The Falklands to Montevideo

After the days we spent in Antarctica, the rest of the cruise was fairly anti-climatic. One highlight, though, was our brief visit to the town of Stanley in the Falkland Islands.

I first heard of the Falklands when Argentina invaded back in the early 80s. I remember seeing the war footage on TV, with the British troops fighting back, and it seemed like a very strange place for two countries to fight over. Every time we've been to Argentina, I've seen graffiti and murals proclaiming that the Malvinas (the Falklands) belong to Argentina, and I suppose I had the impression that there was still controversy about it. I thought that perhaps, in the Falklands, the people were divided about their nationality, that it was still a subject of great debate.

And then we went to Stanley.

Ushuaia, Argentina, and Cape Horn

Tierra del Fuego is a place I've always wanted to go, and so watching the ship's GPS display show us getting closer and closer to the bottom of South America was really exciting. Early in the morning we navigated through the Beagle Channel (named after the famous exploring ship on which Charles Darwin sailed through these waters) towards the town of Ushuaia. 

Buenos Aires and cruise down the coast of Argentina

This wasn't our first trip to Buenos Aires, and it won't be the last, most likely. The last time we were here, it was my birthday and Doug and I went out to a tango show, which was then cut short because Carter got violently ill back at the hotel and we had to return. And then Doug caught whatever bug he had and was miserably sick for days. Doug wasn't all that enthusiastic to return after that experience, but the timing of the cruise meant we had nearly a week to hang out in the city.