Thursday, December 28, 2023
Today, we awoke at 3 am to dueling iPhone alarms. During the night, it had rained and thunder had disturbed our sleep more than once. Zombie-like, we got up, changed clothes, brushed our teeth, packed, and headed downstairs. After checking out at the hotel reception desk, we received a light breakfast (two pastries) and coffee from Viking. We sat at a table in the lobby and managed to wake up a bit while waiting for our plane to be called to board our bus to the airport.
Viking had devised a plan to get all of us from two Buenos Aires hotels to the Polaris docked in Ushuaia. At our hotel, seven color-coded groups woke up at staggered times (starting at 3 am), checked out, were distributed breakfasts, then bused together to the in-town airport (AEP) where groups boarded one of three staggered flights to Ushuaia. After claiming luggage at Ushuaia, color teams boarded buses together to be transported to Polaris. (The other hotel had a least two additional color groups that were somehow integrated into these logistics.)
Ray and Nina were in a later group and we yielded our table to them as we left the lobby to board our bus to the airport. With little early morning traffic, we arrived at the airport promptly. Check-in and security went quickly but Viking travelers started accumulating as we waited to board the plane and we reunited with Ray, Nina and Harriet. Jane & I departed on the first of three flights. I had a window seat but the view was mostly obscured by clouds except at take-off and landing. After disembarking, we had to claim our luggage then check it back with Viking for transport to the our cruise ship, Polaris.
Our green group boarded a bus and were given a brief narrative about the region as we were transported from the airport to the docks where Polaris awaited us. Along the way, we stopped at a small park and were allowed time to get out and take pictures in front the Ushuaia sign. Ushuaia is the world’s southernmost city and and known as “The End of the World” or “The Beginning of Everything”, depending upon your direction of travel. Ushuaia is also the capitol of Tierra del Fuego, located on the Beagle Channel, and is the onlyArgentinian city located across the Andes mountain range. And, it’s very windy.
Our rooms wouldn’t be ready until 1:00 pm but we had plenty to explore on the new ship and time to get a bite of lunch at the World Cafe where a wide variety of foods were available. I’m still feeling very sick and so only nibbled a little. The interior of the new ship was remarkable with a distinctive Scandinavian style. We eventually made it into our stateroom. Shortly after entering, our bags arrived in the hallway outside our door, so we unpacked and relaxed. The captain made an announcement that we were required to depart at 1:30 (instead of the planned 5 pm departure). Soon, Polaris was in motion as we ventured beyond the end of the world toward Drake Passage and Anartica!
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| Finally, onboard Polaris |
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| Ushuaia from Deck Side |
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| Ready to Sail |
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| Ushuaia from inside Polaris |
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| Exploring Polaris |
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| Explorers’ Lounge |
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| The Hide |
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| Anchor Chains passing through The Hide |
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| The Living Room |
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| Stateroom 4055 |
Jane insisted that now was the best time to do a load of laundry, so she hauled dirty clothes to the free laundry machines and was the first passenger to start a load. We continued exploring the ship until the laundry was done. Because of potentially rough seas crossing Drake’s Passage, we both took a meclazine tablet to ward off seasickness.
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| Free Washers and Dryers |
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| At Sail in the Beagle Channel |
After dinner, a meager one for me, we attended a Viking Welcome Reception in the Aula, a magnificent auditorium in the stern of the ship. The Aula has floor-to-ceiling windows offering spectacular views but a mammoth screen can be lowered for presentations. We were handed glasses of champagne as we entered. Captain Mignon welcomed everyone aboard and introduced his crew and some of the staff. We then returned to our stateroom and went to bed rocked by the soothing motions of Polaris.
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| Captain Mignon welcomes us in the Aula |
