After the exhaustion and excitement of the previous day, we awoke slowly, the black out blinds obliterating the early morning sunshine. I tangled with the bedclothes. And then, slowly surfaced my first thought: “tea!” So I fell out of bed, progressing east, and fumbled with the Nespresso machine until I got some hot water out of it. Raising the blinds I saw this:

Several cups later, we descended for breakfast.

It was a pleasantly slow morning, rearranging our packing to accommodate the weight restrictions for the flight south, and yours truly tapping out the next post. Don’t know how you feel, but I always find writing to be the most diverting and satisfying way of translating an experience. It absorbs the attention and intensifies what you have lived!

Later, we all congregated in the lobby before being gently propelled on to our coaches to the domestic flight terminal. Having feared the worst, our bags were weighed in with neither frowns nor penalties. Liberated, we then joyfully progressed to the Departure Lounge and whiled away a pleasant hour with my new friend, Jill.

We boarded the internal flight to Ushuaia and were soon up and away.

There were a good few clouds to get through first however.

As I sat reading my book ‘Alone on the Ice’ my eyes kept wanting to close, until they did.

Just over three hours later I was thrilled to peer out of the window and espy the cloud wreathed mountains of Ushuaia… with snow in parts, pockets of blue grey sea nudging the coast. The contrast from Buenos Aires could not have been greater. The grey blue Beagle Channel was only yards from the runway. We disembarked, and walked into a warm timbered arrivals hall resembling a Norwegian spa far more than an airport building. The whole place felt thrilling yet strangely familiar. And I enjoyed the cold.

We were soon conveyed to our hotel (The Albatross) by coach, and having dumped our bags, belted outside for a quick sniff of the sea air. It did feel exciting, being in a place so close to everything I was reading about..Selfies etc were taken.

Although it was still light, time was marching on, so we dined in at The Albatross, and mused quietly. Tomorrow would see us board The Resolute and begin our voyage.