Jan 25: In Ushuaia, waiting for a plane (tomorrow)

We pulled into port bright and early this morning - dressed, turned luggage over to the crew, had breakfast, and then waited to be bussed to the luggage storage area, where our bags were interned until we returned to pick them up (before 5:30 PM!). After that, I looked for Javier, a vendor selling hand-carved figures near the port and caught up with him (buying a few figures), went to a bookstore to try (unsuccessfully) to find a book about penguins recommended by our ornithologist Ken, had some lunch, ran into a number of now-former shipmates, and talked with another until it was time to leave for the airport and then walked back to my hotel where I watched Sea Spirit get underway and enter the Beagle Channel outbound; since then I've been listening to wistful and melancholy music as I send and reply to emails and messages from the folks I've shared the ship with for the last three weeks. I've also been repacking my luggage and pulling out a few more things to leave behind, wishing I'd done so on the ship where the crew would have had first dibs for anything that might be useful. 
 

We had an outgoing Captain's reception where the Captain gave us some summary statistics from our trip:

        • Miles steamed: 3166 nautical miles, 4102 US miles, 6602 km
        • Fuel used: 168 tons, 421,087 gallons
        • Eggs eaten: 8001
        • Fresh water used: 667 tons, 176,201 gallons
The last few days reminded me of yearbook-signing time in high school in the 1970s (and maybe still today?) when everyone was asking classmates to sign their yearbooks with a brief inscription. Many of these were pledges to stay in touch, to remain friends, wishes for good fortune, and so forth. Some of the people wrote these for form's sake, some fully intended to keep in touch...but often didn't because life got in the way, and some did exactly what they pledged. I don't know the percentage in each category in high school and can't predict the breakdown here, but there are some with whom I dearly hope to keep in touch, even if only intermittently. They're the ones with whom I shared meals and conversation, next to whom I sat during lectures and briefings, who beat me in chess and then shared a glass of whiskey, with whom I climbed hills and slogged through wet snow, water, slid on loose rocks covering steep slopes, and who, time after time, gave me the chance to learn from them. We saw our first icebergs and albatrosses together, marveled over the first penguins and seals we saw in the sea, caught a first glimpse of a whale's tail raised skyward, and with whom I shared so many other experiences, usually for the first time for us all. I can hope that these shared experiences and mutual fondness will propel us to exchange the occasional email and maybe even the occasional visit as time and opportunity present themselves. 


For all those I got to know relatively well there were several about whom I learned far too little. That's my loss because so many of them were worth getting to know better. It was an accomplished group of people by any measure, and I was still making new acquaintances until the last day. The guides said that this cruise was unusually good - that the guests were more inquisitive and more interested and that the weather and animals were more obliging than is typical, and many of the hotel staff (those working to feed us and keep the ship and our rooms clean) felt the same way. I know that it's normal to assure every customer that they're special, but many of the crew and guides said the same to me in private, when there was only ne to try to snow, and I think they knew me well enough to not do so. Whether we were being looked over by a benevolent force or simply lucked out...it was a great trip that I could have enjoyed for a few days longer. Oh well - at least I have the experience, and other reminders of spending nearly a month at "the end of the world."

I will not be writing anything tomorrow as I'll be in transit. I will pick up again when I return home, writing some of my final thoughts as well as (over the next week or so) adding more photos, scans, and text. We're almost there, and thanks for coming along for the ride!



Comments

  1. SunJanuary 26, 2025 at 2:38 AM

    Awesome! I’d love to have one of those hand-carved figures and hope you were able to get one to remember by. What an incredible journey you had! Thank you for sharing it with those who couldn’t make the trip.
    As for what was consumed, I found it fascinating that 8,001 eggs were eaten on such a short journey—that’s a lot of eggs! But I imagine you all made countless memories and connected with like-minded companions, which is far more important.
    Keep blogging and live lively!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AK BrouhahaJanuary 29, 2025 at 8:27 PM

    Hah! I finally figured out how to reply to comments - better late than never. With the eggs...let's see...about 200 passengers plus crew for a 20-day cruise; an average of one egg daily gets us halfway to the 8000. But the omelets and scrambled eggs were generous, so maybe more like an egg and a half daily per person. And then they made cakes, pancakes, and other dishes that used eggs as well. So 8001 is a lot of eggs - but it seems plausible. And - yes - the connections with others are the biggest thing. In fact, just today I've exchanged emails and texts with five of the folks from the cruise - one of the crew plus four other passengers.

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