Ushuaia, Argentina
Ushuaia, it’s a name that leaps from the lips like a fresh breeze caressing soft vegetation across a distant mountain valley. We arrived at Ushuaia, Argentina, the southern-most city in the world, from Santiago, Chile at just about what I consider lunchtime and we were not disappointed. After identifying our luggage, it was whisked away to the ship while we made a short drive to our lunch spot. El Restaurante Relincho is designed to evoke the feeling of a simple barn on the vast Argentine range, complete with hard-packed dirt floors scantly covered with fresh alfalfa hay. Lunch was a typical lamb barbeque with a bit of fresh salad. As we were finishing our ice cream the restaurant lights dimmed and the stage glowed and was soon filled with dancing, stomping young folks beginning a traditional performance of the Argentine ‘west’. The girls were pretty and coy, the boys handsome and proud. This was not just a simple dance, not just a demonstration of skilled foot movement, but a drama, the awkward magic of childhood’s end, flirtation by glance and graceful movement. Through dance the young men gave life to their future prospects, the young women to their charms and allure. Then they were couples, then community. Silly perhaps, but I was transported, somewhere else, somewhere younger. Teenages, 13 to 17? Nonsense, they were life itself! What a wonderful way to start a grand adventure! Then we steamed towards Antarctica.
Ushuaia, it’s a name that leaps from the lips like a fresh breeze caressing soft vegetation across a distant mountain valley. We arrived at Ushuaia, Argentina, the southern-most city in the world, from Santiago, Chile at just about what I consider lunchtime and we were not disappointed. After identifying our luggage, it was whisked away to the ship while we made a short drive to our lunch spot. El Restaurante Relincho is designed to evoke the feeling of a simple barn on the vast Argentine range, complete with hard-packed dirt floors scantly covered with fresh alfalfa hay. Lunch was a typical lamb barbeque with a bit of fresh salad. As we were finishing our ice cream the restaurant lights dimmed and the stage glowed and was soon filled with dancing, stomping young folks beginning a traditional performance of the Argentine ‘west’. The girls were pretty and coy, the boys handsome and proud. This was not just a simple dance, not just a demonstration of skilled foot movement, but a drama, the awkward magic of childhood’s end, flirtation by glance and graceful movement. Through dance the young men gave life to their future prospects, the young women to their charms and allure. Then they were couples, then community. Silly perhaps, but I was transported, somewhere else, somewhere younger. Teenages, 13 to 17? Nonsense, they were life itself! What a wonderful way to start a grand adventure! Then we steamed towards Antarctica.
