The morning began before 6am when the Golden Princess entered the Beagle Channel on her way into Ushuaia. On the port side of the ship were the Andes mountains with the early sunlight bathing on the jagged, snow covered peaks and glinting off the blue crystal glaciers, in fact very reminiscent of the Norwegian or Alaskan fjords. Truly mother nature at her most magnificent and a Christmas morning view like no other.
We continued down the Channel until we reached Ushuaia, today's port of call. At the beginning of the last century the city used to be an Argentine penal colony, but the prison closed in the 1940's and now the city prides itself on being at the end of the world and also the starting point for Antarctic expeditions. Indeed, it is the most southerly permanently inhabited settlement of any consequence in the Southern Hemisphere.
We had booked an excursion which took us on a narrow gauge steam railway through the Tierra del Fuego National Park to view local flora and fauna and views, and then on to Enscanada Bay. The former was originally built by the convicts and is now a major tourist attraction, whilst the latter boasts the most southerly post office in the world and affords a panoramic vista over the Channel.
Once returned to the main town, we set about a brief exploration of the centre and the main street. Although it was Christmas Day, the souvenir shops were not going to be put off from earning a few dollars, while for a large number of local residents, a special meal out in one of the numerous restaurants appeared to be the order of the day. For those locals not eating in the restaurants, many had taken their camping and cooking equipment out to one of the numerous camp sites and were enjoying a barbecue lunch.
Ushuaia has come along way from its penal colony roots and is a very likeable town. It has a spectacular backdrop of the mountains and overlooks one of the most ecologicaly famous Channels and National Parks in the world. Surprisingly, it's climate is not one of extremes although as we can attest, all four seasons can be experienced in the matter of just a few hours.
Aboard the ship, the carol singing on Christmas Eve did not contain any traditional carols, but was only a collection of well known Christmas songs. Nearly all the passengers were in formal dress, or at least dressed smartly and the crew have also been very festive in their uniforms and greetings. Father Christmas also arrived on board the ship this morning and had small gifts for all the younger children on board.
We have just had our own Christmas dinner, which included some traditional fayre on the menu in the form of roast turkey, although the trimmings were sadly lacking. On the plus side, Christmas pudding and mince pies appeared as dessert options. We had dinner with a couple from Switzerland and a couple from California who were all agreeable company but I must add that the Swiss gentleman had the worst fitting toupee that I have ever seen.
As I write it is after 11pm and still evening twilight. We are continuing our journey along the Beagle Channel in flat calm seas and then from 8am tomorrow morning we will be taking in another of the journey's highlights as we round Cape Horn. We will keep our fingers crossed that the sea does indeed stay calm and I will report on the actual conditions in due course.
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