Ushuaia - Argentina
January 31st, 2026
This morning the ship will be entering Beagle Channel from the east to get to the port in Ushuaia Argentina. This area is known as Glacier Alley. We had to get up early to see these. There are glaciers on each side of the ship. We only saw the glaciers form the port side as we were observing them from our cabin balcony. (in our pjs). Even with the low light, they were stunning to look at.
View out our cabin balcony at 6:30am. Glaciers everywhere!
Ushuaia
This is the capital of Tierra del Fuego. It is located below the 54th parallel south latitude. Ushuaia claims the title of “World’s Southernmost City”. It is bounded on the north by the Martial mountain range and on the south by the Beagle Channel. It is considered one of the gateway cities to Antartica.
We arrived in port at 10:00. We have some free time in the morning, so we walked in to town to do a little exploring. The weather was sunny, but a bit chilly. The wind was very strong, I had to keep my hand on my hat as we walked down the pier. When we got to the end of the pier, there was a large crowd playing drums and chanting something. They were blocking the exit on the pier, so none of the busses could get off. We were able to walk around them, I do not know what they were protesting.
Port Ushuaia
Since Ushuaia, is considered the be the most southern city in the world, we went souvenir shopping to find “End of the World” merch to bring back with us. We had time to walk along the waterfront to see the boats. This area is so picturesque.
We had scheduled a “King Crab Experience” with Princess. This excursion took us on a 1.5 hour drive to Puerto Almaza (a remote fishing village) to see how the King Crab are harvested and get to experience eating them as well. During the drive, we could see lupin flowers everywhere. Not only where they in peoples gardens, but also growing wild in the side of the road. We also saw horses roaming freely. Our guide told us that not all of them are wild horses. Some are owned by people, but are allowed to run freely in the area.
There were about 8 of us on the excursion. We stopped at Laguna Victoria on our way to Puerto Almaza for a quick snack and stretch our legs. This quiet little lake has a peat bog, that you can walk on (if you have waterproof foot gear). We opted out on that option. Wild flowers were blooming everywhere and the scenery was spectacular.
Laguna Victoria
Our guide setup a table with snacks and coffee/tea for us. The sandwiches were interesting. they were made with “fungus” as our guide told us. But I think she meant to say mushrooms. Same thing! One of the women in our group was not happy that she was eating “fungus”! I think she got over it. They had thermoses of hot water to make instant coffee or tea. We also were served chocolate and apple muffins. I opted out on the food, as I was saving myself for the King Crab. The instant coffee was ok.
Our table of snacks for our break.
On our way into town, we could see large metal grids in the Almanza River leading out to the Beagle Channel. These are breeding cages for King Crab. The location near the Beagle Channel makes this an ideal location for breeding healthy King Crab. Across the Channel is the Chilean island of Navarino. There is a small town of Puerto Williams that is trying to be the southernmost city in the world, but it is too small (according to our guide).
Puerto Williams across the Beagle Channel.
City sign for Puerto Almanza
Our guide took us to a restaurant called Onas. The experience was supposed show us how to prepare a true Patagonian-style king crab meal. However, all we did was sit down in a restaurant have the king crab served to us. Each couple shared one king crab. It was more than enough for me. However, I would not recommend this excursion. It was a long day of driving (1.5 hours each way) to sit and eat king crab.
After lunch, we took a quick drive further down the gravel road through the village. It was very quaint and picturesque.
Boats in the Beagle Channel along Puerto Almanza.
It was 6:30pm when we got back to the pier. There was an Irish pub in Ushuaia that I wanted to check out for my Guinness Blog (southern most Guinness!), but there was not enough time to go there and be back on the ship by 7:00pm departure. We had stopped by earlier in the day (12:30) but it was not open. Not sure how authentic it would have been for an Irish pub that is not open by noon!
Back on the ship, we decided to cancel our dinner reservation as we were still full from the King Crab Experience. Tonight the ship leaves Ushuaia and heads out to Drakes Passage. We put our motion sickness patches on in preparation of possible rough seas when we cross.
There was a delay in leaving port because of the wind. Per the captain, winds are too high for us to stay within safety parameters. Ushuaia port does not have tugs so we have to wait until winds reduce.
There is a low pressure system entering the Drake tonight. So tomorrow we will get the ‘Drake Shake’. Not a crazy shake but we will feel some movement. Winds 35-40mph (55-65kmh) gusting over 50mph (80kmh) and waves over 4m+ (so 14ft). Hopefully, I will not get tossed out my bed!
