After a very early start and an oddly exhausting four hour flight, we and (thankfully) our luggage arrived at Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego. A friendly face met us at the airport holding a Fathom Expeditions sign.
En-route to our hotel we saw in the harbour the M/V Ushaia, the ship that will take us to the White Continent. And at the hotel we met Dave German, the trip's tour leader. So far, all very good.
At the foot of south America, Ushuaia's other name is 'Fin del mundo', and it certainly has an end of the world feel about it.
Even in good weather, this can be a foreboding place; backed by high, jagged snow-flecked mountains and forests of southern beech, it overlooks the cold, choppy Beagle Channel and further high mountains. It's a spectacular but rather bleak location. The airport runway is built on the only flat land, an island in the channel. Stein was struck by how much like Norway it is, where his family are from.
We have a tour dinner tonight and a trip to Tierra del Fuego National Park in morning, before we set sail at 4pm tomorrow.
Three BA nights with only three hours sleep each and the flight down here have knocked us both out - but the thought of where we're soon heading is incredibly exciting.
Antarctica has been on my wish list of places to visit for such a long time, that I can't help but feel a bit overwhelmed.
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