Friday 24 February 2012  -  Buenos Aires to Ushuaia

Another early start with 05:00 rise and breakfast 06:00 for a 07:15 departure to the airport.  As our main baggage had been collected during the night all we had to do now was clear security and board our private LAN Chile aircraft for the flight to Ushuaia.  The flight took four hours, flying over the snow covered high peaks of the Andes,  landing at the small but new airport of Ushuaia on the furthermost edge of South America and facing onto the Beagle Channel. Ushuaia is the capital city of Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina and is commonly regarded as the southernmost city in the world.  The city comes across as an outback town but is interesting and deserves a return holiday one day.  At the airport buses were waiting to take the passengers who were booked on the national park tour whilst the remaining passenger went into the city.  The Ushuaia national park is another gem hidden away from the world in this far flung outpost of civilisation and is a photographers paradise.  The sheer beauty of the mountains and landscape of this part of South America is best known for the adventure travel through Patagonia.  At 16:00 we joined the MS Fram and commenced the check in procedure which included issue of a swipe card which was our passport to everything on the ship. No money is used on the ship and all purchases and other transactions are allocated against the individuals swipe card.  Also when going ashore or coming back on the ship the card provides the necessary control through the ship's computer database.  Our bags were waiting for us in front of our cabin and after unloading all our gear we returned to finalise individual medical documents with the ships doctor and collected the ships bright light blue waterproof jackets.  The shipping companies do not let anyone with problematic medical conditions sail to the Antarctic and if you do not posses the medical certificate signed by your doctor you will not be allowed to remain on the ship.  Within an hour of joining leaving ship stations and survival suit demonstrations were held.  Dinner was a substantial buffet shared with new Aussie friends and Lyn McNaught their tour guide.  The ship sailed at 18:00 and tonight I will have my first sleep onboard a ship again since leaving HMAS Yarra in 1983.  A new adventure starts today.