The End of the Year at The End of the World

There´d been talk of delayed connections and generally bad experiences flying with Aerolineas Argentinas, but it still didn´t prepare me for the eventual outcome. After arriving at the airport at 1000 for a 1220 flight, I was informed it was delayed to 1500. At 1730 we found ourselves taxiing out - we made it 50m before stopping and returning to the gate. Back inside the terminal, most of us spent our free vouchers on beer, before being informed that a part had to be replaced before we could leave - and we were shuttled off to a Sydney airport hotel for the night.

Long story short, I ended up getting to Ushuaia 67 hours after getting to Sydney airport. It must be noted though that that includes a night in a Sydney and Buenos Aires hotel respectively, at the cost of the airline. As opposed to some customers with critical connections to make, I had plenty of time up my sleeve and thus enjoyed the whole experience, amongst company who were all in the same situation.

Coming into Ushuaia my first thought was that is seemed like Alaska - a strange one given that I´ve never been there. But the overcast skies, colourful buildings, and slightly desolate feel contributed. After a bit of time getting over jet lag and acquainting myself with the place, all of us staying at the Antarctica Hostel sat down for ´empanadas y ensalatas` on New Years Eve. I wouldn´t have wanted to be anywhere else - it was such a great night, with great food, lots of beer, and a brilliant crowd of people - one of the best nights I have had in a long time. It wasn´t just the new years spirit either - the staff and guests both were great to spend time with, and I will always have very fond memories of the hostel.

The first day of 2009 I headed out to Tierra del Fuego NP with Branka, a Slovenian woman staying at the same hostel. We paid through our teeth for the bus and park entry, but it was a beautiful walk, and a perfect way to ease the hangover. There were some amazing vistas, and amazingly bright green foliage, but probably the most amazing things to see were the windswept trees, which even on a still day portrayed well the fierce winds that Patagonia is so famous for, and some woodpeckers. I´d only ever seen them in cartoons before! The following day I walked up to the Glaciar Martial, which is hardly a glacier, but a good walk nonetheless affording good views over Ushuaia.

Since then all the team have now arrived in Ushuaia, and we´ve all finally met each other. My companions for the next month will be Nicola, Tremaine, Rhys, Nina, all Australian, Tevya (USA), Liv and Chris (UK), and Roland (Swiss). Also, Ben, Skye and Amanda will be running the boat. We´ve all been doing a fair bit of running around these last two days trying to get everything finalised, worrying mainly about being sick, what wine to bring, and of course all things equipment. All is now set to go though, and it looks like we´ll even be gone within 24 hours, a little earlier than planned thanks to current good weather.

So, Happy New Year! And to those Aussies reading this, Happy Australia day - we should be spending it drinking tinnies and cooking a bbq on deck in Antarctica!