Passing time in Ushuaia, Argentina

Ushuaia, Argentina is the southernmost tip of South America, they call this town "the end of the world". 

Well, it's definitely the end of the road for me. I'm wasting time here until my boat leaves for Antarctica. I found a quaint little hostel to stay at while I pass the time. 
As I'm sitting in the lounge area of my hostel, I look over and see a travel magazine on the wooden table next to me. I see in bold letters "THE 15 MOST DANGEROUS COUNTRIES TO VISIT". It catches my attention and I pick it up. As I flip through the pages, I realize that I've been to some of the places on the list. When I get to #11, I freeze. 
I see ANTARCTICA in big black letters. 
I'm shocked. 

Ushuaia

As I read on further, I learn that what makes it so dangerous is it's extreme isolation from the rest of the world. Not to mention the extreme weather and terrain. 
The nearest hospital is 2 days away. 
If anything happens down there, you're pretty much SOL. 
I confirm my fears a few days later when I have a lengthy conversation with the only doctor on our boat. I'll get to that later....

I love the wildflowers here

I had heard that you could find a killer deal for an Antarctica cruise if you showed up in Ushuaia in person. So here I am. Here to search for the best cruise available. I estimated the cruise would cost about $3,000- $4,000, from what I had read on the internet. I was prepared to spend that. However, when I arrived and started talking to different travel agents, the reality was that the cruise would be a lot more spendy. More like $6,000-$7,000. Youch. 
Better be worth it, I thought. 

My advice to you (if you happen to be a backpacker) is call the cruise agencies in Ushuaia ahead of time and book over the phone. Totally possible. Instead, I arrive and realize the soonest boat I can get on leaves in 2 weeks. 
When I first arrived in Ushuaia, I thought it was the cutest, quaintest town ever. "It reminds me of Alaska!", I told my friends and family. Snow capped mountains surrounded  the little town. It seemed like everyone knew everyone. After 2 weeks, I felt like I did too. I shopped at the local grocery store and cooked my own meals at the hostel. I took day trips to hike in the nearby national park, "Tierra del Fuego".  

Hiking around the national park

Ushuaia is a bit isolated itself, getting there and back will either take a lot of time or money. 
I wanted to fly back to Buenos Aires to explore a bit more, but I discover the plane tickets cost $600+. After shelling out $6,500 for my cruise, I was feeling a little tight with my money. 
Guess I'll just hang out here for a while.....
By the way, the company I ended up going with is called "Freestyle". I ended up choosing a Quark Expeditions boat to travel on. It was called the "Ocean Diamond". I would totally recommend them. Go see Sarah Scott at Freestyle, she's American, so you don't have to worry about the language barrier. She also speaks impeccable Spanish, just in case. She let me borrow her snow pants and a book. Very sweet girl. Very accommodating. Go see her!!

beautiful flowers growing in Ushuaia

Anyways, the novelty of Ushuaia wore off quickly. The weather was frigid some days, even though it was supposed to be their summer. Some days it would rain. At the end of the 2 weeks, I was totally stir-crazy and depressed. I had to get out!! I felt like a caged animal!!!
I don't want it to sound like the whole 2 weeks were a complete waste of my life. I mean, I was very productive at eating large amounts of yummy chocolate everyday, and I definitely got caught up on my sleep. 
I also walked about 5 miles daily and met some really nice people. 
Oh, and one night at the hostel a drunk Israeli got up in the middle of the night and peed on my shoes. They were next to my bed. And then the entire hostel awoke to my bloody murder scream. 
True story. 
Needless to say, the schnockered dude was kicked out. And I spent the next hour washing my shoes and then drying them out.
I felt so violated. 
Eww. 
I changed hostels the next day. 

I found some respite at a local coffee shop. They served the best chai lattes I've ever had in my life. I lived for those chai lattes. I found my sanity everyday in that little coffee shop. 
I wish I had a picture of that.....

Slowly, but surely, the day came for me to leave on my Antarctica cruise. That morning, I walked down to the boat dock and there she was.  "Quark Expeditions" was written on the side of this massive vessel. This was the boat that would bring me to my 7th continent. Goose bumps filled my skin. Antarctica, here I come!!!