I posted a blog yesterday from Buenos Aires but I do not see it now. If you knew what I went through to figure out how to do it! Anyway to sumarize we got here to Argentina in one piece though we had to change planes at JFK as ours was not fit to fly according to FAA. We were happy to do it even though it meant having to wait awhile. Buenos Aires was fascinating. A big vibrant city with a great people. We hiked all over and saw the Cathedral and Casa Rosado where Evita appeared from the balcony to her adoring populace. Our hotel was awesome with a rooftop pool on the 23rd floor from which we could see the whole city. Everyone walks all hours of the day and night. They dance tango and sing and seems a wonderful place to live. Prices have gone up recently but still very affordable. One hour internet was 50 cents and Bert had his shoes shined for a dollar.
This morning we met the rest of our group and flew south another 1000 miles to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. It is in an unbelievable setting. A slice of coast surrounded on 3 sides by very high snow capped mountains and bounded on the 4th by the Beagle Channel. Our ship the Nordnorge is in the harbor and we board in 2 hours. For now we are roaming this little city which is a little run down but colorful and now has a population of 65,000. It started as a prison and there was not even a road here until 50 years ago. Planes only started to land in the 70s and even now it is a very short season. I get the sense life could be hard here but the scenery is unparalleled. There are lupines of all colors in bloom everywhere as well as all kinds of colorful flowers. The seagulls have bright orange beaks and are a soft gray color. I have always wanted to go to Tierra del Fuego and hardly believe I am here. I still remember learning about the Land of Fire in geography and really always thought it might have fire. No, only named that by Magellan because the Indians lit fires as he passsed through the Straits and he wrote about it.
Well I hope this registers. My Spanish is only so so and I am surprised how few people speak any English. I am never quite sure what the internet peolpe are telling me or what the instructions are. So at least I tried.
Maybe I will do better from the ship tomorrow.