A strait through the Tierra del Fuego archipelago leading to Ushuaia. It is one of three routes, and our inward journey.

The final stretch of the final day, we knew it was close to ending when in the distance we saw the thin line of Cape Horn appear over the horizon. After a surprisingly short time, we entered the channel, and found ourselves sandwiched between Chili on the left and Argentina on the right. It was a deeply strange experience at that point to see so much green and warm sunlight. We’d become accustomed over the previous weeks to the whites and blues of Antarctica and the harsher light reflecting of snow and clouds.

Under treaty, every vessel needs a Chilean pilot, and so we were caught up to by a small tug with a pilot coming aboard to take the MV Expedition the final few kilometres to Ushuaia. The Pilot was the G Adventures Safety office back in 2009, so everyone felt we were in good hands and it is likely an easier time for the Captain and Crew to pass piloting to someone so well known.

But our trip had one last surprise for us, as we motored along the channel, we saw a pod of dolphins, jumping out of the water along side our ship.

Overnight in Ushuaia Dock

We learned a few things about our voyage, it was the first time in the Captains experience to have had weather like we did during our passage through the Gullet.

Everything but the pastries were made from scratch by the chefs, and as a group in two weeks we’d consumed

• 300 Litres of Milk

• 300 Kilograms of Flour

• 120 Kilograms of Rice

• 520 Kilograms of meat

• 350 Kilograms of Fish

• 4,320 Eggs

and we’d also gone through 648 rolls of toilet paper.

Our total distance was an amazing 2,127 nautical miles (3,939.2 Kilometres).

We did not disembark that evening, but rather had one final evening on board after our Recap from the Captain and Expedition Team. We were close enough to the city to get Wi-Fi or phone signals and so we started to learn the horrifying global impact of Corona during our time isolated in Antarctica. Nations were closing down, the death toll was beyond belief and we were the very last Ship allowed to dock in Ushuaia. A vessel that arrived shortly after us was turned away and told to make for the Falkland Islands.

Whilst we were away at the end of the world, in many ways everyone else witnessed the End of the World.

Dusky Dolphin

Birds

One of three navigable passages linking the Atlantic and Pacific, (the others being the Drake and Strait of Magellan. People have been traversing at least parts of the channel for 10,000 years, since the Yahgan settled in the Tierra del Fuego. But is heavy use only occurred with the settlement by European colonists in the late 19th century.