Waiting for my ship to come in…

Remember what I said about the sunrise?  Well, today I was wide awake by 3 am and was able to get outside and take some great pictures just before sunrise.  The water was calm and the lights shone brightly, it was very beautiful and peaceful.

The first ship you see is the Cent. del Atlantico – an Argentinian fishing boat.  Beside it is Le Soleal – a luxury expedition ship.  In darkness behind the fishing ship is the NG Explorer – another expedition ship.

After finally going back to sleep, I woke to an absolutely beautiful morning.  I couldn’t resist a few more photos from my perch as well as a quick walk back to the woods.  It’s even more beautiful in the sunshine if that’s possible.

Cool cloud formation…

Don’t you hate it when the tree is having a better hair day than you?

Once in town I checked into the Albatros, my hotel for the night.  All I can say is you won’t be seeing any pictures of the room or the view!  But it is right across the street from the dock, the bar is nice and the food is good.

Yesterday walking around I found a little shop with penguins made from stone.  Some of them have white bellies, but some have bellies that are made of Rhodocrosite (MnCO3 – it’s the magnesium that gives it the pink colour).  Rhodocrosite (also known as Inca-Rose) is a semi-precious stone, believed by the Inca to contain the blood of their ancestors and thus have healing properties.  One of the things they believe it heals is high blood pressure.  So for purely medicinal reasons two penguins are coming home with me, a mommy and a baby.

And someday when I win the lottery, I’ll buy this one for my mother…

The St. Christopher was a former British Navy tug sold to private interests in 1953 and used in the Beagle Channel for salvage operations.  In 1954 she suffered engine trouble and was grounded in Ushuaia; it wasn’t until 50 years later (2004) that her remaining fuel was removed.  The ship, however, was not.

This is the side of local church…

That’s all for today – I was supposed to do a helicopter flight and land in the Andes, but mother nature decided not to cooperate.  Things will start to get a little more interesting tomorrow…