At the End of the World

Since leaving Buenos Aires we have had a few adventures, beginning with the EZE airport. We thought we would only need to be there an hour early for a domestic flight. But knowing ourselves and our tendency to get a bit mixed up, we decided to leave 2 hours early and be there by 6 AM. We arrived at 6 AM only to join a line of about 200 to check in as the website for check-ins wasn’t working. At 7 AM we were at a friendly agent’s desk who took our luggage and then told us we had to go to the cashier to pay for the bags. According to our boarding passes, boarding was to start at 7:15. We still had to go through security and then get to gate 24. After an anxious wait to pay we were in line for security along with another 200, including a high school soccer team or as they told us football. No way were we going to be at the gate on time. Then voila! We were through security and the gate was right there through the security doors. And we were in Zone 1 for boarding. We got in line, passes and passports in hand. As the agent scanned mine, Dennis in a panic turned around, he had left his carry-on back in the line to board. Back he went, very relieved when he saw the bag, grabbed it and was back getting scanned to enter the next hurdle better known as an airport bus. By 7:50 we were seated on the plane and ready to go. How did we manage?

At Ushuaia we were greeted by people from Tierra del Fuego with a sign: Cynthia Mosca. Dennis loved it. And onto our hotel.

Since our first day here we have been busy. The city is alive with flowers and Dennis is especially envious of the lupine. They are everywhere and in so many colors. Unfortunately Indiana is too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer for them to thrive. Our room in the Hostal del Bosque is very comfortable with a great view. The restaurant has a very accommodating staff and serves very nice food. The wine pour is generous and the mixed drinks leave no mistake about the liquor content or so I’ve been told.

Our first tour was of the National Park. Our guide Pablo, took us on several short hiking trails and for those who had gotten their tickets ahead, a train ride. At first we were disappointed that we didn’t do that but then realized that what Pablo showed us was much better than a train ride.

From here we went to watch for the train. along the tracks was a wide open meadow. Wild horses were meandering under the trees busy nibbling the tender greens completely impervious to us. 

And then around the bend came the train…

After that we were off again this time to another part of the park.

Orchids

And the day wasn’t over. Pablo dropped us off at the Puerto Turistico where we were to take a catamaran to tour the islands to see cormorants, sea lions, and penguins among other things. Some of these we did see but the boat broke down before we got to the penguins. We were able to limp back to port. This turned out to be fortunate because instead of taking a refund we got credit for another tour which will include the penguins plus other small towns in the region and a taste of typical cooking for this area. We seem to have unusually good luck in reversing what would be a crisis.

I cannot believe we are at the end of the world or as one young lady told us, this is the beginning!

A final word from Dennis~

Just a few short comments—yea, leaving Buenos Aires was quite an adventure. Nothing starts the blood flowing like thinking, we’re f…ing gonna miss our plane!! On the other side of that adventure is arriving somewhere you’ve never been before and don’t speak the language. How do we get transportation? Shuttle? Uber? Where do we go? How about that shifty little guy who’s more than happy to grab our bags and start running off with them. (OK I added that for color but it has happened.)😝 Cindy arranged earlier to have someone waiting for us near baggage claim to pick us up and take us to our hotel. They were worth their weight in gold. I could have kissed them and I guess Cindy too. Brings a tear to my eye 😢.