As we arrived at the FRAM, the sun was shining and the winds
were only a bit of breeze. These weather conditions are on the rare side in
Ushuaia as the sun commonly only peeks through the clouds between rain squalls and
the winds are often quite strong.
On-board we turned in our passports to the ships purser and
then we were assigned our cabins and registered in the ships computer system.
Now we can lock our wallets with our driver’s licenses, our money and our
credit cards in our room safes. Captain Arvid and his bridge officers will take
care of the driving and our card opens the door to our cabins and we can even
shop at the ships store as the trip progresses.
Before leaving the dock in Ushuaia we attended the mandatory
safety drill, where we learned the location of our lifeboat stations. After the
drill we were underway for Antarctica with Ushuaia fading astern and the Beagle
Channel welcoming as the FRAM headed east. The green hills and mountains bordering
the Channel gave is a clear view of the tree-line as at our present southern
latitude the tree-line is a clear demarcation with the southern beech trees
below and only grasses and stunted shrubs above.
Out channel transit was highlighted by the accompaniment of
a small pod of dolphins. Dolphins are common in the channel but these
particular dolphins were species that is rarely sighted. Our biologists viewed
our photographer, Dominic’s images and agreed the dolphins were Right Whale
Dolphins, albeitly this is a confusing name but that is the identification of our
bow wave friends.
Just after the dolphins departed we passed Puerto Williams.
This collection of homes and villages is Chilean and is regarded by the
Chileans as the southernmost town or village in South America. The Chileans and
the Argentinians spar over the terminology and as far as the Argentinians are
concerned, Ushuaia is the southernmost town in South America and Ushuaia is at
best a village or military town.
