24th – 25th – Buenos Aires

The party on the ship last night was great. Because the average age of passengers on this trip was so much lower than the trip to Svalbard there was much more going on all the time and much more energy. Great fun was had. A guide who had been on the ship on Svalbard but not this showed up during the evening as he would be joining the ship the rest of the season until March. That was a fun surprise.

In the morning we got up at 0630 and bags we didn’t want to carry ourselves were handed over before 0700. Breakfast was had and depending on when you were flying out during the day (if at all) busses were ready to bring you to the airport in a timely fashion. I had, together with a few others, a couple of hours in Ushuaia. Ushuaia is not a town interesting enough to hang out in – especially not in the early morning.

I flew to Buenos Aires (together with maybe 30 others from the ship), transferred to the hotel, checked in and completely crashed the moment I entered the room. Complete fatigue. I had planned on spending the second day in BA to take the ferry on a day trip to Uruguay and felt every single grain of energy seep out. I still took a walk to the ferry terminal to see if I could find some information but at that point all info was closed and I was none the wiser. Returning trying to find a place to eat I completely randomly bumped into the guy that had been my roommate in Ushuaia and tent buddy when camping. He had been on an earlier flight but had a night in BA before returning home. He had already had dinner but he still joined me to a restaurant where I had a bite to eat while he had another beer. We agreed to meet for breakfast at his hotel the following day at 0900, making it easier for him as he would be leaving at 1030.

We met, had breakfast and (once again) said our goodbyes.

I then had a walk around seeing the city until I in the afternoon arrived back at the hotel, rested and realized that two others from the ship were in the vicinity. This resulted in us going out for dinner together, letting me enjoy another slab of meat before returning home.

Walking around BA was weird; I had gotten used to the fresh, clean, cold air, the weather and the light in Antarctica and am now in big-city dirt and pollution, noise, crowds and heat. I miss the cold – the Antarctic cold, not the cold that is waiting for me at home.

Obelisco de Buenos Aires.

I am guessing as a tourist taking this photo is just as cheesy as taking a photo of the Little Mermaid.