Romantic Roads

The flights from Atlanta to Ushuaia carry a heavy cost, roundtrip about six tonnes of CO₂e per person. And yet, we go. Because we’re human. We want things. To see things. The things we’ve read about, seen in guidebooks, whispered through headlines and wanderlust posts. It’s the gated entrance to that white island to the south.

But Ushuaia isn’t just a jumping-off point for Antarctica. It’s a gem in its own right, perched at the southern tip of Argentina, vibrant and resilient. Mountain trails to glacier fed lakes. On dry nights, motorcycles roar down the streets loud enough to rattle windows and stir the deepest sleepers. On rainy ones, it’s a gentler rhythm, drops tapping rooftops, puddles rippling in the streetlights.

Here the night was not for us to wander but to be one of those that slumber, to wake and find ourselves where the world begins to fall away. Wandering the streets, dipping into shops, and grocery stores getting our last supplies for that trip on the little explorer ship stocking up on seasickness remedies, or grabbing an over priced water bottle. At each street intersection that leads down to the port buildings frame snapshots of the boats bobbing and twisting in the wind of the Beagle Channel.

During our stay, we didn’t make many deep connections. A few small exchanges: the grocery store clerk, the clothing rental shop, a salesman at the electronics store helping us find rechargeable batteries. A driver, a host communicating through WhatsApp to an almost-new apartment, new to us, at least.

On the building’s top floor, a washer and dryer waited, token-operated and efficient, sparing us the need for a clothesline. From the laundry room, we could see the Parroquia Nuestra Señora de la Merced, Our Lady of Mercy Parish, standing quiet in the distance. I wondered about the yellow and red on its facade, and on embarkation day, we finally stole a peek inside.

It wasn’t enough time. It never is. This wasn’t living like locals; it was moving through the city like true tourists: fleeting, surface-level, reaching but never fully arriving.

If you’re planning your own trip to Ushuaia, here are a few practical tips from our experience:

Antarctica cruise preparation…Stock up before you sail.

Most ships recommend stocking up on seasickness remedies, such as the patch behind the ear and the wrist band, those remedies are not available in Argentina. Some remedies can be purchased on ship but are not always available, there is a shot apparently that we did not try or have available to us. We scrambled through several pharmacies in Ushuaia and Bariloche to find pills that worked pretty darn well at a half dose per day. Whatever you choose, start using it on embarkation day, don’t wait until day two when the ship gets all wibbly-wobbly.

Stay close to the port.

It’s easy, sort of, to find short-term apartments near the port via Booking.com or Airbnb, but double-check cancellation policies, especially if ship dates shift. Dates shift mostly due to weather related issues. (Fun fact: The waves can get too big in the Drake for the smaller vessels to cross). Staying close to the port is also convenient when dropping off luggage for embarkation.

Have small cash handy.

Most laundries either charge tokens or pesos, ask your host or hotel concierge if they have these, but also have small cash ready; and don’t expect full-service fluff-and-fold, though if you’re like me, you might discover you’re pretty good at fluffing.