8th January
Well Ushuaia, like a lot of places that practice the siesta tradition, doesn’t seem to wake early! After a quick walk to Ushuaia Extremo to try and return my hired jacket I went back to the harbour, to a cafe Katie had told me about that opened early, Ramos Generales. I had to cool my heels for a little, but I wasn’t the only one lining up for a warm place to sit, a coffee and to get back in touch with the world. A whole heap of us ended up there, all head down with laptops or phones in front of us, their free wi-fi is a sure way to entice those just back from Antarctica.
I eventually left to take my jacket back and pick up some souvenirs before collecting my luggage and making my way to the airport for a 4pm flight. It was like “old home week” in the town and at the airport though, running into people from the ship all day. Was lovely to sit with Marijke for a while at the airport to catch up on the last few days as we’d been separated for the latter part of the voyage. Another 2 women sharing weren’t getting along and the only solution was for one of them to swap with one of us – so I lost my bestest roomie, but gained another who was nice too, but it just wasn’t the same. The only problem was the 4pm flight turned into 6pm, then 7pm, and eventually 7:30pm – I heard this wasn’t uncommon.
I was so pleased I’d booked through a travel agent, had transfers organized and could keep in touch with Luis from the agency to update him during the wait. Walking through arrivals at almost midnight to see a driver holding a sign with my name on it was such a relief. Although I didn’t take it all in when I arrived, the Patios de San Telmo was a darling place to spend the next few days. I fell in love and could have happily spent all day every day just hanging out there – I didn’t!
MidLife Traveller 