Saturday 28 November 2009

After a long day we sail to Antarctica!

The day began as planned with our arrival in Ushuaia at 0630h. However, we soon learned that Lan Argentina (an airline) was on strike and our incoming passengers were stranded in Buenos Aires. In the early afternoon we were pleased to hear that the strike was over and that we would welcome our new guests only a little late to the ship. In spite of all this we left Ushuaia only an hour later than planned.

Staff on board the Fram were able to take advantage of beautiful Ushuaia while waiting for our guests and after we prepared the ship for sailing. The mountains surrounding the most southerly city in the world were snow-covered and provided a fantastic backdrop to this most interesting place. An added bonus was the presence alongside the dock of a 3-masted sailing ship called the Europa.

As the sun set we sailed down the Beagle Channel, on our way to the Drake Passage and our goal of the Antarctic Peninsula.