01/24/2010 Ushuaia and Beagle Channel

We boarded the Polar Star at 4pm. at the port at Ushuaia. Ushuaia reminds me of Shetland - cold, damp and windy. Masses of Lupins everywhere and they thrive in these bleak conditions. I wrote postcards today and deposited them in a antiquated English style post box.

We are in the Beagle Channel and are just clipping along. The Drake Passage looms ahead at midnight and we are prepared for some very rough seas. I am wearing a seasick patch and hope that it works.

The cabin is small but comfortable. My cabin mate is an 82 yr.old from New York City - Millicent McKinley - she is a firecracker. The staff are pleasant and very helpful. There are 83 passengers aboard and we are a diverse lot - Americans (32), Canadians, Aussies, Brits, German, and a smattering from other countries around the world.

I am going to a lecture tomorrow morning about the Albatross. I have been on the lookout for Skuas which I saw in Shetland and I think are most impressive birds - like very large brown seagulls with with white feathers under their wingtips. They are predatory and aggressive - I hope to se them this trip.