We could tell that we were in Argentina, because we saw this sign (in Spanish and English) on the dock informing us again that Great Britain and Northern Ireland have been illegally occupying the Falkland Islands since 1833. A few days later, we saw on CNN that Argentina has filed a formal complaint to the United Nations. We'll stay tuned, as they say, with much more first hand information...

Because Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world, it's know as "fin del mundo" (the end of the world).

Many of the buildings appeared to be of European design, even Hostel America (on left). The lace in many of the windows added to this feeling.

These are Magellanic penguins like the ones we saw in the Falkland Islands, but there are many more of them here. We had a wonderful time walking around in our designated paths. The penguins could walk anywhere...

 
Dean learns to walk like a penguin.

Beak clacking starts out as a twosome, but escalates into a trio of activity. Not sure what the significance is. These penguins mate for life, so maybe these were first year adults looking for mates.

The Magellanic penguins are also called the jackass penguins because their call sounds very much like that four-legged animal's bray. When we got there, it was time for the adults to walk down to the beach to feed--they do this twice a day. Their well-worn paths are so deeply carved in the soil that only the top third of their bodies show as they walk.

The chicks were already at the beach and were molting--feathers flew everywhere. After they get a new set of feathers, they'll enter the water for the first time. Right now the chicks are as big or bigger than the adults so they have enough body fat to take them through this phase.

A Skua cruises over the beach looking for weakened penguins to attack.

The weather was not pleasant--very high winds, sleet and rain. But we were bundled up and the penguins are so darn cute that it was definitely worth the effort. The dark glasses were to protect our eyes from the wind not the sun.

The flag of Punta Arenas shows the yellow mountains and the Southern Cross constellation in a blue field. 
The Chilean flag is red white and blue with one large star.  

As we came into town our guide (a native of Punta Arenas, but his parents were British) told us about this building enclosed in glass--it stays warm with only the solar radiation. Impressive in this cold climate.

Our last bus stop was this overlook of the city and our ship...

We were originally scheduled to be here for one day here, but bad weather and large waves located in our route across the Pacific caused the captain and the head office in Seattle to redo the itinerary and stay here for two days before heading out. The second day was a Sunday and many businesses were closed, but we spent some time walking around the city.

Down at the waterfront, bunches of imperial cormorants (blue-eyed shags) populated an old dock and its pilings. One guy, a fellow passenger, looking at them thought they were penguins. Their black and white feathers do give that appearance, but when they fly, that should be a clue that they are not penguins at all.

I spent two hours on the second floor of this Internet cafe listening to cleverly DJ'd American rock 'n roll.  The Internet access was fairly fast and cost a reasonable $2 per hour.  

You may have noticed that some of our photos are of sunny weather, but some show gray skies and wet streets. It surprised us that the rainbows over the city seem to be as frequent as those in Hawaii. The ride on the tenders was very bumpy on the rough water here. 

We now have our new itinerary--we'll be missing one of our stops and will not sail through the Chilean Fjords, but we are in for some rough seas as we head to Easter Island. As we sailed away, the wind blowing water from the white-capped waves created hundreds of rainbows to bid us adios. 

Dean's Log: Days 28-31