Today was to be another long journey and nearly as far south as one can travel independently in the world. After our early breakfast we wandered along to the bus office where we were soon joined by hoards of locals and backpackers. Where was the bus though? At 7am a bus turns up - yes this is the 6:45 bus for Punta Arenas and the connection for Ushuaia - so everyone scrambles to get their gear stowed away and clamber onboard. No this is not the bus for Ushuaia, this is the 7 o'clock bus for Punta Arenas so lots of us had to get off and retrieve our safely tucked away luggage! That bus heads off into the distance and again we wait. Soon another bus comes around the corner and - yes this is the bus for Punta Arenas and Ushuaia. We repeat the earlier process but find a family of 3 in our (two) seats. After a minor debate we pinch someone else's seats and stare out of the window to avoid eye contact with whoever might be affected. Soon the bus is off and heading out of town. The problem we face is - as we are nearly 45 minutes late in leaving and our bus is due to connect with another bus which leaves Punta Arenas for Ushuaia at 9am, will we make it or will the bus wait. We pass the junction where the road turns off for Ushuaia and shortly afterwards our bus flashes down an approaching bus with a big sign USHUAIA in its window. Off we get, gather our luggage and settle in for a long, long journey involving ferry and land border crossings. We think we are going to be further delayed when we hear a police siren behind and find the bus slowing down. Thankfully the bus wasn't speeding but the bus is slowing down for a convoy of official looking cars and coaches. We then remember that Argentina's President is in Chile meeting the Chilean President (interestingly both are women) and one or both are probably heading for the Chile/Argentine border. The Straits of Magellan are not particularly impressive (at this point) but they are very famous. On this day - like most others no doubt - they have a very strong current and are very windy. We do not have long to wait for the 30 minute trip to Tierra del Fuego (equally as famous). Half way across we are thrilled to see a small pod of dolphins that we later find out are commersons dolphins which we have never seen before - they are quite small but have a large patch of white around their middle ( a bit like a very small orca). Tierra del Fuego is (naturally) similar to Patagonia with flat dry eastern plains leading to a mountainous western side. The scenery as we made our way south then west once more became spectacular. We arrived in Ushuaia after a 14 hour journey to see our Antarctic ship, Orlova, anchored in the Beagle Channel. We were lucky we'd booked our accommodation the previous day because several others from our bus were turned away at our hostel as we were checking in.We were certainly further south because Ushuaia was colder and windier and we were therefore well wrapped up when we set out for some food. Restaurants aplenty, most were serving Argentina's famous parilla (bbq'd meat) which we'd try another night. Don't know if we've mentioned that being so far south the days are long and light late into the evenings we've been finding we've been eating later and later and consequently are not getting enough sleep. But while heading home, we found Tante Sara where we are meeting K2 in a few days time. Later we found (another) Tante Sara where we are meeting K2 in a few days time .......mmmm, which one?When we arrived, a look at our emails confirmed that the Orlova had been given the all clear and we'd be sailing as planned. Our first priority the next day was to ensure we had all the things we needed for the cruise. The main thing in this respect was warm/wet weather gear. The things we were travelling with weren't really suitable for Antarctic conditions and we had been advised that Parkas could be hired locally. Unfortunately there is only place (a travel agent) that does this but has limited stock so you need to book well ahead - which of course we hadn't done. The only alternative was to buy and luckily we found a good outdoor shop that had quality clothing in a sale and for just over £100 we picked up two excellent jackets that hopefully will fit the bill. All necessary purchases made we decided to hire a car to explore further afield.On the day we picked up the car it was very cold and wet, and at one stage blowing through snow, as we drove out to Estancia Harberton which is situated on the Beagle Channel about 85 kms west of Ushuaia. After 45 kms on a rough dirt road we came to the Museo Acatushun which has an excellent collection of skeletons and bones of sea mammals that have been gathered over the years from strandings in the locality. It was fascinating to discover the existence of so many different types of whale and dolphin that we'd never heard of before. The Estancia next door, the first one on Tierra del Fuego, was established by a family of British missionaries and is still owned and run by their descendants. We would have liked to have taken a tour of the house but we had just missed one and if we'd waited for the next we would have been too late in getting back to Ushuaia. So we contented ourselves with a bit of exploring around the area and admiring its beautiful setting. The higher mountains in this area are all in Chile and on one stretch of the road we were able to look across the Beagle Channel to Puerto Williams in Chile, the most southerly town in the world. By this time the sun had come out revealing wonderful scenery on the drive back to Ushuaia.The other area we wanted to explore while we were here was the Tierra del Fuego National Park. Driving east out of town we headed into a valley which looked a perfect setting for a golf course, and just as E said 'It's a wonder there isn't a golf course', lo and behold the Ushuaia Golf Club hove into view. Of course we couldn't resist, so stopped for a quick cuppa before checking out the possibility of having a round, but as there was a tournament on that day we'll bear it in mind for when we get back from the Antarctic. In any event, we were pleased not to have missed the National Park which is an absolute delight. The walk along the shore of Lago Roca took us right to the Chilean border with wonderful views across the lake. On the walk through the forest of Southern Beech we were thrilled to have two good sightings of local woodpeckers and a tree creeper feeding its young in a hole in a tree that had obviously been made by a woodpecker. Later, on a short walk to Lapataia Bay we were equally thrilled, and very lucky, to spot a beaver swimming by its lodge (see Tierra del Fuego photo album). In the same area we watched two magnificent condors soaring over the water, sometimes being chased by small seabirds when they got too close to their own territories. We also saw many other types of birds - what a wildlife fest! We had such a long enjoyable day in the National Park that it was 8pm before we got back to our cabin (we'd moved that day to Gazelli-Basily B&B) but it was great to be able to have some home cooked food washed down with beer and wine without having to venture outside. Oh what joy and what a good way to round off an excellent day. The last day before the cruise we moved to the Albatros, the best hotel in Ushuaia as this is part of the Antarctic deal we've paid for. After a few hectic days we are just chilling out before chilling down! E & M xxx