Piggy
Intriguing
Casino
Next port of call - Ushuaia, the capital of the Tierra del Fuego province and commonly regarded as the southernmost city in the world. On arriving to the town we were temporarily held up by about fifteen minutes by a small protest where locals felt very strongly that the Malvinas Islands should be back under Argentine flag and had no problem blocking the road expressing such desires. Once we finally entered the town most of the roads were blocked off with large vehicles, the reason being completely eludes me as surely the majority of people affected by this were locals. There were also small pockets of groups burning rubbish, banging drums and basically acting anti-social. It was an unusual sight, especially among the scenic landscape. The Brits among us were advised not to draw too much attention to themselves, just in case. We also learned that two cruise ships were refused entry from calling at Ushuaia after they visited the Falkland Islands, apparently based on recent provincial legislation, all too political for me - I just came for the pretty!
With only a week until Christmas we decided to do Secret Santa as this would be the last major town where shopping could be done. To get people into the festive mood we played cheesy Christmas songs on the truck be night. Despite heading off shopping with my secret Santa, (smart move!), I eventually managed to get all my bits and pieces. I'm loving the fact that all the supermarkets here have free gift wrap and tape by the cashiers, stocked up on as much as I felt I needed. I'm intrigued to know who my secret Santa is, and am keeping an eye on any reconnaissance behaviour in the group. However the penalty for disclosing your secret Santa is a round of drinks for all, so everyone is remaining tight-lipped.
Took an extremely enjoyable boat trip through the Beagle Channel, saw a colony of cormorants, sea-lions and learnt about the native Yámana. Hot chocolate and a biscuit was provided on the way out, this was much needed as it was chilly sitting at the prow of the boat. We were given local Beagle ale for the return leg, it was nice but I struggled to finish it, but Steve was happy to assist me. Discovered a beautiful bakery that made mouthwatering pastries, and cakes, and I left a small fortune behind me - and it's not a case that they were expensive, I just pigged out.
On our last night in Ushuaia a group of us headed off down to the local Irish pub 'Dublin', located on one of the steepest hills I've seen in a while, but then the entire town is a maze of ridiculously steep side streets. I digress though, after the pub we headed to the Casino and spent a very enjoyable evening. Sadly Odyssey members seemed to lose out in the long run, despite being very much up and winning at one stage, knowing when to quit and walk away proved difficult. Only the locals seemed to have it all figured out, cashing in as soon as they were up any bit. Blackjack was the preferred game of choice with Kirsten having great difficulty in getting Pete to leave the table. Jeanne won money on the one armed bandit and covered the taxi ride to camp. Staff wouldn't let me take photos in the casino. Jeanne and Kirsten did a joint photo attempt with one willing to be the decoy distraction. Sadly Kirsten's efforts only resulted in a photo of Steve's bum. So while the plan was foolproof, it seemed sobriety was lacking, and ultimately necessary.
Mikkel has temporarily left the group for ten days. Lucky sod got a 'cheap' last minute deal on a small Antarctic cruise ship. We're all extremely jealous! He rejoins us in Mendoza and has been instructed to get fab emperor king penguin shots.
Now we head north to sunnier climes - ole!!
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