The end of the world..Ushuaia Argentina

 Last evening we docked in the port town of Ushuaia. Today we are again saying goodby to a few staff/crew and hello to a full ship of passengers. The demographics of the new passengers is interesting. Lots more young people 40somethings! 

This is our last view of the lower Andes. The mountains surround the city and provide a wonderful view to anyone out walking. Our tour today is called “A taste of Ushuaia “ we will walk through town and sample food and wine for a few hours. 

Walking from the ship along the dock to the downtown area.

The National Geographic ship is here!

First look at town

A sculpture 

A mast in the square memorializing the date Ushuaia became a city.

Interesting architecture 

The glass building is our first stop on our tour.

The place “Crystal wine shop” was quite a nice bottle store. The table was set with two bottles of Gin and several bottles of Beer. We were immediately handed a very large goblet of Gin and Tonic!

Patagonia gin locally produced with 13 botanicals from the local area, including a pepper grown near the beaches .

Now that is  a G & T! I needed two hands to hold the glass!

Served along with salmon trout  croutes and pickled mussels. I don’t usually like the trout, but this was delicious… maybe the pairing with the gin helped!

 This company also brews beer. We tried an IPA, a red and the cream stout. The cream stout was paired with a large chocolate cookie and even though I dislike beer, i must admit it tasted okay….the cookie was filled with either dolce de leche or a jam made from the local berry similar to a blueberry. It is said if you eat that berry you will return to Patagonia… Im starting to think anything you eat in this region it a sign you will come. Back😀. They just want you to entertain the thought that you will come back to visit!

The aftermath of a successful tasting. Next we walk up the hill to another restaurant for a taste of their menu.

Up the hill was the Main Street with lots of shops

 Our restaurant was up the steps. We got there and there seemed to be confusion as to who we were and why we were here… our guide quickly fixed things and we were seated.

First corse was a large lamb pate .. forgot to take a pic so this is the last of Albert’s portion. Mine was eaten all up. It was delicious. 

Main course was a beef tenderloin with king crab and purée sweet potato. The beef was too done, but even then it tasted wonderful. It was accompanied by a Merlot or in my case .. a Chardonnay.. both Argentinian of course. We had a delightful time conversing with friends and enjoying a leisure lunch. Then it was off to our last course…

Oh boy! Another wine store!

Inside we were treated with lovely little  plate of various cheeses ,fruit and a little of the Patagonian jam. 1 

Also this dessert wine. It was like drinking a cloud of sweetness!A perfect ending to a tour for us. 

Here we said our good byes to some of our ship mates and headed back to the first stop to pick up a bottle of the Gin that I had bought. They held it for me so I didn’t have to carry it. We stuffed in in my backpack and headed back to the harbour to the ship. This town is quite vibrant and it has been fun to be here. Albert is all smiles today!

After returning to the ship we are greeted by all the new passengers who are here to join us in Antarctica. For those of us who are continuing our world journey we are realizing that the end for us is near… today is the last land we will be one for ten days and then we will leave this adventure behind us. 

Ushuaia is a beautiful place at the end of the world.

Off tonight to tackle the Drake Passage……