye.