So our Antarctic adventure was over, and time for the Quest to head north across the Drake Passage to Ushuaia, Argentina. It takes two sea days to get to Ushuaia from the Antarctic Peninsula. But the weather in this part of the world can be variable and severe. During his daily briefing to the passengers, the captain said the lows were stacking up to the west of the Drake like a string of pearls. He said the first low had 60+ mph winds and it would not be safe nor comfortable to challenge that one head-on. So the Quest took shelter for a half day in the protection of Deception Island in the South Shetlands. Eventually, the captain advised if we left now, we could shoot between low #1 and low #2. And that we did. It was still a rough crossing, but we encountered reduced wind and fair skies for most of the crossing.
We eventually arrived at Ushuaia at the tip of South America. Ushuaia is a jumping off place for many visitors to Antarctica. It is also a resupply point for many of the cruise ships. Some oil and gas exploration/production occurs in the area. And because Ushuaia is a duty free port, a fledgling manufacturing industry is getting started there.
Our shore excursion took for a bus tour of Ushuaia including a tour of the Ushuaia Maritime Museum which is located in an old penitentiary. The museum not only chronicles the history of maritime activity in the area, but also houses a very interesting collection of thought-provoking art. From there we traveled north into the Andes stopping at Garibaldi Pass and seeing Lake Escondido. Tierra del Feugo, where Ushuaia is located, is the only place in Argentina that you can cross the Andes and still stay in Argentina.