Cassie's way of saying "I don't want to be boarded!"
Santiago and Ushuaia
Cassie's way of saying "I don't want to be boarded!"
February 8 - February 10
Word for the day: Reciprocity
After being dropped at the airport by Gret and Bo, we enjoyed a leisurely dinner and then caught our slightly delayed flight direct to Santiago. Onboard our flight were several other people who were joining the trip including Robert Gould (who we traveled with in the Med in 2002). The flight was thankfully boring, and after deplaning we got to Chilean Customs and Immigration, where we got to wait in line to pay our "Reciprocal Immigration Fee". This is $100 that you pay (good for the life of your passport) to enter Chile. Apparently we charge Chileans some amount to enter the US, so they are also charging us.
We (about 10 of us) were met by Lindblad's local tour operator LaTour and driven to the Hyatt which would be our home for the next day or so, and also our home at the end of the trip. We had to wait for our room so we enjoyed a bit of relaxing and had some lunch. After our snack we caught a hotel cab and went to visit the Museo de Arte Precolumbino (Pre-Comlubian Art Museum). This place has an amazing collection of artifacts from Central and South America's indigenous peoples - a very interesting and informative visit. Luckily the displays were labeled in both English and Spanish.
After the museum we had our driver take us to Cerro San Cristobal (St. Christopher's Hill) within Parque Metropolitano has lots of hiking trails as well as a funicular and an aerial tram to the summit which is crowned with a large statue of the Virgen de la Immaculada. The statue was made in France (by Eiffel!) and shipped across the ocean. It was then hauled to the top by mule.
The following day, we began meeting the rest of our traveling companions and the full Lindblad Tour began. In the afternoon we had a tour of the city which went to the San Francisco Church (the first church in Santiago), Santa Lucia hill, and the National Library. We also visited the Plaza de Armas with its buildings, merchants, buskers and statues. After our tour, we returned to the hotel for our welcome cocktail party and dinner, and prepared for an early departure in the morning.
Our charter flight to Ushuaia was beautiful - we flew over a chain of volcanoes and over the lake district which is famous for its fly fishing. Once in Ushuaia we cleared Argentina immigration and customs and met our buses and guides for the afternoon. We were taken to a local restaurant for BBQ lamb, and treated to a Tango demonstration and then we were off to Tierra del Fuego National Park. This park protects 63,000 hectares of the southern Andes all the way south to the Beagle Channel.
Ushuaia has a population of about 50,000 and was originally established as a British Mission Station in 1870, and then about 15 years later was converted to an Argentine penal colony. In the 1950's it became a naval base. Recently the Argentine government has given tax incentives to corporations and individuals to encourage them to resettle permanently to the area. It is the southernmost city in the world and sits on the Beagle Channel. This channel and the Straight of Magellan provide an important seaway through the tip of South America which allows ships to bypass the dangerous trip around Cape Horn.
After some welcome drinks and dinner, we enjoyed a lovely sunset on our way through the Beagle Channel in route to the Drake Passage.
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