My journey to Antarctica took me through the gorgeous country of Argentina. I had been as far south in the Americas as Costa Rica but had not logged any time in South America so I was super excited to visit Argentina and mark another continent off my list. My friend, Agustina, is from Buenos Aires so she helped me prepare and gave me loads of suggestions for the best places to see and the best food to eat. She also helped me practice Castellano (also called Rioplatense), the Spanish dialect spoken in the cities near the Rio de la Plata. My Antarctica adventure was to start on 12/26/2023 so I left on Christmas Eve and arrived in Buenos Aires the morning of Christmas Day. 85 degrees and sunny – Merry Christmas to me!
When your friend asks if you want to go to a tango show on Christmas in Buenos Aires…hell yes! Maradona and Messi are everything in Buenos Aires. Also, Sullivan’s Irish Pub, Teatro Colon and the Obelisk. And who knew Kentucky Pizza was a thing? Falling in love with Argentina!
Tango show at El Viejo Almacen in Buenos Aires. Genial!!
On Day 2, I explored the city more, ate some fantastic food, visited the Shamrock Irish Pub and met a cool homeless dude named Emilio. Cementeria de la Recoleta, Woman’s Bridge, Basilica Nuestro Senora del Pilar, Parque Intendente Torcuato de Alvear, Floralis Generica.
Later that evening, I made my way to the Emperador Hotel in the heart of Buenos Aires to join the rest of the passengers on the Ultramarine who were headed to Antarctica.
I woke up at 5am to take a 3 hour flight to Ushuaia, El Fin del Mundo. What a cool place! We only had enough time to walk through the town, sample some of their world famous King Crab and get our passports stamped but I would definitely like to come back and explore further. As always, I searched and found an Irish pub but it did not open until after we were to board the ship so yet another reason to return to this interesting destination.
We returned to Ushuaia after our incredible adventure with Quark Expeditions in Antarctica. We did not go back into the city but were fortunate enough to get a quick taste of Tierra del Fuego in the National Park with Rumbo Sur tours. Beautiful unspoiled wilderness with picturesque views of Chile.
It was here that I actually saw an elephant seal swimming, but I was so excited that the video I took might as well be of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster.
