We arrived on time around 0800 and we were having breakfast ready to get off the ship for our tour of the Beagle Channel which is due to last two and a half hours.
It was a nice Catamaran and clean and we went around the small Islands dotted around the Beagle Channel and we saw lots of Cormorants, Steamer Ducks and Sea Lions.
The boat was able to get very close and so we could obtain some good photos of the birds and mammals.
We got back to the dock around two hours later, not the two and a half hours as booked, oh well this is Argentina.
As we arrived back in the harbour the sun started appearing and providing some nice views.
As we left the dock to walk in to town we saw a sign which said that England has illegally occupied the Malvinas ( Falkland Islands to us) since 1833 and that we should hand it back.
The twon was pretty busy as there were actually another ship in at the same time but we wandred around taking photos and then ended up in a internet café where we could update some photos online and get Ms Outlook working for email as it refuses to work with the slow on-board connection.
Jennifer had previously spotted a crab restaurant which we thought we would try but it was closed. As we wanted to try the King Crab which is known to be very good around these parts. We walked back along the main shopping road and looked at another place and decided to try it and inside were not only several passengers from our ship but also some crew as well. All sais the food was good and they were correct as Jennifer had crab parmisan which is really a crab au’gratin and Noel the crab with rice and washed down with an excellent bottle of Malbec. It was a great meal anmd we started to wonder if would need to eat tonight.
We got back to the port at the prescribed time and found that there must be several local boats leaving at the same time we need to pass through security (which actually was somebody who waived you past the X-ray machine) and it was chaos. We had tied up with several other passengers and then formed a small attack unit and got through the crowds quite quickly in the end.
This is a nice little town on the slopes of mountains and its uphill all the way. There are a number of shops selling duty free. The guide on the boat said that this area was given a tax free status to attract business and the population grew very quciky from 5000 to 60000 which was a slight problems there was limited housing and so people built their own where they felt like it and on the outside of town, she said, is a mess.
A quiet night tonight we thought and we shall have room service. Whilst waiting for this Noel had a bath, then slipped down when trying to get out and nearly flooded the ship but as he said it wasn’t his fault the ship moved at the crucial point of his manoeuvre to get out.
Tomorrow is another day at sea as we head towards Punta Arenas in Chile. Whilst crossing the sea border between Argentina and Chile the ship had to stop and float around for about thirty minutes whilst various immigration folks did their thing.
