May 21, 2003
Hey, let me start you with a fact that Iīm sure Mike never told you (because he didnīt listen to the tour guide during our bus tour of Ushuaia). Ushuaia was originally spelled ooshooaia, and is pronounced as such, because the name was given to the area by an English speaking missionary. In Spanish, h is silent, so most Argentines call the city Usuaia, but the English language pronunciation is the correct one. Of course, Iīve forgotten what Ushuaia actually means by now.
Anyway, we woke up with a bright sun and we were sure we had slept very, very late. The sun comes out around 9:30 at this time of year in Ushuaia, so we figured it had to be pretty late. Still, we hadnīt heard any noises around the house so we were a little disconcerted.
Mike came to join me in bed for a few minutes (we rarely get to sleep together anymore, a fact that we will have to resolve when we go back home) but finally Mika woke up and it was getting up time for all of us.
Tano was already in the house but nobody else seemed to be around, so we just hung out for a while. The maid came a bit later and prepared a very nice breakfast of coffee, toast with butter and jam and eggs for Mike. Mike was very happy to have eggs, as the usual breakfast we get in hotels in Argentina is toast and medialunas (croissants). I think Mika ate some too. (Mike: Note the toilet paper in Chile is much better too - not the paper thin scratchy stuff we have become accustomed to in Argentina.)
Iīm not sure what exactly we did that morning, but we didnīt get out of the house until about noon. I think part of it was that it was sooo cold outside that none of us were too eager to face the town again. Still, we had to see something. We agreed that weīd make our ways to the museums and then would meet Sergio in the boat. We took some pictures, said our goodbyes and were on our way.
This time we found the museums rather easily, unfortunately it was a Chilean national holiday (something about some naval battle they fought with Peru, I think) so the museums were closed. With nothing better to do we went off to see the military celebration that was taking place in the center of town, but we soon grew tired of the boring speeches and decided to go to the boat instead. OK, I decided to go to the boat. Mika was again complaining and it was freaking cold outside. Her hands were freezing and she wouldnīt let us put gloves on her (well, we can put them on, but she takes them off immediately) and I was concerned sheīd get sick. So we made our way to the boat.
Sergio had called up immigration/the port authority (Iīm not sure exactly who is who in Chile) and they had said that they were at the celebration so theyīd be about 1/2 hour. Ha! It took them 2 freaking hours to come! Fortunately Mike and Mike were able to sleep quite well and pretty warmly in the front of the ship, so the wait was easy for them, but Sergio and I, who spent all this time talking, began to get antsy. We couldnīt be happier when the immigration people finally came a little after 3 PM.
So we started our journey back. The sea seemed calm at first, though later we could feel the wind. The waves never got too big and the boat never shook much (so Mike didnīt get nauseaus this time), but it was still extremely cold outside. I went out when the boat left and when it arrived to Ushuahia, but we spent the rest of the time indoors.
With my sweater, jacket, gloves and hat on, it was pretty comfortable temperature-wise inside. The trip went better than I thought. It was still too long at 5 hours, but Mika behaved wonderfully and we all managed to survive them. Iīll never know why we paid almost $300 for this trip, maybe just to warn you to avoid it! Iīm sure the sea lions were wonderful, but you can see them in a day trip through the Beagle Channel for much less money.
We finally arrived only to have to spend almost an hour waiting for immigration to come and admit us back into Argentina. Sergio started radioing the prefectura naval argentina about 1/2 hour before we arrived and they wouldnīt answer the radio call! He tried both their channel and the emergency number! Can you imagine if we were in an actual emergency? I canīt believe how irresponsible they are! The Chileans might be strict but would not behave this way.
The immigration guy was very nice and finally our passports were stamped (even though my passport is now completely full and he had to stamp over another stamp) so we said goodbye to Sergio and walked over back to town and dinner. We had a nice dinner at a restaurant in town, though as usual Mika began to get too loud and tired so Mike took her home while I stayed to pay the bill. I met him half way and we got ourselves some bad ice cream at Cumbres Nevadas, or something like that, and then went on to the hotel and to sleep.
And so I go now as well. Itīs almost 11 and Iīm exhausted! Goodnight from La Plata!
Posted by mike at May 24, 2003 06:35 PM