Buenos Aires

After an exciting flight in which the pilot aborted the landing just before the wheels touched down due to strong winds and flew to another airport just a a major storm was starting we arrived in BA.

We started our tour at the Rose Palace where Evita gave her famous speeches to her people and then went to her museum where we learned more about her life.

We visited the Government buildings but being Easter weekend it was shut.


We had lunch in the crowded Le Boca district

Went to a Tango Show

And ... watched the 24th March demonstration of support for the 30000 people who disappeared during the 1970/80s military government and who are not forgotten.

Tomorrow (25th March) our great adventure ends and we fly back to Manchester.

We start our journey Northwards

We left Puerto Williams and also Chile today, our southern most point in our journey. Getting to this amazing place had been straight forward but political problems between Chile and Argentina mean that getting across the Beagle Channel and into Argentina were more problematic. Ushuaia is the southern most city in Argentina not 60km away from Puerto Williams and 30 mins across the sea but Chilean boats are not allowed into the port. Argentinian boats are, however, allowed into Chile's port at Puerto Navarino on Isla Navarino where PW is. You have to catch an Argentinian Zodiac boat (at great expense) that comes across every day .

We were taken by minibus the 60km to Puerto Navarino along a dirt road. The nearer we got the windier it became. The 'port' was a single Navy building in the middle of nowhere on the opposite side of the Beagle Channel to Ushuaia, where we went through the customs procedure.

Puerto Navarino where the dirt road ends, the port of embarkation from Chile!

The Zodiac arrived but the passengers looked a little 'shaken'. The wind in the channel had got up to dangerous speeds. The Zodiac would not go back in the wind. We waited for an hour and a half, then suddenly 'vamos' we go. We were rushed into the boat and set off across the rather 'bouncy' channel.

The Zodiac arriving from Ushuaia.

The Zodiac battling through the swell

See a video of the Zodiac crossing

We arrived rather exhilarated in Ushuaia to be met by the immigration process and a new country. We then embarked into a new country and a city with lots of modern cars, tarmaced roads, shops and restaurants, not to mention boats with names like Antarctica 3 and Antarctic Explorer (Ushuaia is a major port for Antarctic exploration). What a difference to the Fin Del Mundo in PW!

Sharon arrives in Argentina.